Many journals have pronounced that London’s ‘filthy air’ is killing people, and we note that all candidates standing for Mayor this year quote Air Quality as a pillar of their campaign. Here, taking the long view, we look more closely at the claims and wider issues, and how they apply to Hammersmith, public transport and cycleways. 

According to King’s College, the reference source for air quality measurements, London is the 2,516th most polluted city in the world

We think that climate change is the key issue here, and which if properly addressed, would deal with many of today’s air quality issues. The reference work ‘Mortality Effects of Long-Term Exposure to Particulate Air Pollution in the United Kingdom’ (A report by the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants [COMEAP] ), says clearly in its executive summary ‘As everyone dies eventually no lives are ever saved by reducing environmental exposures – deaths are delayed resulting in increased life expectancy.’  

Air quality in London started deteriorating about 400 years ago, and for the entire time the Georgians and Victorians were painting the globe pink, sulphur dioxide was around 40 times the current WHO guideline level of 20 µg/m³. It was in fact raining sulphuric acid AKA ‘acid rain’, the effects of which can be seen on the Palace of Westminster or in Turner’s paintings.  The Great Smog of 1952 that killed thousands, appears as a peak on the graph, and created a level over 10 times the level it is now, but our nonagenarian, and in one case centenarian parents survived and are still here with us, begging the question what effect it had on long term life expectancy.

The answer from COMEAP is around six months if you could (unrealistically) remove 100% of all air pollution from all sources, or more realistically 20 days per µg/m³ removed, plus you have to live to those grand old ages otherwise perfectly healthy.  Not as much as the headlines or Twitterati would have it.

Of course this isn’t a complete list of pollutants, there’s PM2.5, PM10, NO₂, and Ozone which have differing WHO thresholds as shown here, and those with respiratory conditions are much more affected than others.

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Cycling in Copenhagen, 2015

The CS9 saga has been running for a couple of years now, and we’re finally beginning to achieve some clarity in the plans for Hammersmith.

CS9 has been renamed CW9 “CycleWay 9” to distance it from existing Central London Superhighways, and provide a facility serving a wider demographic than those installed to date.  The image being promoted is shown in TfL’s Walking and Cycling Commissioner’s Tweet, left, although we feel obliged to point out that despite the wording, the photo is not London at all – this was Copenhagen in 2015.  Nevertheless we believe this more inclusive vision is an appropriate aspiration for our borough’s roads.

Together with other members of the community, we have been successful in persuading H&F Council that TfL’s CS9 plans were flawed, now two different cycle routes are planned:  a fast commuter route using the somewhat underused paths alongside the A4, and something closer to a “Quietway” plus urban realm improvements (greening) in King Street and Hammersmith Road. More on the council website, where an online debate has started.

We expect to be part of the planned residents consultation as we are concerned about potential negative impacts on pedestrians and retailers, significantly slower buses/traffic/increasing pollution, for which there is evidence from schemes such as Winchmore Hill and Waltham Forest.  TfL’s own CS9 Air Quality Report predicts only walking-speed traffic along Hammersmith Road at Olympia, and no overall improvement in air quality.  A council meeting is planned for 9th Sept, which you should attend if you are interested in this scheme (see our diary)…

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Heathrow proposed expansion 2022-2030 (click for full-size)

Eagle-eyed members checking our diary will have spotted that Heathrow chose to splashdown with its consultation roadshow in Hammersmith Town Hall on Wednesday 24th July, the 50th anniversary of the return of the Apollo 11 astronauts.

The date helps highlight the importance of this consultation, something that would provide all of Hammersmith with an experience aggregating daily to something rather closer to launch than to tranquillity.  We had the consultation about airspace earlier in the year (results pending), proposing changes to airspace with new overflights, regardless of a third runway or any other expansion.  This consultation covers the Third Runway et al, equivalent to adding a new airport the size of Gatwick. 

Please attend the consultation if you can; below are half a dozen pointers to questions you might ask.  Please beware that if you offer a preference for this option or that, you may well be counted as a “supporter” of some kind.  If you can’t make the Hammersmith event, there are many others elsewhere. 

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Heathrow impact (image: H&F council)

On Thursday 4th Oct all the organisations presenting a legal challenge to Heathrow expansion will be in court seeking permission to go ahead.

H&F Council have now joined 4 other Councils to challenge the Heathrow decision. Friends of the Earth are challenging it on climate change grounds, and Greenpeace on grounds of air pollution.

The judge will decide which, if any of challenges, can proceed to a full hearing. The campaign needs a big crowd inside and outside the court to show public opposition. The permission hearings will be at the Royal Courts of Justice, if you support the challenge and can attend, please be there by 9 am.

Hammersmith takes one for the TEAM

For those in any doubt as to what 3rd runway traffic might look like, this is what TEAM landing patterns already look like at 6.30 am on a Sunday morning even when the alternation schedule plans to only use the southern runway!  See this link for the current alternation schedule and an understanding of the carte-blanche that is TEAM. 

TEAM landings Sunday 30th Sept 2018, 6.30 AM. Image courtesy Flightradar24.com

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Heathrow noise – Airports Commission final report

You may well be aware that the Government published a document on 5th June which would effectively give outline planning permission for a third runway at Heathrow. Parliament will vote on this in next 2 1/2 weeks. As the Hammersmith Society has said repeatedly, a third runway would have significant negative effects on Hammersmith: increased noise (with the health impacts that brings) from more flights and a new flightpath, increased pollution from more traffic on the A4 and A40 through the Borough, and vastly increased pressure on public transport infrastructure going into and out of central London. If you share these concerns, do email or write, as soon as possible,  to your MP who for most of us is Andy Slaughter (), and the Minister for Transport

The Chair of the  H&F Resident-Led Commission on Airport Expansion, Christina Smyth, has written the following blogpost on the Council’s website: 

Transport for London TfL is progressing its Better Junctions and Cycle Superhighway proposals for the Broadway and Town Centre in conjunction with the Council’s Highways Department. There have been concerns raised over various issues including bus lanes in Beadon Road and further consultations are due to take place at the end of June.

The long term ambition for the Flyunder is still part of the Local Plan but needs further and more committed engagement by TfL.

Preparation is still in progress for the major repair works scheduled for Hammersmith Bridge next year : No dates for the repairs and related closure have been announced yet : The Hammersmith Society have asked to be consulted on the colours and lighting of the bridge.

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The Hammersmith and Fulham Air Quality Commission report was adopted by the Council in November. The Commissioners, chaired by Rosemary Pettit, have recently asked the Council for an update on the Commission’s recommendations.

A total of 25 recommendations were presented to LBHF council, and 17 of these have been acted upon. These include an Urban Ecology Plan, an increase in diesel permit charges, a target of converting Council fleets to low-emission vehicles, and arboricultural and greening policies to be promoted in the Local Plan and Supplementary Planning Documents. Further details

At Government level, MPs from four influential committees will launch a joint inquiry into the scale and impact of UK air pollution. The Environmental Audit Committee, Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, Health Committee and Transport Committee will consider mounting scientific evidence on the health and environmental effects of toxic air. The H&F Air Quality Commission report will be submitted to the inquiry.

At GLA level, the Mayor of London is to prioritise air quality in a new London Plan, expand use of electric buses, reduce vehicle ‘idling’ and review London’s Climate Change and Energy Strategy.