We’ve got the map and the equipment – but can you help us with our study?
We’re planning a new air quality study in Tower Hamlets and Newham. If you live in or near Poplar, Silvertown or Canning Town, we’d love you to take part in it.
No to Silvertown Tunnel has teamed up with Mapping For Change to carry out the survey, which will measure air quality in an area stretching from Poplar’s Aberfeldy Estate through to Britannia Village in Silvertown and Canning Town’s Keir Hardie Estate.
Results from the study will be used in the campaign against the Silvertown Tunnel, which is being proposed by TfL with the support of Newham Council and Poplar & Canning Town MP Jim Fitzpatrick.
Rather than diverting traffic away from the congested Blackwall Tunnel, the proposed Silvertown Tunnel is more likely to increase traffic and pollution in communities on both sides of the Thames.
Earlier this month, London’s deputy mayor for transport, Isabel Dedring, admitted to MPs that City Hall’s planned river crossings would lead to a “doubling of traffic” on local roads.
We’re looking for volunteers who can spare a couple of hours next week to help us install tubes that can measure levels of nitrogen dioxide in the air – and who can spare a couple of hours in early March to take them down again.
If you can spare a couple of hours between 2-6 February and 2-6 March, please get in touch via info@silvertowntunnel.co.uk. The dates are chosen to match those used by local authorities when they measure air quality.
It’ll be our third air quality survey, and it’s the first time we’ve worked with Mapping For Change, which promotes empowering local communities to become healthier and more sustainable. Alongside our project, Mapping For Change is also working on studies in Hackney and Catford, as well as another survey covering Vauxhall and Streatham.
Our first study, in 2013, investigated areas affected by the proposed tunnel south of the river, while in 2014 we looked at a broader area of south-east and east London. This new study will home in on areas directly affected by both the Silvertown Tunnel and the existing Blackwall Tunnel.
“Local politicians in Newham and Tower Hamlets don’t want to admit the Silvertown Tunnel will be a blight on east London,” No to Silvertown Tunnel campaigner Chris Taylor says.
“The Silvertown Tunnel will make a bad problem even worse by bringing new traffic to the area. We’re gathering more evidence to show them that they need to work to cut traffic levels in Poplar, Canning Town and Silvertown – not increase them. The more help we can get from locals, the better our work will be.”
No to Silvertown Tunnel is also working alongside Network for Clean Air and community groups south of the river on their own independent air quality studies. The Charlton Central Residents Association, Westcombe Society, East Greenwich Residents’ Association and a group in Slade Green, near Crayford, are all due to begin their studies in the coming months.