Ban cars one hour a day, MP says

Labour former minister Denis MacShane has said that London's streets should be closed to cars and traffic for an hour every day.

The Rotherham MP claimed that banning vehicles from the capital's roads would let people going to work, cycling, walking the dog or doing the school run undertake their tasks without having their lungs "clogged with the filthy fumes of our city".

Mr MacShane used Bogota, the capital of Columbia, as an example saying that it had created a paradise for pedestrians and cyclists by banning traffic every Sunday.

During Commons question time, Mr MacShane told Environment Minister Jim Fitzpatrick: "Why don't you take your team to Bogota in Colombia - a city of seven million - where every Sunday all vehicular traffic is banned, and it becomes a paradise for cyclists, walkers and joggers?

"Why can't we shut down London for a day a week or an hour each morning to allow children to be taken to school, to allow me to be able to bike or jog to Parliament without my lungs being clogged up with the filthy fumes of our city?

"An hour free of traffic a day in London."

Mr Fitzpatrick said there had been "significant reductions" in road transport emissions since 1997 despite a 13% increase in road traffic.

He also said the Mayor of London was responsible for improving air quality in the capital and would be publishing a public consultation on a draft air quality strategy shortly.

"We look forward to seeing what he recommends," Mr Fitzpatrick added.

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