Rishi Sunak’s bid to prove that he’s on the “side of drivers” has been dealt a blow after a report on low-traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) concluded that they are popular and effective.
The prime minister ordered a review of the schemes amid efforts to stop them being built in urban areas.
But the government has been scrambling to bury findings of a Department for Transport (DfT) study after officials found they are largely supported.
The report, which applies only to England as transport is devolved, had been scheduled for publication in January. However, after its findings emerged, government advisers asked that it be permanently shelved, the Guardian has been told.
A leaked copy suggests that overall, twice as many local people supported the schemes as opposed them.
The review also found that the schemes are effective and that opposition arguments that they displace traffic to other streets are unfounded.
“The available evidence from the UK indicates that LTNs are effective in achieving outcomes of reducing traffic volumes within their zones while adverse impacts on boundary roads appear to be limited,” it read.
A low traffic neighbourhood is designed to be exactly that – an area where vehicle numbers are reduced.
The desired effect is to increase space for pedestrians and cyclists, while allowing emergency vehicles and public transport to travel more easily through these areas.
Low-traffic neighbourhoods work by preventing vehicles from using certain streets as through roads into other destinations. Quite often, streets are flagged up as ‘quick’ ways of missing out high-traffic areas – particularly when using navigation apps – so the number of cars and vans moving through these areas can quickly increase.
Quite often these areas are created by using temporary or permanent barriers which stop traffic from being able to drive along a certain route. Many cities adopted temporary low traffic neighbourhoods during the Covid-19 pandemic as a way to increase the amount of space that pedestrians had to walk along.
The ideal aim for a low-traffic neighbourhood is to help reduce local emissions and promote alternative forms of transport such as walking and cycling. A by-product of lower traffic numbers is also intended to be fewer accidents and lower noise pollution.
Yes. Low traffic neighbourhoods won’t stop residents from being able to drive to their homes, though they may have to take a different route to the one they might have travelled along beforehand. Visitors will still be able to visit, as will delivery services.
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