Pedestrians, rejoice! Now you can walk freely on London streets without the annoying car honking. The London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, is considering to introduce car-free days in the busy city. The aim is to reduce city’s worsening air pollution and improve air quality.

The compact city of London is infamous for its bad air affecting the health of many citizens and an estimated death of 9,000 Londoners every year. And the London Mayor, highly concerned about environmental issues, is bound to solve the “shameful” public health crisis.

“Tackling toxic emissions from the most polluting vehicles is a core part of the hard-hitting measures the mayor has introduced to help clean up London’s air, from delivering the toxicity charge (T-Charge) in central London, to the early introduction of the Ultra-Low Emission Zone, and transforming the bus fleet,” a spokesperson for Khan’s office tells the Independent. “The mayor is determined to do everything in his power to protect the health of Londoners and prioritise walking, cycling and public transport and reduce Londoners’ dependency on polluting cars.”

The car-ban would be implemented in specific areas of London on an annual basis. Although there are already a number of car-restricted days in London for annual events, a few more can lead to a dramatically decreased pollution levels.

The city officials met on Tuesday to discuss how to roll out the car-ban in the city with “more ambitious plans” in the pipeline for 2019.

“The mayor already supports a number of car-restricted days for annual events in London, and he has asked City Hall officials to consider additional opportunities for car-free activities as part of his healthy streets vision,” said a spokesman.”

More and more cities are planning to introduce car-free days throughout the world. It’s a common practice in Paris. The main aim is to tackle the air pollution, but it also helps in beating the traffic and promoting a healthy habit of walking and using bicycles.

Image Credit: David Marcu via Unsplash