Request ID: FOI-0641-2324 Date published: 22 June 2023
You asked
If the Air Quality in London is so poor why are the RideLondon Classique Cycling and the London Marathon Events held? Surely the Air Quality is damaging the lungs of the participants, the organisers and spectators.
Is the risk of damage to lungs from Poor Air Quality assessed in the TfL Event Risk Assessments?
Please provide copies of the Risk Assessments with the scores before and after mitigation.
We answered
Our ref: FOI-0641-2324/GH Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 29 May 2023 asking for information about air quality. Your request has been considered under the requirements of the Environmental Information Regulations and our information access policy. Unfortunately we do not hold the information you require. The event delivery is outsourced to our delivery partner, London Marathon Events (LME), which is responsible for carrying out the risk assessments for these events. With that said while air quality is not on the risk register and LME does not measure air quality themselves they do draw upon publicly available data from https://www.londonair.org.uk/LondonAir/Default.aspx As you would expect with an event of this nature at which more than 100 miles of roads are closed to traffic to enable cyclists to participate, the pollution levels on the roads that are closed for the event do decrease considerably. RideLondon plays an important role in helping to tackle air pollution and congestion by bringing together people of all cycling abilities to inspire Londoners from all backgrounds to take up cycling as part of their daily lives – helping to increase the number of people using cycles as transport. You may wish to contact the event organisers, RideLondon and London Marathon Events Ltd, to see if they can assist you further. If you are not satisfied with this response please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal. Yours sincerely Graham Hurt FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
