How far can you walk in 20 minutes? To mark Clean Air Day, local residents have designed and installed boards to tell us.
People are being encouraged to walk to destinations which are under twenty minutes away on foot, so a busy Kirkstall junction is now populated with signposts to places like Kirkstall Abbey, Bramley Fall Park and Kirkstall Valley Nature Reserve. For one of the most polluted cities in the UK, this is a significant step.
Local man John Puddephatt said:
“The Kirkstall Valley is home to many beautiful places, but sadly it feels like people’s day-to-day experience of it is dominated by sitting in or walking alongside long queues of traffic. Leeds City Council declared a climate emergency and is aiming to be carbon neutral by 2030, which recognises the seriousness of the problems we face, but as local residents, we need to each play our part where we can.
We decided to get creative with these signs to do something positive for Clean Air Day, and remind people that the Kirkstall Valley is a great place to explore on foot.”
More signs are planned over a wider area if a sufficiently positive reaction is received, indicating additional walkable destinations.
In Oakwood, signs have been installed informing people about the dangerously high air pollution levels in the area. Locals have been measuring levels of air quality, only to discover that they are often poorer than in cities such as Beijing.
More information is available:
Making Leeds a zero carbon city: Our Future Leeds.
Transforming Kirkstall Valley for learning and leisure: Kirkstall Valley Development Trust
Creating a liveable and walkable Leeds: Leeds Living Streets Group
Photographs provided by Let’s Dance Agency.
