Petrol and diesel cars banned from east London roads
Peak-time move is made in a bid to reduce emissions, with drivers facing a £130 fine if they breach the rules
Petrol and diesel cars have been banned from nine roads in east London to try to combat rising emissions.
The scheme, which came into play today, will see drivers fined for using any vehicle other than an electric or hybrid model on certain routes of Hackney and Islington during peak times.
Under the new rules, only vehicles producing less than 75g/km CO2 will be allowed to use the routes then. Any driver found breaching these rules will be hit with a £130 fine.
It means that only the latest pure electric and hybrid vehicles can use the routes during peak times.
Restrictions have come into play from 7am to 10am and 4pm to 7pm on weekdays, affecting Blackall Street, Cowper Street, Paul Street, Tabernacle Street, Ravey Street, Singer Street, Willow Street, Charlotte Road and Rivington Street.
Cameras will be used to identify vehicles flouting the rules. Residents and businesses with on-street car parking permits or an off-street parking space are exempt, as are Blue Badge holders plus essential traffic such as emergency service and waste collection vehicles.
Islington Green Party councillor and London Assembly member Caroline Russell said: “Islington and Hackney have seized the opportunity to give people a really strong message about taking pollution seriously and to show the scale of London’s health emergency.”
The scheme is being introduced in response to mounting air pollution. The current EU limit for nitrogen dioxide is an annual average of 40 micrograms per cubic metre of air, but this was exceeded at more than 50 monitoring sites throughout the capital last year.
