Signs have been installed on the streets outside a Mumbles primary school calling for motorists to switch off their engines if they're waiting for "extended periods" at nearby traffic lights, and more could follow at other schools. It's part of a research project funded by the Welsh Government that has been devised to measure air quality and sound on busy city streets - and ultimately come up with ways to provide cleaner air in built-up areas.
As well as the new signs, air quality and sound monitoring units have been gathering data from outside Oystermouth Primary School, Swansea Council said. The school, located in Newton Road, was chosen due to its proximity to a busy road and traffic controls, and local residents have also been asked to get involved in the research project by sharing their "knowledge and beliefs" on engine idling and air quality in the area.
Minister for climate change, Julie James MS, visited the school as part of Clean Air Day on Thursday, June 15 and commented on the new scheme. "We all need to do what we can to ensure our children, and everyone in Wales, breathes clean air," she said. "Through our Local Air Quality Management Support Fund, we are supporting local authorities to undertake a variety of projects to tackle pollution and support health and wellbeing. We look forward to seeing the results of the collaborative idling project at Oystermouth Primary School in Swansea, and what impact this has had on air quality around the school." You can get the biggest Swansea news stories straight to your inbox with our newsletter.
