LTNs put lives at risk, warn emergency services

A NEW official government report into low-traffic neighbourhoods cites fears among emergency services that they risk lives by slowing first responders,

has been told.

The report into LTNs – yet to be published – forms part of what the Government dubs its “plan for motorists”.

A scaling back of LTNs is expected to be unveiled within weeks, when the report, which was commissioned by the Department for Transport (DfT), is also expected to be published.

A government source familiar with the findings described one line said to quote an emergency services figure raising concerns on the impact of LTN barriers on responses.

Other critical findings said to be in the report include how one LTN scheme cost £1.49 million to create and how another had racked up more than 170,000 penalty charge notices.

The line in the report is said to read: “[Emergency services] reported that the implementation of LTNs has caused certain hindrances to emergency services such as delays due to physical barriers and lack of access keys. They stress this could potentially risk lives because ‘this adds precious seconds and minutes when seconds do really count.’”

A government source shared the detail with after leaks from the report talking about the positive impact of LTNs were published in the But elsewhere public support for LTNs was found to be much higher than Tory MPs who have fiercely criticised the schemes often suggest, according to the newspaper, which said it had seen a copy of the report.

The newspaper said one line read: “The available evidence indicates that LTNs are effective in achieving outcomes of reducing traffic volumes within zones while adverse impacts on boundary roads appear to be limited.”

A DfT spokesman said: “Many local authorities have not put local residents first when implementing LTNs. We are backing motorists and will produce new guidance focused on the importance of securing strong local support.”