New "Switch Off" signs praised by Lib Dems

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Thu 29th Jul 2004

Barry Dodd: Delighted with success of signs

Residents of Arley Hill in Cotham have praised action to combat air pollution in their road.

Over 60 residents living around the Arley Hill area have signed a petition saying that new signs along the road have encouraged drivers to turn off their engines when stuck in peak time jams.

Traffic sometimes chokes a 200 metre stretch of Arley Hill while held up waiting to enter Cheltenham Road. It can take 10 minutes to pass the junction's traffic lights. The City Council has recently installed "Switch Off" signs in an attempt to reduce air pollution. These are the first signs in the country to be installed near a signal controlled junction.

Residents have been so pleased by the results that they have signed a petition of thanks. The petition was collected by well known Bristol environment campaigner Pete Taylor, the national co-ordinator of the SWITCH OFF campaign. Mr Taylor presented the petition on the morning of 28 July in Arley Hill to Cllr Barry Dodd, Lib Dem Council Cabinet Member and councillor for Cotham, along with Cllr Evelyn Elworthy and Stephen Williams, Lib Dem Prospective MP for Bristol West.

The signs join others located near schools in some parts of Bristol. The SWITCH OFF campaign has been backed by Lib Dem councillors in Bristol for over five years. Another feature of the campaign has been "Switch off when idling" rear windscreen stickers.

Cllr Barry Dodd said, "I am delighted with the success of these signs on Arley Hill so far. I shall recommend to Cllr Anne White (Cabot Ward) who is the Cabinet member for Environment, Transport and Leisure, that she introduces similar schemes elsewhere in Bristol."

Stephen Williams said, "As the former councillor for this area I worked with local residents to introduce the traffic calming measures on Arley Hill and Nugent Hill that led to a dramatic cut in the amount of through traffic using the area as a rat run. I'm delighted that the community now have taken a further step forward to reduce the environmental damage caused by the remaining traffic."

Pete Taylor commented, "The majority of local residents felt that the signs had made a vast improvement to their quality of life by improving air quality and cutting noise pollution. Motorists will benefit also, switching off will lessen your visits to the filling stations, saving fuel and cash. This new initiative really puts Bristol on the map for tackling air pollution."