TURNING idling engines off at a busy St Albans junction will help pave the way to a greener city, the district council suggested last night. An action plan for the Air Quality Management Area at The Peahen junction in St Albans city centre – which includ

TURNING idling engines off at a busy St Albans junction will help pave the way to a greener city, the district council suggested last night.

An action plan for the Air Quality Management Area at The Peahen junction in St Albans city centre - which includes putting up signs to encourage drivers to switch off their engines while waiting in queuing traffic - was approved at a cabinet meeting of the St Albans district council on Tuesday.

The plan, which also proposes improving the reliability of the bus services and introducing a car club into St Albans, aims to improve the air quality of the Peahen Junction which, due to the high volume of traffic, suffers high air pollution levels.

Cllr Martin Frearson of Verulam ward, who attended cabinet, said he fully supports the plan: "The Peahen junction suffers such a high volume of traffic in all directions and, just as I do at every junction in St Albans, I always turn my engine off when I am waiting in traffic."

But district council portfolio holder for environment and sustainability Geoff Churchard said that he needed more convincing: "Is there any evidence that asking people to switch their engines off is going to be particularly helpful?

"The scientists do not know what advice to give at the moment.