The air you are breathing is contaminated and you should remain indoors with the windows shut today — if you must leave your home, only use your car.
Most sensible people agree that air pollution is the fault of cyclists and their lobby that has taken away so much road space, forcing drivers to emit more pollution due to longer journeys and more congestion.
However, that is to overlook the role of pavements and the zealot pedestrian lobby which has exclusive use of thousands of miles of essential road space.
It is just common sense that pavements increase congestion and therefore pollution by restricting the number of lanes in a road and reducing parking spaces, forcing drivers to circle for hours in search of one.
Pedestrians' overbearing entitlement includes demanding that vehicles stop for them whenever they decide to cross a road, leading to traffic build up and idling, making them directly responsible for even more harmful pollution.
Walking is unsafe — it puts pedestrians, particularly children, the disabled and elderly at extreme risk — hundreds die needlessly on the pavements every year.
Pregnant women who selfishly choose to walk, expose their unborn child to diesel fumes which can cause disability and lower intelligence, and their offspring's resulting poor judgement can lead to them becoming cyclists or cycling gardeners, rocket scientists and BBC presenters.
Pavements also illegally discriminate against those who cannot walk and have to drive.
Most street crime takes place on pavements creating a hostile and unsafe environment for women, particularly late at night.
Next time you are walking past a shop, ask yourself this: wouldn't it be better if your personal walking area was utilised for something useful, like a parking space, to help our long suffering independent retailers get some custom?
Given the air pollution crisis, climate emergency, BREXIT, COVID and everything else going on, we should think about practical solutions to get our city moving again, and as a first step and a "temporary" measure, we should immediately make pavements dual use — shared with cars and pedestrians.
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Let's have fewer grim, empty and unused pavements which directly cause air pollution:
And more beautiful, shared areas:
Ed Saper ● 1714d