In this issue:
1. Haringey Council’s Cabinet approves three new LTNs
2. Massive attitude change in favour of measures to reduce traffic on residential streets in South Fulham
3. Lambeth approves proposals to make two LTNs permanent
4. Traffic down in and around Homerton LTN, Hackney
5. Twelve more School Streets made permanent in Enfield
6. New research, reports and blogs – including evidence review on why fewer polluting cars are good news for local shops
7. Coalition news – updates on what our partner groups are doing
- CPRE London is conducting a review of London boroughs’ parking policies
- London Cycling Campaign’s Dangerous Junctions petition handed to Mayor + borough visits from Climate Safe Champions
- London Living Streets and Footways’ blog puts walking at the heart of the post-car city
- Possible uncovers data showing black Londoners riding e-scooters are being stopped disproportionately compared to white Londoners
- Sustrans in London and TfL deliver cycle training for Muslim mums in Camden
- RoadPeace’s #5deathsaday campaign remembers victims of road traffic crashes in UK
- Wheels for Wellbeing blogs on ‘Low Traffic Neighbourhoods’, ‘Top 10 tips for an inclusive consultation’ and ‘Hidden Disabled Cyclists’
Haringey Council’s Cabinet approves three new LTNs
Low traffic neighbourhoods will be introduced under experimental traffic orders in Bounds Green, Bruce Grove West Green and St Ann’s to help make them safer, greener and cleaner places following Cabinet approval of the schemes last month. Complementary measures agreed by Cabinet included secured cycle storage, new pedestrian crossings and additional school streets.
"This is the beginning of a truly transformative journey in which pedestrians, active travel and public transport are prioritised, especially on our neighbourhood roads. The low traffic neighbourhoods in our Streets for People programme reclaim local streets for the people living there, making them once more safe, welcoming, and liveable spaces where people meet, chat, socialise and where children play. They reduce pollution, speeding, road traffic collisions and carbon emissions, at the same time as improving the walkability and cyclability of the local area, creating active travel corridors between local amenities."
Massive attitude change in favour of measures to reduce traffic on residential streets in South Fulham
Resident attitudes towards measures to reduce traffic on residential streets have changed hugely over the course of a year after a Low Traffic Neighbourhood in South Fulham East was introduced in July 2020. When asked in September 2020, “Looking forward to the next 12-24 months, would you support measures that seek to reduce traffic on residential streets more permanently”, 87% of respondents answered ‘No’, only for this initial negative sentiment to be reversed with the vast majority (91%) answering ‘Yes’ to the same question one year later in September 2021.
Hammersmith and Fulham Council reported that data collected during the trial demonstrated the Traffic Congestion and Pollution Reduction scheme has reduced traffic by 23% in South Fulham since its launch, bringing down the number of trips by motorists by 8,000 per day, and contributing to the removal of at least one tonne of CO2 per day from the area. The air quality has improved significantly since the introduction of the East scheme and has seen NOx pollution fall by 60% to levels below the new World Health Organisation threshold of 20 ugm.
The Council report says the “change in sentiment demonstrates how the scheme gained support once the positive impacts of the scheme had been fully realised by residents, businesses and visitors affected”.
Lambeth approves proposals to make two LTNs permanent
Lambeth Council has approved proposals recommending the Oval to Stockwell and Railton and St. Matthew’s Low Traffic Neighbourhoods are made permanent. Monitoring data for Oval to Stockwell LTN and Railton LTN showed an overall increase in cycling rates, while overall motor vehicle traffic across the LTNs and boundary roads combined fell. Fifty-five per cent of respondents thought the Oval to Stockwell LTN was a positive change, as thought a similar percentage about the Railton LTN (54%).
Consultations closed on 19 December on Tulse Hill and Streatham Hill LTNs. Monitoring reports show that in the Streatham Hill LTN the levels of daily motor vehicle traffic fell by around 6,100 vehicles a day, while cycling levels rose by 54% within the LTN and by 57% on the boundary. In Tulse Hill there were 2,000 fewer vehicle journeys a day and a 92% rise in cycle journeys.
A consultation on a new LTN in Streatham Wells closed on 31 December. Residents and businesses’ input on proposals to create a new LTN in Brixton Hill is being sought up to 4 February as part of the Council’s initial research phase.
Traffic down in and around Homerton LTN
Homerton’s trial low traffic neighbourhood (LTN) is set to be made permanent. Hackney Council reports analysis of traffic, air quality and bus speeds data following the LTN’s introduction shows that:
- Traffic was down by 35% inside the LTN and by 5% on boundary roads
- Air quality has improved at eight of nine monitored locations in the area
- Average bus speeds in the area have improved: from 6.9mph in 2019 to 7.2mph in 2021.
On boundary roads around the LTN, there was an average reduction of 21.8% in nitrogen dioxide concentrations, with all below national air quality objectives of 40ug/m3.
Inside the LTN, there was an average reduction of just over 40% in NO2 concentrations, with these also below the national air quality objective.
"These reductions in air pollution in Homerton cannot be attributed directly to the effect of the LTN, but are likely to have been influenced by reductions in motor vehicle usage in the area. Alongside traffic data, I hope they demonstrate the benefits LTNs can have, and reassure residents who live on boundary roads about their effects there."
Twelve more School Streets made permanent in Enfield
Enfield Council has made 12 School Streets at primary schools permanent and will be introducing cameras to help enforce the road closures now the trials have finished. These are additional to the two School Streets introduced in February 2020. Sixty-six per cent of people who took part in the consultation said they wanted the scheme to remain. Deputy Leader Councillor Ian Barnes said another batch of ten School Streets will be announced shortly.
"My message to other schools thinking of starting a School Streets scheme is to 100 percent do it. The initial worry we had about parent resistance and manning the barriers actually wasn’t a problem and the change has literally added benefit to the whole school community and we’re a happier, healthier school for it."
More good news: Enfield Council has also decided to make the Bowes Quieter Neighbourhood scheme permanent.
New research, reports and blogs – including evidence review on why fewer polluting cars are good news for local shops
- ‘Why fewer (polluting) cars in cities are good news for local shops’, a review of evidence on the impact of low emission zones and other “Urban Vehicle Access Regulations” on retail in European Cities, briefing paper by Clean Cities.
- ‘The economic benefits of local cycling investment: Greater London case study’, report by Lisa Hopkinson of Transport for Quality of Life for the Bicycle Association.
- ‘Where are all the cycleways?’, Aydin Crouch’s guest blog for the London Cycling Campaign provides an update on more than 50 separate cycleway schemes that have been consulted on or promised by TfL and London Councils over the last five years.
- ‘Health impacts of air pollution in Europe 2021’, European Environment Agency report.
- ‘Not going the extra mile: driving less to tackle climate change’, Green Alliance report.
- ‘Worth the Weight: Making London’s deliveries greener and smarter’ new report by Nikita Quarshie et al for the Centre for London.
- ‘What aspects of traffic intensity most influence cycling mode choice? A study of commuting in Surrey UK’, paper by Nick Grudgings et al, published in the International Journal of Sustainable Transportation.
- ‘Equity in new active travel infrastructure: A spatial analysis of London’s new Low Traffic Neighbourhoods’, paper by Rachel Aldred et al in the Journal of Transport Geography.
- ‘Expanded Ultra Low Emission Zone – First month report’, Greater London Authority.
- ‘Traffic filters will create more liveable neighbourhoods’, op ed by Possible’s Rob Bryher, for bristol247.com.
- ‘Low Traffic Neighbourhoods’, NatCen Social Research report by Kate Belcher et al prepared for the European Climate Foundation. The report findings and recommendations will be explored at a webinar on Thursday, 20 January from 16:00 to 18:00 hours.
- TfL’s ‘Vision Zero action plan progress report‘ highlighted that by 2024, 220km of TfL roads will have a 20mph speed limit, up from 80km in 2020. Really encouraging, following on from progress in Wales and Scotland, is that TfL is asking the UK Government to collaborate on a pilot project to trial a 20mph default speed limit on all residential roads in London. In Wandsworth, all roads (bar one) managed by Wandsworth Council are now 20mph.
Healthy Streets Scorecard coalition news
CPRE London is conducting a review of London boroughs’ parking policies
• CPRE London is reviewing London boroughs’ parking policies and consulting on a ‘benchmark’ policy as part of a project to see what more can be done to use parking policy to deliver a shift to sustainable modes of transport (public transport, walking and cycling). There are plans to engage with boroughs, in association with local groups, and a blog will be published shortly. Contact alice@cprelondon.org.uk for more information; follow @cprelondon on twitter or check the organisation’s website www.cprelondon.org.uk.
London Cycling Campaign’s Dangerous Junctions petition handed to Mayor + borough visits from Climate Safe Champions
• Caroline Pidgeon MBE, Chair of the London Assembly Transport Committee, has handed over London Cycling Campaign’s Dangerous Junctions petition to the Mayor, signed by over 7,500 people. LCC started the petition and organised a protest at the Holborn Gyratory after the death of Dr Marta Krawiec in August. Camden Council has announced plans for a second iteration of safety improvements to the junction of Southampton Row and Theobalds Road, where Dr Krawiec was killed. LCC is now pushing forward with a more general Dangerous Junctions campaign, calling for action at not just that junction, but all dangerous junctions in London, including looking at the systematic barriers to improving junctions and solutions to these barriers. Look out for a report early this year. To follow the Dangerous Junctions campaign, click here.
• Keep an eye out for LCC’s Climate Safe Streets Campaign, coming to your borough. LCC has over 20 local Climate Safe Streets Champions working with their network of local groups ahead of the 2022 borough elections. To learn more about the Climate Safe Streets campaign, click here.
London Living Streets and Footways’ blog puts walking at the heart of the post-car city
• This blog by Emma Griffin and David Harrison for Footways and London Living Streets envisions a UK in 2035 where walking has become the primary and most attractive form of transport in towns and cities.
Possible uncovers data showing black Londoners riding e-scooters are being stopped disproportionately compared to white Londoners
• Possible found that of those stopped, black people are nearly twice as likely to face potential prosecution as white people, and only half as likely to face no further action. (Use of privately owned e-scooters remains illegal on UK roads and pavements, despite a range of legal hire schemes in some cities including London).
Sustrans in London and TfL deliver cycle training for Muslim mums in Camden
• Sustrans and TfL have been working with Camden Council’s transport planning team to provide Muslim mothers with children at Rhyl Primary School in Camden with cycles, bike gear and bespoke cycle training to equip them to cycle the school run with their children. Training was specially designed to address concerns from the women about cycling in traditional Muslim dress.
"Belonging to this fantastic group of women has made a massive difference to me. My children are proud of their mother for learning how to cycle, it makes me feel free and young again. I wear traditional Islamic dress, and I think many women think they can’t cycle wearing these clothes. But we had tailored sessions to show us that traditional clothing is no barrier to cycling."
• In another project, Sustrans in London Healthy Streets Officer, Liz Hellier, has been working with two Social Prescribing Link Workers at the South Camden primary Care Network. They have been prescribing cycling for patients who have agoraphobia and other anxiety issues. As a partner in the project, Peddle My Wheels has loaned out cycles to participants for a three-month trial.
"I used the bike for exercise. It felt good, I felt alive. I would take the bike out late at night. It was very enjoyable, it gave me a reason to live."
Sustrans in London hosts festive market celebrating children-led street design in Tower Hamlets
• Last month Sustrans in London hosted a Festive Market in a car-free environment with three schools near Brick Lane in Tower Hamlets, celebrating the children’s designs of the streets around their schools (Thomas Buxton Primary School, St Anne’s Primary School and Osmani Primary School). These designs will be brought to life this year.
Pupils have carried out Healthy Streets Surveys, which include traffic counts, pollution levels and availability of places for people to sit. They have also had an interactive session with a Sustrans urban designer to learn about how street design can reduce motor traffic.
"It's good to ask children about things. They have different ideas and more imagination. I want more trees and not so many cars outside my school."
"Our mission is to make walking and cycling easier for everyone, this includes children. We know they are particularly vulnerable to air pollution as their lungs develop. We are committed to working with and for people whose voices often go unheard. Listening to children and what makes a great street is a key part of that."
RoadPeace’s #5deathsaday campaign remembers victims of road traffic crashes in UK
• RoadPeace ran a campaign to highlight the needless and preventable toll of five deaths a day on the UK’s roads, sharing photos and tributes of loved ones on Twitter and Facebook in the week leading up to World Day of Remembrance on 21 November. #rememberme #WDoR2021
Wheels for Wellbeing blogs on ‘Low Traffic Neighbourhoods’, ‘Top 10 tips for an inclusive consultation’ and ‘Hidden Disabled Cyclists’
• Wheels for Wellbeing’s two-part blog series on LTNs – the Good, the Bad and the Ugly – looks at some solutions to making low-traffic streets more accessible for disabled people. Other blog posts include ‘Top 10 tips for an inclusive consultation‘ and ‘Hidden Disabled Cyclists‘. And in case you missed it, Director Isabelle Clement talked about her experience of starting cycling as a disabled person and the potential benefits of LTNs on Wheelsuckers podcast last year.
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