Originally posted on Labour in Coldharbour

Councillors call on TfL to “clean up their act” as new study finds poor air quality is damaging the local area

Coldharbour’s three local councillors have joined Lambeth Labour’s campaign to force Tfl to address poor air quality around Brixton Road and the surrounding area.

The new petition which kicked off this week calls on London’s transport bosses to introduce retro fitted, clean buses after new figures suggested that Brixton Road breached the legal limit for diesel fume pollution for the whole of 2015 after just four days this year. This key road which runs through the heart of Coldharbour is one of the busiest in South London, with large numbers of TfL buses using the road and contributing significantly to pollution in the area.

The petition, sponsored by Cllr Jennifer Brathwaite, the Lambeth cabinet member responsible for transport and the environment, says:

Brixton Road has the worst recorded air quality in London. London buses are the primary cause of this poor air quality which affects the lives of Lambeth residents. Public Health England has estimated that 112 deaths a year are connected to poor air quality in Lambeth. We need TfL to clean up the buses so we can clean up our air quality.

Brixton Road is a TfL road which carries the highest number of buses and taxis in the borough. We call on the Mayor of London to use retro-fitted, clean buses on these roads to protect the people that use them every day.

We are neglected by tube and train services in South London and depend on buses more than  anywhere else – why shouldn’t we have the best ones?

You can sign the petition here – and don’t forget to tweet it using the hashtag #cleanAirBrixton.