Quote:
Originally Posted by Leo the Dog
Which may be true, I just don't see this reducing air pollution.
You could end all vehicle traffic in lower manhattan, but air quality would remain the same.
The key is not road closures, but technology, high mpg hybrids, hydrogen (new Toyota Mirai), or electric vehicles like Teslas or Volts.
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Actually, you'd be surprised how localized the effects of pollution from vehicular exhaust can be. Oxford Street in London has some of the worst air in Europe, largely because of idling buses sitting in constant traffic, but it's totally different a few blocks away. Remember that vehicle exhaust is dishcharged just a couple of feet above the ground, and those particles are heavier than the air around them, so a lot of it just sort of sits.
See link:
http://www.londonair.org.uk/london/asp/nowcast.asp
The better argument against this is that traffic congestion (and idling vehicles) are the worst thing for air quality. A congestion charge helps as it makes driving uneconomical for many people (including many of those with the oldest cars). You give discounts for hybrid/electric vehicles to encourage their use, and you regulate emissions for commercial and livery vehicles at a stricter standard than the applicable national or state regulations.
"Pedestrianizing" all of central Paris sounds completely unworkable. It's never been a pedestrian city - before it had automobiles, it had streetcars and trams and carriages. And I don't know what Times Square is like these days (other than best avoided as always), but the changes there have certainly made traffic worse.