Nottingham people care about their air. The last Big Wheel survey showed air quality was the public’s top transport concern.

Stationary or slow moving traffic on congested roads gives off high levels of nitrogen dioxide. This can mean health problems for anyone with breathing problems, especially children and the elderly.

Five areas have been declared Air Quality Management Areas – places where pollution levels could breach national standards. They include Trent Bridge, the city centre and the M1. Measurements show that pollution is worst at rush hours.

One of the main purposes of Stan’s Plan is to safeguard the air we breathe by cutting congestion, encouraging more people to use alternatives to the car.

There is another way, too, that road traffic damages our environment, and that is as one of the main causes of global warming. With traffic giving off around a quarter of the world’s carbon dioxide, we all have a big responsibility to consider the way we get around. Stan’s Plan includes lots of ways to encourage green transport.

There is a wider sense, too, in which transport links to the environment, and that is in improving neighbourhoods – cutting traffic noise, improving public spaces and making streets safer..

Road safety is, of course, an essential part of this. Accidents are now at the lowest levels recorded, but child casualty rates are still high in Nottingham. Speed cameras will be used at accident hotspots. Other measures will include 20 mph zones near schools and homes. Motorcyclists will be targeted, too.

Finally, the city’s three regeneration areas – Eastside, Southside and Waterside – give us a big opportunity to improve transport – and nearby local neighbourhoods.