From Haringey Living Streets:
Road transport is the biggest emitting sector of carbon in the UK and we must now urgently reduce car use to address this problem. Air pollution also affects each and every one of us every day. Finally, road safety is the principal reason more people don’t walk and cycle short trips. Our streets can be reclaimed for people.
Myth: Bad for Businesses. Revenue is down by up to 20%. Traders cannot get deliveries.
Facts:
Walking and cycling improvements can increase retail spending by up to 30%. (1)
People who walk to the high street spend up to 40% more than people who drive there, while walkers and cyclists also take more trips to the high street over a month. (2)
Myth: Bad for Residents. Harder to get deliveries. Longer routes to get home.
Facts:
In Haringey 48% of people have access to a car, so most residents use other modes of transport and will not be affected by LTNs. (3)
All homes are accessible - there is nothing to stop delivery drivers from coming to your house. (4)
Myth: Bad for pollution. More traffic idling in congestion. No exemptions for EV cars/vans.
Facts:
Monitoring data from Hackney and Waltham Forest have shown that LTNs did not increase overall traffic on the surrounding main roads,(5) while monitoring data from Lambeth shows that there has been a 31% decrease in traffic,(6) demonstrating a phenomenon known as traffic evaporation.
We should be moving away from cars altogether as the electricity used by EV vehicles is often from fossil fuel sources (7) and their production creates large quantities of greenhouse gases.(8) Also, the emissions produced from tyre wear constitute roughly 2,000 x more particle pollution than car exhausts. (9)
Myth: Bad for Safety. Ambulances trapped in traffic. Increased crime and ASB.
Facts:
Across London LTNs in 2020 there was no overall increase in Fire Bridgade response times as emergency vehicles are exempt and can pass through filters. (10)
Waltham Forest LTN street crime reduced by 18% after three years. (11)
Myth: Bad for Children. Traffic idling outside schools. School-run disruptions.
Facts:
Nearly all children in Haringey live within 2 miles of their school (12) and with investment in active travel infrastructure (such as the Haringey School Streets plan), most of these school runs could be walked, cycled, or done by public transport with 24-hour bus lanes without being impacted by traffic congestion.
If parents and children start using more active modes of transport the benefits of physical activity will largely outweigh any risk of inhaling more pollution or accidents. (13, 14)
Haringey Council are planning on implementing ‘school streets’ which will create a safe walk and cycle zone outside schools at drop-off and pick-up times. (15)
Myth: Bad for Road users. Fines through confusing signage. Massive jams on boundary roads.
Facts:
LTNs reduce traffic volume as shown by evidence from Hackney and Waltham Forest. Monitoring data from these boroughs have shown that LTNs did not increase overall traffic on the surrounding main roads. (16)
In Hackney, 82% of fines were given to people who did not live in the borough and were for ‘rat-runners’. (17)
Sources:
5: Leach, J., 2021. Challenging the car’s dominance to bring life back to residential streets and support high streets and town centres. Urban Mobility after COVID-19. Long-Term Strategies for the Sustainable Mobility Transition in European Cities, pp.45-48.
6: Leach, J., 2021. Challenging the car’s dominance to bring life back to residential streets and support high streets and town centres. Urban Mobility after COVID-19. Long-Term Strategies for the Sustainable Mobility Transition in European Cities, pp.45-48.
7: Cheung, W.M., 2022. A scenario-based approach to predict energy demand and carbon emission of electric vehicles on the electric grid. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, pp.1-11.
8: Hao, H., Qiao, Q., Liu, Z. and Zhao, F., 2017. Impact of recycling on energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions from electric vehicle production: The China 2025 case. Resources, Conservation and recycling, 122, pp.114-125.
10: Goodman, A., Laverty, A.A., Thomas, A. and Aldred, R., 2021. The Impact of 2020 Low Traffic Neighbourhoods on Fire Service Emergency Response Times, in London, UK. Findings, p.23568.
11: Goodman, A. and Aldred, R., 2021. The Impact of Introducing a Low Traffic Neighbourhood on Street Crime, in Waltham Forest, London. Findings, p.19414.
12: Distance of Last Child Offered (miles) - Primary Schools (haringey.gov.uk) (2022a)
13: Laverty, A.A., Goodman, A. and Aldred, R., 2021. Low traffic neighbourhoods and population health. bmj, 372.
14: Nieuwenhuijsen, M.J., 2021. New urban models for more sustainable, liveable and healthier cities post covid19; reducing air pollution, noise and heat island effects and increasing green space and physical activity. Environment International, 157, p.106850.
15: Low traffic neighbourhoods update | Haringey Council (2022b)
16: Leach, J., 2021. Challenging the car’s dominance to bring life back to residential streets and support high streets and town centres. Urban Mobility after COVID-19. Long-Term Strategies for the Sustainable Mobility Transition in European Cities, pp.45-48.
17: Majority of 'rat-runners' in Hackney are non-residents | Hackney Gazette (2021)
Replies
A newly published peer review of the air pollution monitoring data undertaken by experts at Imperial College London. Dr De Nazelle is the chair and founder of Imperial's Network of Excellence on Air Quality.
https://www.imperial.ac.uk/people/anazelle
An abstract on the paper can be found below
Abstract
Traffic restriction measures may create safer and healthier places for community members but may also displace traffic and air pollution to surrounding streets. Effective urban planning depends on understanding the magnitude of changes resulting from policy measures, both within and surrounding intervention areas; these are largely unstudied in the case of Low traffic Neighbourhoods (LTN). We evaluated impacts of three LTNs in the London Borough of Islington, UK, on air pollution and traffic flows in and around intervention areas, based on monthly Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) and traffic volume data provided by the local authority. We identified pre- and post-intervention monitoring periods and intervention, boundary and control sites. We then adapted the generalised difference in differences approach to evaluate the effects within LTNs and at their boundary. We found that LTNs have the potential to substantially reduce air pollution and traffic in target areas, without increasing air pollution or traffic volumes in surrounding streets. These results provide sound arguments in favour of LTNs to promote health and wellbeing in urban communities.
Many thanks for this, Richard. So this study shows that air pollution (NO2) was reduced after the implementation of 3 LTNs in Islington in 2020, both within the LTNs and in surrounding streets. Motor traffic was also reduced in both.
It was a statistically robust study, controlling for many factors including the weather - which of course affects air pollution. And as you say, it was carried out by experts in air pollution, health and the built environment at Imperial College. The link for the article is here:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1361920922003625
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cstp.2022.10.014
This is an interesting study on the effects of cycle infrastructure. It could also apply to LTNs. (paste above link into browser for full study)
Abstract
In recent years, many European cities have developed strategies to improve the quality of urban life by reducing car traffic and increasing the attractiveness of alternative modes and the built environment for residents. Frequently, at least in German cities, improvements to the cycling infrastructures play a key role in this transformation of urban spaces. One of those transformative interventions took place in 2020 in Frankfurt am Main (Germany). The city redesigned an arterial road close to the city centre, the Friedberger Landstrasse, by converting two car lanes to bicycle lanes. It is the aim of this study to analyse the effects of this change on the quality of urban life of its residents using a quantitative before-and-after study. The results demonstrated the expected improvements in the perceived quality of urban life for residents after the intervention. A more detailed analysis, however, shows that the residents’ perceptions vary according to their own mode use on the Friedberger Landstrasse and other sociodemographic characteristics. Thus, better cycling infrastructure does not only improve conditions for cyclists, but also contributes to a higher quality of urban life for residents and, therefore, improves the liveability of a city in two ways. We conclude that local transport policies are not only relevant for a modal shift, but also for the quality of urban life and, thus, related urban development strategies.
Ben, sorry but these aren't just myths - they are real problems faced by real people. I really do mean no disrespect but I have got to say that the LTN has not been a successful implementation in some areas. In my area the LTN implementation has managed to polarise people in an otherwise easy going neighbourhood. It would have been better if a meaningful consultation had happened before. I hope Harringey have learnt their lesson and treated your area better than mine. I also hope they are properly inclusive about their consultation and are above all honest about the results in reduction of traffic - and pollution . If LTN's only lead to a small percentage of reduction in traffic boroughwide, then I think there should be serious questions asked as to the effectiveness of this approach to reduce traffic and pollution at the expense of businesses and the general disruption it has caused. I want a reduction in cars and pollution however Im not sure that moving the problem somewhere else will actually help - and im also very disappointed how Haringey have treated residents and traders here, no amount of PR like the one above can cover the bad taste this has left in people's mouths. Its also a little patronising. There also needs to be support from the infrastructure - more buses, cheap or free public transport or bike hire for those who are able to ride them. Free transport to the shops for the elderly, sick, disabled. Make life easier for people not more difficult Anyway good luck with it and look forward to seeing the results.
Dear Serena - ' I want a reduction in cars and pollution however Im not sure that moving the problem somewhere else will actually help'
How would you do it? How does the local authority reduce traffic and the pollution caused by motor vehicles, if not through initiatives such as LTNs?
Thank you Ben for putting together this.
I can add some information about the current Bounds Green scheme that Cllrs were given during a recent briefing/Q&A session:
Thanks, Alessandra - will the Alexandra North LTN include Palace Gates Road which is badly congested by rat running & through-traffic as well as permitted pavement!! parking on both sides, especially in the evening rush hour when the 184 bus is forced to stop in the middle of the road to load/unload passengers? Photos of this had been provided to the council.This road needs a bus gate urgently, together with removal of car parking so that children, disabled passengers and wheelchair users have visibility and access to the bus without risking their lives.
As to Crescent Road/Rise, the scheme cannot come soon enough, as the constant congestion with rat running and parked cars - mostly SUVs - is causing broken roads and pavements, lack of safe access, space & visibility for people who walk and cycle, intolerable noise and pollution. Motorbike riders take to the pavement all the time, and have done for years as the number of vehicles increased.
Yes, thanks for all this info, Alessandra. Great news about the priority bus lanes - any info. about where these are likely to be?
Also great to hear that there are discussions happening with Myddleton Road traders.
Thanks Allesandra for the additional info! Looking forward to things getting going in Alexandra North.