Following in the footsteps of leaders in Milan and New York City who are heeding global calls to #BuildBackBetter from the coronavirus pandemic, London Mayor Sadiq Khan on Friday unveiled plans to create “one of the largest car-free zones in any capital city in the world” to improve local air quality and encourage more walking and cycling.
“This is genuinely exciting,” London-based author and physicist Helen Czerski tweeted of the plans. “Yes, of course, it will be disruptive (and like any change, there will be both winners and losers at the start). But it could also make London a far more human place and a new sort of city, with huge health benefits for everyone.”
Beginning this week, the city will also reintroduce fee schemes for drivers that aim to cut pollution and help tackle the climate emergency: the low emission zone, the ultra-low emission zone, and the congestion charge — the last of which may temporarily increase next month.
Khan has made tackling London’s polluted air a top priority since taking office in 2016. The Labour Party member released figures last month showing how air quality in the UK capital has “dramatically improved” in the wake of both anti-pollution measures introduced in 2017 and the city’s pandemic-related lockdown. That only gives all the more encouragement to promote more cycling in the city.
