Bristol City Council is consulting again on plans for clean air in the central areas of Bristol.
TRESA supports the ambition for clean air. But we remain concerned that, if a Clean Air Zone is implemented, Totterdown will not be included in the zone but will be on the border. This could have repercussions as vehicles do their best to avoid the charging zone. Will drivers prefer to park in Totterdown and walk into town? Could there be increased traffic congestion and rat running in Totterdown and along St John’s Lane as drivers try to find other routes?
The Bristol City Council Update on Bristol’s Clean Air Zone plans is set out in full below. The link to the current consultation is here: www.bristol.gov.uk/caz2020
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Bristol, like other major UK cities, is working to tackle harmful air pollution levels. The city council is
working with government to improve air quality in the city in the shortest possible time.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Clean Air Zone?
A Clean Air Zone is a specific location where immediate action is taken locally to improve air quality
and health. It aims to reduce public exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO2), by enforcing restrictions on
the highest polluting vehicles, to encourage use of cleaner vehicles and more sustainable travel
choices.
Why do we need a Clean Air Zone?
Ultimately toxic fumes are harmful to our health and we are committed to cleaning up Bristol’s air to
ensure all citizens can live and work in a healthy environment. The most concerning pollutants within Bristol are nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and very small particulates. A major source of these pollutants in cities is road traffic, particularly from diesel engines.
Bristol has a moral and legal duty to ensure the city’s air quality meets the legal limits of air pollution in the shortest possible time – this is a legal requirement and something we have been directed to do by the Government. There are specific areas within Bristol that have particularly poor air quality, and it is our responsibility to rectify this.
If the recent positive changes to travel behaviours (such as increased walking and cycling rather than driving) continue and Bristol can sustain improved air quality and less traffic in the city, as we adapt to living with COVID-19, it could mean that proposed options to charge polluting vehicles are not needed to comply with our legal duties and the direction. However, if people’s travel behaviours return to how they were before, traffic builds up and pollution increases and stays above legal limits, then we would need to bring in one of the charging zone options described in this consultation.
What is happening now?
Air quality improved greatly during lockdown as we moved around the city less. People are now returning to work and school and the number of vehicles on the road has increased. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us have made changes to when and how much we travel. Bristol City Council has also made changes to the road network to make it easier to walk, cycle and use public transport. These changes are helping to try and maintain the improvement in air quality experienced during lockdown.
The council’s preferred approach is to encourage citizens and businesses to sustain the recent, less polluting travel behaviour that we have seen, and we plan to support this with some further improvements to roads around the city that make it easier to walk, cycle or use public transport. We are calling these ‘Fast Track measures’.
The council is still required to plan the implementation of a medium and small charging zone if needed; therefore we are consulting with you on two new clean air zone (CAZ) options. These are areas where the most polluting vehicles would need to pay a charge to drive in the zone. It is likely that one of these options may be needed if travel behaviours return to pre-Covid levels. The Government has also recognised that we won’t be able to submit a full business case (FBC) setting out our preferred scheme until February 2021 to allow time to consult on the new proposals.
Are you still going to carry out a diesel ban?
A diesel ban is no longer being considered as an option therefore there are no plans to introduce a diesel ban zone in Bristol.
Why are we consulting?
Our preferred approach is to encourage citizens and businesses to sustain the recent, less polluting travel behaviour that we have seen. We plan to support this with some further improvements to roads around the city that will tackle routes with the worst pollution and make it easier to walk, cycle or use public transport. We are calling these ‘Fast Track’ measures. However uncertainties surrounding the ongoing impact of the pandemic and people’s travel patterns mean we must consider additional measures, in case these are needed to enable us to comply with our legal duties.
In 2019 we asked for feedback on two options to lower air pollution in the city. The 2019 options were a clean air zone (CAZ) in which the most polluting HGVs, buses, coaches, light goods vehicles (LGVs) and taxis (but not private cars) would be charged (2019 option 1) and a diesel car ban (2019 option 2). You can read about the 2019 options on the council’s Consultation and Engagement Hub.
Since 2019, we have done further modelling and identified two new zone options which would involve charging the most polluting vehicles if they drive into central Bristol. Our work so far indicates that these new options for a charging CAZ could improve air quality at least as quickly as those put forward in 2019.
In this survey (www.bristol.gov.uk/caz2020), we are asking for your views on the 2020 charging CAZ options. We must consult now – before we know if these additional options are needed – because we must have plans in place to reduce pollution to within legal limits in the shortest possible time.
This consultation is your chance to tell us what you think about the new options we propose for improving air quality in Bristol.
While we consult, we will continue to monitor changes in traffic and air quality and our technical work is ongoing to estimate more precisely what the date of compliance would be for each of the new charging CAZ options. We will be legally required to put in place the option which is shown by the technical work to achieve compliance in the shortest possible time.
What are the new options?
2020 option 1
A Clean Air Zone covering a small area of central Bristol in which older, more polluting types of HGVs, buses, coaches, light goods vehicles (LGVs), taxis and private cars would be charged to drive in the zone. This is referred to as small CAZ D.
2020 option 2
A small CAZ D (as detailed above), surrounded by a larger charging zone (medium CAZ C) in which older, more polluting HGVs, buses, coaches, LGVs, taxis would be charged to drive in the zone but NOT private cars.
What is the ‘test and learn’ approach and how will it affect the Clean Air Zone options?
As part of the council’s new ‘test and learn approach’, transport upgrades will be rigorously reviewed against an evidence base on traffic, travel patterns and air pollution levels. If modelling shows Bristol can sustain improved air quality and traffic levels, it could mean planned charging measures on polluting vehicles are not needed. If the modelling indicates that the reduced traffic pollution levels cannot be sustained then a charging zone will need to be implemented.
What measures are involved in the new “Street Space Schemes” to help improve air quality?
The Street Space schemes were put in rapidly as we emerged from lockdown, to help people get around safely. The changes were funded by emergency Government funding called the Emergency Active Travel Fund – EATF). Examples of the Street Space schemes in the city centre are:
• Cycle lanes and improvements for buses in specific pollution problem locations, including Park Row / Upper Maudlin Street / Marlborough Street and Lewins Mead / Haymarket;
• Closure of Baldwin Street to through traffic and restrictions to traffic movements to create priority and space for buses and cycling;
• Closure of Bristol Bridge and High Street to general traffic, with access for buses, taxis, motorcycles, cycles and pedestrians;
• The Street Space schemes are already in place and are not part of the proposals in this consultation.
What schemes will be included in the ‘fast track’ measures to improve air quality
• A cycle scheme in the zone to tie in with the new Bristol Street Space programme that includes the closure of Bristol Bridge and Baldwin Street to traffic and lane closures in specific locations such as Upper Maudlin Street / Marlborough Street and Rupert Street
• Enhancement of the Street Space schemes as required to further improve air quality
• Closure of Cumberland Road to inbound traffic
• Traffic gating in areas with poor air quality / high congestion levels
• Additional air quality units installed to measure air quality
What times will the zones be in operation?
Either Clean Air Zone would operate 24 hours a day, every day of the week.
What is the difference between a Clean Air Zone and a congestion charge?
A congestion charge and a Clean Air Zone are related but are not the same. Clean Air Zones are designed to improve air quality to meet legal requirements and therefore focus on tackling the most polluting vehicles and don’t necessarily involve a charge. A congestion charge does not distinguish between vehicles based on pollution, but aims to reduce the total number of vehicles on the road or within an area. A Clean Air Zone may well impact on congestion, but this is likely to only be in the short-term whilst vehicles are upgraded to cleaner models or people adjust their travel choices.
What other improvements are you planning to improve transport across the city?
Earlier this year, the Mayor of Bristol unveiled plans to accelerate existing transport ambitions to improve walking, cycling and bus journeys in the city centre and help Bristolians get around safely during the pandemic. Info on where we are up to with this is available at:
www.bristol.gov.uk/transport-plans-and-projects/covid-19-road-changes
Whilst this is out of scope of the CAZ project we will align with the schemes where appropriate.
Bristol City Council, in partnership with the West of England Combined Authority, has now applied for further government funding to extend and strengthen the temporary work already done.
Additional proposals to work with the community and close several neighbourhood roads to through traffic have also been put forward.
Detail is available at: https://news.bristol.gov.uk/news/new-wave-of-major-transportimprovements-for-bristol
Why has the timeline for the Bristol Clean Air Zone changed?
The world around us has changed due to the pandemic and this has meant that as part of the planning for the submission of the Final Business Case we have needed to review the changing evidence base. There has been a lot less traffic in the city and people are now working differently which we must take into account when finalising our clean air plans.
We have also needed to balance the effects on Bristol’s economy and how to support businesses during this time of great economic uncertainty. It is vital we recognise the direct link between economic prosperity and improved health, and mitigate impacts on those on lower incomes with our plans.
Bristol is not on its own, with other city’s reviewing their clean air proposals and, in a number of cases, delaying the implementation of schemes.
Is there any money available to help me if I am affected by this?
• We are considering concessions for low income households, small businesses and taxi owners. The potential exemptions and concessions have not been finalised. Details will be finalised as part of the full business case for the preferred scheme in early 2021.
• We have been working with the hospital to look at ways to support staff, patients and visitors to the hospital. Options are still being discussed and considered.
• In addition to loans, grants and mobility credits, we are considering concessions or exemptions from the charge (if required) for some of those more greatly affected.