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Sheffield City Council has implemented a network of 17 VivaCity sensors to support the implementation of its clean air zone (CAZ).
The company said the sensors, which were installed in March, are monitoring general traffic flow on the outer ring road, as well as increases and decreases in traffic, and the impact of the CAZ on pollutants.
They have been combined with air quality sensors to monitor the affects of an expected reduction in the number of vehicles over three years.
No safe limit
Sheffield’s director of public health, Greg Fell, said: “When it comes to air pollution the evidence is clear – there is no safe limit.
“In Sheffield alone, air pollution contributes to between 250 to 500 deaths each year, and causes life threatening illnesses such as strokes, lung cancer and cardiovascular disease. Children and the elderly are particularly vulnerable to the damage caused by air pollution. For children, the effects begin as early as the baby’s first weeks in the womb.
“Initiatives, such as the clean air zone in Sheffield, will be a step towards cleaner air and a higher standard of health for local people. Through the CAZ we are working towards lowering harmful levels of NO2 in the city by reducing the number of older and heavier polluting vehicles driving around the wider Sheffield area, and sensors, such as VivaCity’s, are an integral part of monitoring traffic flow, alongside air quality sensors to understand the impact of Sheffield’s CAZ.”
The city’s CAZ is a class C chargeable zone for the most polluting heavy and light goods vehicles, vans, buses, coaches and taxis.
