Excluding Brunel Way, the Portway and the Cumberland Basin from Bristol's Clean Air Zone would not have been effective in changing enough vehicles and driving habits as a result of the charges. That was the stark message from council chiefs ahead of the launch of the CAZ on Monday (November 28).
They spoke in response to growing controversy about the decision to create a zone that includes the very western edge of Bristol. Ever since the finalised details of the extent of the Clean Air Zone were announced, the strongest reaction has been the decision to make drivers of non-compliant vehicles pay the charges even if they are travelling over the Cumberland Basin between Ashton Gate and the Portway, and not turning towards the city centre on either side of the river and Floating Harbour.
The Clean Air Zone entrances are now on the A4 Portway and Bridge Valley Road on the approach to Hotwells and the Cumberland Basin, and on the northbound A370 Brunel Way and the slip roads heading towards the bridge at the Winterstoke Road interchange. And that has sparked massive debate.
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Wherever the Clean Air Zone is discussed on social media, on community Facebook pages, on NextDoor, In Your Area, Reddit and in the comments section of Bristol Live, there will always be one or many people criticising the decision to extend the Clean Air Zone out that far, and not have its entrances on the roads like Coronation Road or Hotwell Road heading in to the city centre itself.
Most of the criticism levelled at Bristol City Council for this decision was that it appeared to be a decision made for financial reasons, rather than to improve the air quality. The inclusion of the main route from South Bristol to the north and west of the city was also criticised for ‘splitting the city in two’, and for unfairly affecting businesses and tradespeople south of the river who will now struggle to access markets north of the city centre without taking long detours or paying the charges.
But the council’s leaders have told Bristol Live that the inclusion of the Cumberland Basin in the Clean Air Zone had to be done - otherwise the entire scheme would lose its impact. Council chiefs said that allowing the Portway and Brunel Way to remain outside the CAZ would make an easy route across the city for non-compliant vehicles, and therefore mean fewer drivers would be so impacted that they upgraded their vehicles or changed their commute or travel plans as a result of the Clean Air Zone.
A council spokesperson said: “If we were to remove the Cumberland Basin and the Portway from the Clean Air Zone it would mean we would not be able to make the necessary reductions in pollution levels. It would mean the scheme overall would not have the impact big enough to trigger the kind of changes and improvements we need.
“This all leads back to public health - this is a public health crisis here where pollution is affecting people. Having a major route across the city not included would lessen its overall impact,” she added.
The stretch of Brunel Way between the Winterstoke interchange next to Ashton Gate Stadium and the Hotwells side of Plimsoll Bridge is the busiest section of road in Bristol, outside of some parts of the M5 around Avonmouth and the M32 at Eastville. Not including it in the Clean Air Zone would see traffic levels increase even more, at a time when there is a medium-term question mark over the structure of the 1960s flyover bridge and longer-term questions over the road crossing there with plans to build thousands of new homes and create a new crossing there.
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Back in 2021, the council's cabinet member for transport at the time, Cllr Kye Dudd, said Brunel Way had to be included in the Clean Air Zone, otherwise the Government would not have given the go-ahead for the whole scheme, because it would not have been worth doing in the first place from an air quality point of view. The calculations were that Bristol would take even longer to see air quality levels improve, without the Portway being included. Cllr Dudd said at the time: “We’re really stuck here in terms of what we can do around this one.”
And the Mayor of Bristol explained why the Cumberland Basin and the Portway are included. “Taking the Portway out, it’s not just about what it does to traffic flow on the Portway, it’s the role the Portway plays in encouraging behaviour change and the change of vehicles within the overall city fleet, both private vehicles and commercial vehicles, and that’s part of what the modelling takes into account,” Marvin Rees said.
Today, Mr Rees reiterated that the Clean Air Zone is about air quality, not money-making. “Three quarters of Bristol’s vehicles already won’t have to pay to enter the CAZ and we’ve secured £42 million - the most anywhere in the country - to help residents and businesses upgrade their vehicles,” he said. “Exemptions are in place until the end of March 2023, for hospital patients and visitors, for low income workers and blue badge holders.
“The Clean Air Zone will deliver clean air for Bristol and improve health outcomes for all residents and for future generations. Now, our children are the worst affected by respiratory illnesses like asthma and the roll-out of the CAZ is an important step to help tackle these kinds of health issues,” he added.
One objection in the early days of the Clean Air Zone planning was that the route across the western edge of the city from the Portway across the Cumberland Basin and the A370 Long Ashton bypass was occasionally a diversion route for traffic off the M5 if there was a closure of the Avonmouth Bridge.
This week, Bristol Live revealed that, should that happen, the cameras on the Portway and Winterstoke Road junction would be switched off, so diverted drivers would not have to pay.
Read next:
- Where the borders for the scheme will fall street by street
- When will the CAZ charges operate
- Clean Air Zone start date finally announced
- Clean Air Zone fee and how people will be charged
- Bristol Clean Air Zone timeline: the story so far as start date finally announced
- Thousands of drivers 'caught' in Clean Air Zone every day in council test
- Camera error sends Clean Air Zone warning letters to drivers who've never been to Bristol
- Clean Air Zone and underground metro will make cycling safer claim council chiefs
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