Analysis: This problem should have been tackled years ago

IT COMES as no surprise to learn that a number of Scottish local authorities breach European air quality standards.

Friends of the Earth Scotland has forecast for years that Scottish local authorities might face European legal action for failure to meet air quality standards.

Successive Scottish governments and most of Scotland's local authority administrations have failed to invest adequately in traffic reduction and cleaner vehicles, instead largely preferring the self-defeating approach of trying to build themselves out of the problem with ever more road capacity.

New road capacity, such as the M74 extension in Glasgow, is only going to make this problem worse.

What we need instead is significant investment in walking and cycling infrastructure and cleaner public transport.

It's not simply the health of international athletes attending the Commonwealth Games in 2014 that the Scottish Government should be worrying about, but the health of Glaswegians who have to live with this pollution every day of their lives.

• Mary Church is a campaigner with Friends of the Earth Scotland.