A number of low-traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) have been implemented despite being opposed by nearly nine in 10 local residents, it has been reported.
According to research by the Times, out of 90 LTNs looked at, neighbours objected in 87% of cases where polling was conducted – but the majority of councils went ahead with them.
LTNs involve preventing vehicles from using some residential streets and were deployed by many councils during COVID lockdowns in 2020 to make it easier for people to walk and cycle.
They seek to reduce traffic congestion and pollution within a residential area, by making driving less convenient and simultaneously making walking and cycling more appealing. Many are in London.
In 2022, extensive polling by Ipsos indicated that the public was split in its support, with 50% of respondents in favour of LTNs. However, when asked to consider any potential personal financial impact, support dropped, with just 22% in support.
A separate report commissioned by the government in March 2024 found a mixed response, too: “While the review of existing evidence showed that LTN schemes have had several positive impacts, this remains largely unrecognised by stakeholders or residents (in the four scheme areas where survey research was conducted),” it said, adding: “Low awareness of the schemes among residents and uncertainty about benefits, does not automatically translate into widespread opposition.”
Such concerns have been raised about the impact of LTNs on drivers. This week, campaigners presented a 1,700-signature petition to Enfield Council, in north London, calling for their blocked roads to be reopened. “When the North Circular grinds to a halt as it so often does,” he said, “we’re trapped. We can’t get in, we can’t get out.”
It’s an issue which stirs deep anger… to the extent that the High Court recently heard Lambeth Council workers in south London were offered a wellbeing day after “hostility and anger” at a meeting over a proposed LTN scheme left them “in tears”.
Yahoo News has curated recent reports around this issue from its media partners. Read below – or click the headlines to skip ahead
> Anti-LTN campaign groups join forces to lobby for law change
> Ambulances charged for entering clean-air zone
> Edinburgh councillors call for extension of low traffic zone
> Motorists who breach LTNs to be fined an extra £30
> Disinformation about LTNs ‘soared after Government U-turn’
> Council workers left ‘in tears’ after LTN meeting
> Mum’s LTN plea after three-year-old ‘sent flying’ in hit-and-run
> Islington residents divided over first low-traffic scheme
Anti-LTN campaign groups join forces to lobby for law change
Campaign groups opposing Low Traffic Neighbourhoods have joined forces for the first time to lobby the Government to change the law.
Fifteen community groups have sent a letter to the transport secretary Heidi Alexander arguing that LTN schemes often “do not have the backing of local people”.
Ambulances charged for entering clean-air zone
Police cars, fire engines and ambulances responding to life-and-death 999 calls are to be charged for entering a Somerset low-traffic neighbourhood (LTN).
From March, emergency services which do not meet the local council’s emission standards will have to pay to enter the city.
Edinburgh councillors call for extension of low traffic zone
Edinburgh councillors have voted to make a controversial low traffic area in a city neighbourhood permanent.
For over a year, roads and junctions in Leith have been temporarily closed or modified as part of a pilot scheme to reduce traffic and make the area more walkable. Now, councillors have voted in a committee to make the modifications permanent, with a few minor changes to address concerns raised from the scheme.
Motorists who breach LTNs to be fined an extra £30
Motorists who breach low traffic neighbourhood rules or park illegally in London will be fined an extra £30 after Sadiq Khan approved “unjustifiable” price increases.
The move, which will be brought in from April, is expected to add hundreds of millions of pounds to council coffers.
Higher-level offences – such as parking on double yellow lines – will now attract fines of £160 in the city’s so-called “Band A” areas like Croydon, Hackney and Islington. This is up from £130.
Disinformation about LTNs ‘soared after Government U-turn’
Disinformation and conspiracy theories about low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) soared last year amid Government opposition to the schemes, according to a study.
Cross-party think tank Demos, which conducted the analysis, claimed there is a “worsening democratic chasm between councils and communities”.
LTNs, which involve preventing vehicles from using some residential streets, were deployed by many councils during coronavirus lockdowns in 2020 in a bid to make it easier for people to walk and cycle.
Opponents raised concerns about the impact on drivers.
The Demos report found the proportion of the most popular social media posts on LTNs it classed as disinformation rose from 5% in 2022 to 28% in 2023.
Council workers left ‘in tears’ after LTN meeting
Lambeth Council workers were offered a wellbeing day after “hostility and anger” at a meeting over a proposed Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN) scheme left them “in tears”, the High Court has heard.
The West Dulwich Action Group (WDAG) is bringing a legal challenge and has asked the court to stop the council’s plans for an LTN after it made a decision to proceed in July last year. A lawyer for Lambeth Council said the claim is “without foundation” and should be dismissed.
Mum’s LTN plea after three-year-old ‘sent flying’ in hit-and-run
A mother whose three-year-old was “sent flying” by a hit-and-run driver has called on councillors to restart an apparently stalled plan to introduce a low-traffic neighbourhood (LTN) scheme.
Jess Smith’s son Fionn “miraculously” only suffered minor injuries when he was struck by a white Nissan Qashqai car being driven at about 20mph in Balmoral Road, Manor Park, on February 11.
Islington residents divided over first low-traffic scheme
Islington’s first ‘liveable neighbourhood’ scheme has divided residents as work begins to improve pedestrian access in Newington Green. Supporters of reducing cars driving through the area say it will make it both more pleasant and much safer for young families.
However, it has also faced backlash over claims it will only push more traffic onto surrounding roads which are already congested due to existing schemes in Hackney, Dalston and Stoke Newington.
