This graphic featured in the Evening News today, highlighting the top 10 most polluted streets in Edinburgh. All in all 8 streets in the Leith Neighbourhood Partnership area break Air Quality rules for Nitrogen Dioxide. These streets are: 

• Commercial Street
• London Road
• Ferry Road
• Leith Walk
• Easter Road
• Bernard Street
• Broughton Road
• Great Junction Street

These streets are clearly the ones affected by heavy traffic levels. Aside from the potential for the city losing millions of pounds in European Union fines, does it matter? Well, according to the 'less traffic briefing paper' by Transform Scotland(pdf), around 2000 people die early every year in Scotland because of poor air quality, so there is clearly a health impact of living with polluted streets - especially if you have an existing respiratory problem like Asthma.

So, what is the council doing about it? Well, they're focussing on buses and lorries as these are the main sources of pollution. Eventually, the Tram will take a lot of buses off Leith Walk, but whilst it's being built we wonder whether it is the current Tram works that have led to increases in pollution levels on Easter Road, as traffic levels have been higher there whilst drivers avoid the Leith Walk road works? 

As time goes by older buses and lorries are replaced with newer, lower pollution ones, and the council is clearly banking on bus and haulage companies taking action to upgrade their stock on a voluntary basis at the moment. 

So, by 2012/2013, when the tram is completed, we might see some air quality improvements in Leith anyway, as buses are replaced by the tram, and the ones that remain should be a bit cleaner.

And if that doesn't work? Well the report does seem to hint that relying on voluntary measures from bus and haulage companies might not be enough - and so it gives councillors some ideas about what more might need to be done:

"Other initiatives undertaken include improved bus fleet, park and ride schemes, increased public transport investment, green fleet vehicles for councils, differential car parking charges, variable speed limits, cycle initiatives, HGV routes, entry time restrictions, plus many other schemes..."

And if that doesn't work, the council will need to impose Low Emissions Zones by law - where all buses and lorries must pass emissions test to gain access. The trouble is - most of those measures have a cost too.

In the meantime, we would like to see the council planning ahead, and incorporating more cycle and pedestrian friendly measures into the public realm works planned in the neighbourhood - especially at key junctions like Picardy Place. This might avoid more incidents like this.

The current administration is proud of the amount of money it spends resurfacing roads and there are lots of places in Leith in places like Lochend Road, that have benefited. Often this has only been on a like-for-like basis however. In places where roads and pavements are scheduled to be resurfaced anyway, shouldn't more effort be put into changing the design of the streets to give cyclists, buses and pedestrians more priority? It would cost very little extra.

If you're worried about the impact poor air quality might be having on your health, then one of the best things you can do is to get out of your car, and choose a different way to travel. It may sound unlikely, but according to Cycle Scotland, cycling exposes you to 25% less pollution than being in a car. Could it be time to make a We Love Leith pledge? 

Lastly, our consultation on ideas that would help Leithers to walk, cycle and take public transport more is still open -  If you haven't voted yet, you can still do it here:

http://weloveleith.uservoice.com