Residents and even people from further afield have been sharing their thoughts on news that Bristol's Clean Air Zone (CAZ) boundary will fall in the middle of a street in South Bristol - and it's safe to say many of them have been left feeling a bit baffled. Just days ago BristolLive reported that Osborne Road, just off Coronation Road, is one of the streets in the city which will be split by the CAZ boundary when the scheme launches at the end of November.
And people have taken to social media to share their thoughts on the matter - including some of the street's own residents, who say they are trying to work out how they can bypass it - some have said it's "not right". Meanwhile, others have questioned how the split will affect house prices on the road and some Bath residents have even chipped in and shared their own experiences of living with a CAZ in their own city.
The Clean Air Zone scheme will be launching on November 28 (it is actually a year late) and comes as Bristol City Council is require by law to introduce measures to cut harmful air pollution from vehicles driving in the city centre. And, already, some taking to the comments have been joking that "the clean air is clever enough not to cross the street", while others have pondered why other types of vehicles aren't facing similar charges.
Read more: Bristol Clean Air Zone timeline: the story so far as start date finally announced
One commenter said: "Nothing to do with clean air or they would stop all trains coming into the city centre, running on red diesel and planes flying out of Bristol Airport running on dirty kerosene and ships in Avonmouth and Portbury leaving their engines running all week on red diesel. Putting a charge on Portway is a joke - it's a ring road, there are four cameras coming up, two to go towards the city and SS Great Britain, fair enough.
"But the other two go over the river, away from the city towards A38 Airport and A370 Weston-super-Mare. It's all about the money."
A second added: "Sorting out the toxic factories and banning log burners would have a far more substantial impact than charging people who can't afford new cars."
Meanwhile, the residents of the road featured in the article itself, Osborne Road, claimed that having the CAZ boundary in the middle of their street would mean they would have to drive around it to save themselves some money - adding extra time on their journeys. One commenter said: "I’m a resident of this road, although my car is not affected and I’m just outside of the CAZ it’s not right that half the road is in the zone and the other half isn’t.
"I appreciate the boundary must start somewhere, but half way down the street? Surely some common sense needs to be applied."
A second said: "This CAZ will force me to drive around the outside to avoid it. I have a little one-litre engine car, that costs £9 a day to drive into Bristol. Although it’s free to drive into the Bath CAZ."
And while on the subject of Bath's own CAZ, which came into effect in March 2021, Bath residents chipped in to voice their own experiences, with one writing: "Have this in Bath, makes lots of money, and roads outside the CAZ are a lot busier. Air is no cleaner."
Another agreed, writing: "Yep, confusing signs, people stopping to turn to avoid it, large vehicles getting stuck around the outskirts to avoid it."
And, while the overarching census from those voicing an opinion on this story - and the Clean Air Zone itself - were mainly against it and the boundary line decisions, there were some who believed it was a good thing that 'needed to start somewhere'.
One reader simply commented: "You need a cut off somewhere. Wherever it is will cause some people to feel aggrieved."
What are your thoughts on Bristol's Clean Air Zone? Are you in a street on the boundary line? Let us know in the comments below.
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