Air quality continues to improve on Park Street

Nitrogen dioxide levels on Park Street in Bridgend town centre are continuing to fall following actions which have resulted in significant improvements in local air quality.

An annual update report presented to the Cabinet of Bridgend County Borough Council by the Shared Regulatory Service has confirmed that despite continuing to narrowly exceed national targets, emissions recorded along the busy road have dropped by as much as 22 per cent since an Air Quality Management Area was established in 2019.

This introduced a number of measures designed to tackle nitrogen dioxide levels, improve traffic flow, reduce the number of vehicles queuing along the road, and ensure that emissions fall into line with statutory targets.

These improvements include the installation of a right-hand turn lane into Heol-y-Nant from Park Street, and a full upgrade of the traffic light system at the junction between Park Street and Angel Street to ensure that traffic can move through the junction at optimum levels.

As a result, air quality along Park Street is expected to be fully compliant with national targets by 2026, and the council can start to look at whether the Air Quality Management Area is still necessary from 2027 onwards.

This is fantastic news and I am delighted to see how the action plan and the efforts of the Shared Regulatory Service are having such a positive impact along Park Street.

Residents can be assured that we will continue to regularly monitor nitrogen dioxide levels along the route, and that we will continue to take action until full compliance has been met.

Councillor Hywel Williams, Cabinet Member for Finance and Performance