Prague - In the whole country no other inhabitants face so much pollution and increased noise levels like those living in Prague's Legerova street.

Now, local authorities decided to tackle the problem by cutting down the number of lanes.

"Living in Legerova street is absolutely horrific," says Václav Vondrášek, deputy mayor of Prague 2, where the dirtiest street in the country happens to be.

Central Bohemia's expert on health issues Eva Rychlíková discovered that people living in this street face a drastically higher risk to get lung cancer. "There is no other [street] like that," said Rychlíková.

Statistics coming from the World health Organization and Czech Meteorology and Hygiene Institute are not very optimistic either. The concentration of dust particles in 2007 was 277 times higher than the allowed level, while last year it was 140 times higher.

The noise level exceeds 70 decibel, even in the nighttime. The allowed noise level in this case is 40 decibel. There are about 1,200 people living in Legerova street.

Positive effects on business

Prague town hall authorities warned that should the measure to cut the Legerova lanes cause traffic problems, all the lanes would be put back in operation.

"The main thing is to withstand the pressure from those who promote driving in Prague," said Jarmila Johnová from Prague Mothers organization that has been advocating traffic curbs downtown Prague.

"Drivers need to learn not to use this road as transit," said Johnová.

Limiting traffic downtown has a positive impact on local economy. According to Johnová, street life becomes livelier with new shops, restaurants and hotels mushrooming along the less busy roads.