Kingston Council has become one of the first London boroughs to join Breathe London, which will see them trialling an air pollution scheme that collects data from areas around school streets.

Breathe London was set up by Mayor of London Sadiq Khan in September 2020 and its website displays air quality levels from 195 sensors dotted around London.

As part of the scheme, Kingston Council will be measuring air quality in its school street areas, which order traffic to avoid roads near schools at pick-up and drop-off times.

These include the existing Lovelace Primary school street, the upcoming ones at Latchmere and St Agatha's, the proposed school streets at St John's and Christ Church, a possible future school street at St Matthew's.

Air pollution in Kingston is also being tackled through the reduction of motor vehicle access during pick-up and drop-off times at schools and tree planting, with the council aiming to plant 500 trees between November 2021 and March 2022.

Matthew Hill, Assistant Director of Highways, Transport and Regulatory Services at Kingston Council, said: "Schools notoriously have parking and congestion issues, causing issues for residents as well as for emergency vehicles that may need access to the school and nearby properties.

"It also makes the streets dangerous for children to use and is then a barrier to people using sustainable modes to get to school.

"This type of monitoring will enable us to determine whether a School Street scheme is the right option for the school and importantly help to compare air quality between schools across the borough.

"Access to more accurate live data will give us a clearer picture of overall air quality and congestion levels, helping us to identify pollution hotspots.

"We are committed to improving air quality in Kingston."

The Council made the announcement on June 17, just before London Climate Action Week which runs from 26 June to 4 July.

Now in its third year, the annual event brings leading thinkers and communities together in the capital to find practical solutions to climate change. This year there will be virtual climate change events and talks offering advice to communities in London.

To mark London Climate Action Week, Kingston Council highlighted what it is already doing to tackle climate change.

The list includes: moving to 100% LED street lighting, opening a cycle hub, installing electric vehicle chargers and participating in a group-buying scheme for affordable solar panels.

The Council also announced that it will be putting its Climate Emergency Action Plan to the Place Committee in September.

What do you think of the Council's efforts to tackle air pollution and climate change? Let us know - get in touch via [email protected] or simply "Nub It" on our site! [.L]