TRAFFIC SOLUTION or A DEAD END?
With Low Traffic Neighbourhood schemes introduced across the country, we take a look at what they are and why they divide opinion
In neighbourhoods up and down I the country, giant wooden planters have started to appear in the middle of streets. Bursting with colourful blooms, they may look pretty, but these planters – one of the hallmarks of the UK’s new Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) – have so far deeply divided many communities.
If you’ve not yet come across them, they’re areas which are closed to through traffic. This means that while residents can still drive to their homes, they cannot be used as shortcuts or ‘rat runs’, thus improving safety for pedestrians or cyclists.
Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras are generally used to issue fines to any drivers breaking the rules.
Of course, closing off roads for pedestrians is nothing new, but this scheme is the direct result of the pandemic. As life returns to normal, the Government has been concerned that people may not go back to public transport, instead using cars and sending pollution levels soaring and creating more traffic jams. To combat this, a £250 million Emergency Active Travel Fund has been announced. Councils can use the money to create schemes that encourage walking and cycling for short journeys. So far, LTNs have been one of the most popular schemes and they are now popping up around the UK.
In terms of their benefits, research looking at the scheme in Waltham Forest, north London, found residents
Some councils have removed them following complaints
were doing an extra 40-45 minutes of walking or cycling a week. Monitoring by the council found an overall fall in motor traffic across the borough – not just in the area where barriers are used.
Councils have been told to prioritise putting them in areas with the worst air quality, lowest access to green space and low levels of social deprivation to make sure the health benefits of less traffic are felt by the people most affected by it. A London survey found 63 per cent of residents agree the scheme has improved their lives.
But there have also been petitions in opposition, as well as vandalism of the planters, and in some cases councils have had to remove them following numerous complaints. While some said the planters block their ability to get around as they need to, others added that the schemes have lost local businesses money by reducing the number of passers-by.
There are also fears blocking routes could disrupt emergency services, although some councils are now using barriers that can be unlocked and moved. Some have said the schemes only benefit middle-class areas, with the traffic simply going elsewhere, although a study found this was not the case.
Whatever your opinion, the traffic barrier scheme may be a trial measure at this stage, but it is likely to spread more widely in the months to come. Watch this space!
■ What do you think? Write to us at the address on page 3