Fair Air For East Dulwich - Air Quality Monitoring
Donation protected
Fair Air for East Dulwich Community Air Quality Monitoring Fundraising
Southwark Council introduced East Dulwich LTN in September 2020, following a similar LTN in Dulwich Village June 2020.
The council used emergency traffic orders to close traffic to select side roads for social distancing and to enable more active travel.
But Southwark council did no traffic or air quality monitoring before closing these roads and has done minimal traffic monitoring on the surrounding boundary roads that have taken the displaced traffic - recent data has indicated huge spikes in traffic and congestion since the LTNs were implemented.
Pic taken of Lordship Lane 8am Monday 8th March 2020
In East Dulwich the roads taking most of the burden are Grove Vale, East Dulwich Grove and Lordship Lane. The routes already carry the highest traffic volumes in the area and in 2019 registered above illegal levels of pollution from the very limited number of Nitrogen Dioxide diffusion tube (NO2) monitors that exist.
These roads are also where most people in East Dulwich shop and work, Lordship Lane is the main shopping highstreet of the area and location of Harris Primary School.
Grove Vale is the location of more businesses, bus stops, East Dulwich station and Goose Green Primary School and Yeeha Nursery, while East Dulwich Grove is home to Tessa Jowell Health Centre, EDG Nursery, Charter ED, Alleyns Secondary and Primary and JAGS. Some 3000+ children use this road to access their schools and bus stops.
Southwark Council have not carried out any air quality monitoring outside or around any of these sites, and have not introduced any additional air quality monitoring since introducing LTNs.
All roads are residential, many with a high proportion of BAME residents (as high as 60%) and social housing who are known to suffer more from the effects of air pollution. As many as 60% of businesses on some of these roads are also BAME.
We are exceptionally worried about the traffic increases we are seeing on these already busy roads, and the lack of on the ground monitoring our council is undertaking especially around our schools and main routes to school.
9-year-old Ella Kissi Debra died in 2013 from severe asthma contributed to by her exposure to “excessive air pollution” from the South Circular. 33% of the population lives within within 50m of highly polluted main roads.
Ella's friends have set up their own campaign to tackle the racial inequality of air pollution, Choked Up: https://twitter.com/chokedup_uk?lang=en
Children's lung and brain development can be severely impacted by air pollution and the list of health concerns linked to air pollution is growing every day from lung disease, to miscarriage, mental health, breast cancer, low birth weight, diabetes, dementia.
We need to know now what the air pollution levels are so we can track and monitor them to protect everyone's health.
We also know that the increased traffic and reduced access has had very worrying impacts on ambulances ability to reach patients and bus journey times.
NO2
Nitrogen dioxide is a key indicator of air pollution. It is the main gas emitted from vehicles and is measured by absorption into a porous material held within a tube.
To get a good idea of pollution levels in an area monitoring should be done over several months and in unison at several locations.
As we come out of Covid and people are still wary of using public transport we are incredibly worried that the traffic and pollution on these roads, around so many vulnerable groups, will just get worse.
The roads changes have been introduced with no consultation or adequate EqIA or mitigation of the problems the council were aware they would likely create and the closures are having huge unfair impacts on vast swathes of our community.
This video summarises the changes and inequality of the impacts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=xjauhyKUixg
What we propose:
We are crowdfunding intially for £1500 for at least six No2 diffusion tubes to be placed in locations on Grove Vale, Lordship Lane and East Dulwich Grove in high pedestrian traffic areas and near schools and nurseries to monitor NO2 levels for a minimum of 1 year. If we can raise above our goal we can the lengthen the period of monitoring or introduce more monitors across East Dulwich on more high traffic roads.
Funds will also be used to raise awareness via leafletting and posters.
We are working with Mapping for Change and will post air pollution levels on their public Community Air Quality Maps.
https://mappingforchange.org.uk/projects/citizen-science-used-to-map-community-air-quality/
Who we are:
We are a group of local East Dulwich residents, parents and businesses, who have constantly been asking Southwark Council to monitor air pollution on these roads to no avail.
The traffic and pollution directly impacts our lives everyday and that of our children, your children and everyone who works and shops at local businesses or walks to and waits at public transport hubs or local services every day.
Southwark Council introduced East Dulwich LTN in September 2020, following a similar LTN in Dulwich Village June 2020.
The council used emergency traffic orders to close traffic to select side roads for social distancing and to enable more active travel.
But Southwark council did no traffic or air quality monitoring before closing these roads and has done minimal traffic monitoring on the surrounding boundary roads that have taken the displaced traffic - recent data has indicated huge spikes in traffic and congestion since the LTNs were implemented.
Pic taken of Lordship Lane 8am Monday 8th March 2020In East Dulwich the roads taking most of the burden are Grove Vale, East Dulwich Grove and Lordship Lane. The routes already carry the highest traffic volumes in the area and in 2019 registered above illegal levels of pollution from the very limited number of Nitrogen Dioxide diffusion tube (NO2) monitors that exist.
These roads are also where most people in East Dulwich shop and work, Lordship Lane is the main shopping highstreet of the area and location of Harris Primary School.
Grove Vale is the location of more businesses, bus stops, East Dulwich station and Goose Green Primary School and Yeeha Nursery, while East Dulwich Grove is home to Tessa Jowell Health Centre, EDG Nursery, Charter ED, Alleyns Secondary and Primary and JAGS. Some 3000+ children use this road to access their schools and bus stops.
Southwark Council have not carried out any air quality monitoring outside or around any of these sites, and have not introduced any additional air quality monitoring since introducing LTNs.
All roads are residential, many with a high proportion of BAME residents (as high as 60%) and social housing who are known to suffer more from the effects of air pollution. As many as 60% of businesses on some of these roads are also BAME.
We are exceptionally worried about the traffic increases we are seeing on these already busy roads, and the lack of on the ground monitoring our council is undertaking especially around our schools and main routes to school.
9-year-old Ella Kissi Debra died in 2013 from severe asthma contributed to by her exposure to “excessive air pollution” from the South Circular. 33% of the population lives within within 50m of highly polluted main roads.
Ella's friends have set up their own campaign to tackle the racial inequality of air pollution, Choked Up: https://twitter.com/chokedup_uk?lang=en
Children's lung and brain development can be severely impacted by air pollution and the list of health concerns linked to air pollution is growing every day from lung disease, to miscarriage, mental health, breast cancer, low birth weight, diabetes, dementia.
We need to know now what the air pollution levels are so we can track and monitor them to protect everyone's health.
We also know that the increased traffic and reduced access has had very worrying impacts on ambulances ability to reach patients and bus journey times.
NO2
Nitrogen dioxide is a key indicator of air pollution. It is the main gas emitted from vehicles and is measured by absorption into a porous material held within a tube.
To get a good idea of pollution levels in an area monitoring should be done over several months and in unison at several locations.
As we come out of Covid and people are still wary of using public transport we are incredibly worried that the traffic and pollution on these roads, around so many vulnerable groups, will just get worse.
The roads changes have been introduced with no consultation or adequate EqIA or mitigation of the problems the council were aware they would likely create and the closures are having huge unfair impacts on vast swathes of our community.
This video summarises the changes and inequality of the impacts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=xjauhyKUixg
What we propose:
We are crowdfunding intially for £1500 for at least six No2 diffusion tubes to be placed in locations on Grove Vale, Lordship Lane and East Dulwich Grove in high pedestrian traffic areas and near schools and nurseries to monitor NO2 levels for a minimum of 1 year. If we can raise above our goal we can the lengthen the period of monitoring or introduce more monitors across East Dulwich on more high traffic roads.
Funds will also be used to raise awareness via leafletting and posters.
We are working with Mapping for Change and will post air pollution levels on their public Community Air Quality Maps.
https://mappingforchange.org.uk/projects/citizen-science-used-to-map-community-air-quality/
Who we are:
We are a group of local East Dulwich residents, parents and businesses, who have constantly been asking Southwark Council to monitor air pollution on these roads to no avail.
The traffic and pollution directly impacts our lives everyday and that of our children, your children and everyone who works and shops at local businesses or walks to and waits at public transport hubs or local services every day.
Organizer
Fair Air For East Dulwich
Organizer
England