Whether for it or against it, the City of York Council is looking for residents’ views on the proposed introduction of a Clean Air Zone in the city centre.
As part of this consultation, a drop-in event is taking place on Monday 23 July between 3- 6pm at West Offices, where officers will be available to answer questions and provide more information about the proposals.
Whilst the council has taken a number of steps to reduce pollution in the city centre, it is taking the initiative to take a serious look at introducing the new zone. Because most of the harmful city centre pollution is caused by diesel vehicles, with city buses producing around a quarter of this diesel exhaust, a clear air zone would need to apply to city buses to make it viable, which could affect bus services going forward.
Cllr Tony Richardson, Conservative spokesperson for the environment said: “We’d really like to hear your views on the proposals and invite all who can make it to the drop-in session to find out more.
“The proposal targets buses because this would have the greatest impact on reducing pollutants by requiring these to be electric or low emission vehicles.
“However, the city’s local bus services are key to brining people into York and reducing other vehicular traffic, so it’s important that we’re able to get as many views as possible on these proposed changes through this survey and the drop-in event.”
The survey is available to complete at www.york.gov.uk/consultations. Alternatively, please ask for a paper copy at West Offices.
To find out more about which bus services could be affected, or for more background on this proposal, visit: http://democracy.york.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=733&MId=10195