Sadiq Khan’s contentious Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) scheme is set to expand, despite criticisms of delaying emergency services and increasing traffic.
Transport for London (TfL) has allocated funds for the potential development of over 30 additional LTNs across the capital. This move follows the initial introduction of these ‘traffic-calming measures’ by Khan in Spring 2020, aiming for 80 per cent of all trips in London to be made on foot, by cycle, or public transport by 2041.
The scheme restricts non-local motorists from driving through residential areas using CCTV cameras, bollards, and penalty fines. It has been divisive, with locals protesting that it has exacerbated traffic problems.
Since the inception of the scheme, around 120 LTNs have been introduced, with about 100 still in place. According to the Evening Standard, TfL has provided councils with funding for the development of more than 30 potential LTN schemes.
TfL’s latest annual progress report on the Mayor’s transport strategy affirms that LTNs remain integral to the Healthy Streets approach, supporting boroughs with funding and technical assistance for implementation. This support persists despite complaints from various neighbourhoods that the scheme isolates vulnerable older residents, aggravates traffic, and causes community friction.
In Streatham Wells, south London, residents successfully campaigned to remove an LTN introduced in October last year, which caused severe congestion. The scheme was scrapped in March after buses took two hours to travel less than three miles.
The annual progress report also disclosed that TfL allocated nearly £87 million to boroughs in 2023/24 for the ‘healthy streets’ scheme, including LTNs, cycle lanes, and 20mph speed limits. For the 2024/25 financial year, an initial £66 million was earmarked, expected to exceed £80.4 million by year-end.
In another instance, an LTN was dismantled after a London borough mayor decided it divided the community and diverted traffic to roads inhabited by less affluent residents. Tower Hamlets introduced the LTN around Columbia Road’s flower market, Brick Lane, and Old Bethnal Green Road during the pandemic to reduce pollution and enhance street safety. However, late last year, planters, bollards, and cameras in Bethnal Green were removed.
Lutfur Rahman, the mayor of Tower Hamlets, remarked that while LTNs improve air quality locally, they push traffic onto surrounding arterial roads, typically affecting less affluent residents.