ePetition details

BCC has so far failed to uphold its climate emergency declaration and so we (the undersigned) are calling on the council to take immediate action by calling for a car free day on 20th Sept.

We believe it is necessary to enact a car-free day in Bristol to demonstrate the councils commitment to improving air quality and promote more sustainable municipal transport.

Bristol’s air pollution is above legal and safe limits and urgently needs to be reduced.

Air pollution causes permanent lung damage in babies and young children and exacerbates lung and heart disease in older people, and particularly affects people living in the city centre and near busy roads. It leads to an estimated 300 premature deaths in Bristol each year. This compares to about 9 people a year killed in road traffic accidents in the city.

In our request for a car free day, we are not asking for a clean air zone or for charges levelled at citizens that directly impacts the ability of the working class in Bristol to live their lives but to make the following changes that will both improve the environmental conditions in Bristol and the lives of the working class in a time of economic transition to a sustainable economy.

1. highlight the need for alternative forms of transportation and municipal planning to make public transportation and cycling a viable alternative to car use.

*We should look to other examples for how we can achieve this reconfiguring of our urban transport environment such as Copenhagen to achieve this plan.

2. Democratise and clean up the Bristol bus fleet.

3. Rather than imposing congestion charges and penalties that effect the working class the hardest, Bristol should support and incentivise taxis and gig economy transportation (such as Uber cars and courier companies) to use more sustainable vehicles.

4. Promote local food and goods producers to reduce transportation time, congestion and refrigeration energy impacts.

5. By holding a car free day Bristol will recognize the health impacts of pollution on the cities population. In the recent Extinction rebellion protests it was found that air quality immediately improved in areas without a car use. We don’t want this cleaner air quality to be an anomaly but the norm here in Bristol.

The car free day will be an opportunity to engage with Bristol’s public to directly envision what the future of our city could look like. A safe place for children to play outside without breathing in polluted air and where the working class can live their lives fully and sustainably.

Started by: Earth Strike (Earth Strike UK)

This ePetition ran from 19/07/2019 to 02/08/2019 and has now finished.

15 people signed this ePetition.