Liverpool Green Party renew calls, and say Rome and Paris have set examples to be followed.
Liverpool Green Party today renewed calls to introduce a partial ban on cars travelling into the city centre on some Sundays, in a move echoed in Rome and Paris this month.
The Mayor of Rome has made Sunday semi-car free, in order to increase air quality, and promote public transport use, and Liverpool Green Councillors believe the same idea should be put in place in Liverpool. The move follows similar restrictions imposed in Paris, Athens, Brussels and other major cities around the world.
‘Liverpool already has some of the most polluted air in the region, and the council has done little to combat that. In fact, the council have played a part in adding to the problem by exceeding their own cap for city centre car parking spaces and allowing trees to be removed,‘ said the leader of Liverpool Green Party’s Council group, Councillor Tom Crone.
“What I’d like to see is an area around Liverpool City Centre where cars won’t be allowed to enter on maybe one Sunday per month during the spring and summer. We need to work with the bus companies to add a better, more reliable, and cheaper bus service, encouraging people to travel into the city centre by public transport and giving people the opportunity to walk and cycle in when the city has lower levels of emissions.“
Cllr Crone, who is Green Party candidate for Metro-Mayor has said he would like the bus companies to come under the authority of the Metro-Mayor and has vowed to work with them to ensure people across the city region are better served by public transport and that prices are reviewed in line with other major cities. Cllr Crone has also raised concerns about emission levels across the region pointing out that councils need to act soon before more people suffer from ill-health in the Liverpool City Region.
“It’s fantastic to see Liverpool has been award £3.4million to create a green corridor, and myself and the Green councillors are all for these improvements. What we need to do, however, is to work with the relevant authorities to ensure we see the maximum benefit from this green corridor, and ensure we protect it. Reducing our emissions in the city centre will go towards this.“