THE Low Emission Zone for all vehicles is soon to be enforced in Glasgow city centre.

It has not been without controversy.

There are obvious issues regarding the taxi trade around the cost of complying with the new rules, which has made its views known to the council and there is a problem there to be resolved.

From June 1 the LEZ will apply to all vehicles, commercial and private cars, with some limited exemptions.

READ MORE: Spotlight: Glasgow's new LEZ coming soon. Here's what you need to know

The motivation is health, to create cleaner air in an area that has for decades produced illegally high levels of pollution.

But much of the debate has centred around cars and has been characterised as pro-car and anti-car.

Like other initiatives to tackle pollution or congestion in the city centre, the LEZ has been branded anti-car, anti-motorist and a money-making scheme.

It can be argued that parking fees in the city centre and expanding to other areas and the annual increase is about raising money.

The LEZ doesn’t charge a fee, unlike some others like the London Ultra Low Emission Zone.

Instead, it is a fine which ratchets up with every offence.

READ MORE: 'We know this is going to work' transport convener says LEZ is right

And the vast majority of cars will not be affected, with the council estimating 90% of vehicles that enter the city centre will still be able to after June 1.

So, it seems on this occasion at least, we can say the move is on health grounds.

Air quality in Glasgow is an ongoing issue.

Previously the problem was old and dirty buses, belching out diesel fumes in the air.

Renfield Street, Union Street, Hope Street and Argyle Street were the pollution hotspots where it was dangerous to breathe in.

Phase one of the LEZ has helped bring down the high levels of pollutants, namely nitrogen dioxide (NO2), in the core city centre area.

Lockdown had a part to play as well with levels dropping to what was considered safe in 2020.

This is obvious as very few people were in the city centre.

READ MORE: LEZ coming to Glasgow to cut pollution. How has it worked in London?

However, as soon as the travel and social distance restrictions were lifted, according to the council, Glasgow was one of the fastest to reach illegal levels of air pollution.

So, if it's still breaching safe levels it seems obvious that further action is needed.

It has been identified that people in the more deprived areas of the city are being disproportionately affected by pollution.

Glasgow still has a lower-than-average car ownership figure and in the least affluent areas that is even more so.

For decades, when it was unusual for people to own a car, the main streets in our communities were busy with cars coming in from the wealthier suburbs.

In the morning and late afternoon rush hours, the air in these streets would be filled with fumes from cars belonging to people who did not live there.

High canyon-like streets with tenements on either side created ideal conditions for fumes to be trapped at a low level.

READ MORE:LEZ will have 'devastating impact' on taxi trade warns Glasgow MSP

At the same time, children in these areas would be walking to and from school, breathing in the fumes of those who were able to afford to buy and run a car.

They had no choice but to suck it up.

Much has changed since then. Glasgow still has lower car ownership but there are many more in every community.

Cars are cleaner than they were, there are more low-emission cars, hybrid vehicles and electric cars, while still prohibitively expensive for most people, are growing in number.

But still, there is a pollution problem creating hazardous levels of toxins.

While monitoring of areas outside the city centre show improvement, reports still show Hope Street with above legal limits.

The legal limit is 40mg of NO2 per cubic metre set by European Ambient Air Quality Directive.

In Hope Street, it is 45.4mg per cubic metre.

Pollution is still linked to premature death and illness with reports showing people in Glasgow far more likely to die due to a respiratory illness as a result of inhaling vehicle fumes than they are from being involved in a vehicle crash.

There are LEZs and similar all over Europe. It appears that most of them if not all can show it has led to a reduction in pollution, meaning cleaner air for people to breathe.

So, if Glasgow still has a pollution problem despite all the technological advances the question must be: if not a Low Emission Zone, then what?