Residents dispute benefits of LTNs and urge council to reconsider schemes

Senior councillors told about negative impacts of the low-traffic schemes by residents, reports Simon Allin, Local Democracy Reporter

Council chiefs in Haringey are continuing to face stiff opposition to low-traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) despite claiming that the schemes are achieving their aims.

Residents last night urged Haringey Council to reconsider the LTNs, which they said had failed to reduce traffic, damaged local businesses and caused more “isolation, deprivation and misery” for people with disabilities.

Three LTN trials – in Bounds Green, Bruce Grove and St Ann’s – were introduced last year in a bid to stop rat-running and reduce air pollution. The schemes are designed to prevent through-traffic from using residential streets, with fines issued to drivers who pass through camera-enforced ‘filters’ without an exemption.

It led to a series of protests from residents who claimed the LTNs would increase congestion and pollution, particularly on boundary roads on the edge of the schemes.

An interim review of the LTNs, which was presented to a meeting of the council’s cabinet on Tuesday (11th), said traffic counts had fallen by more than 50% on roads within all three LTNs but increased by between 6% and 7% on boundary roads.

The report also claimed there was “encouraging” data on air pollution and road safety. It said pollution within the LTNs was going up at a lower rate than the rest of London and Haringey, while speeding was down in most of the roads within two of the LTNs.

But residents who attended the cabinet meeting disputed the findings and called for a rethink, as another anti-LTN demonstration took place outside the venue in George Meehan House, Wood Green. One resident, Victoria Ward, said the council had failed to properly consult with residents, reduce pollution or increase cycling.

Victoria claimed that reductions in car numbers were “unsubstantiated by the data”. She said the way cars were counted had inflated the number of vehicles registered inside the LTNs prior to their rollout, so the reduced counts could be a “fiction”. Even if the data was correct, she said, the council was not tracking how far cars were now travelling.

Another resident, Tara Hawkins, told the meeting that local businesses had seen their suppliers disrupted and customer numbers fall because of the LTNs, leading to a drop in revenue. She said her business was down by 50%, leaving her unable to pay the bills.

A survey carried out in Myddleton Road, which is within the Bounds Green LTN, revealed all of the businesses who responded said they had seen a drop in customers during the past four months, which they believed was caused by the LTN.

Tara said: “There is nothing to support the continued presence of LTNs in the borough apart from the millions the council is collecting in fines. We want all of the LTNs removed, as they are causing huge economic damage.”

Councillors have now agreed to grant exemptions to all Blue Badge holders with a Haringey address, who can register a vehicle that will be able to travel through designated LTN filters without being fined.

Representing carers of people with disabilities, Cathy Stastny told the meeting that not all disabled people have Blue Badges – and those that do often rely on a network of people for support. She said: “Exemptions should be automatic to everyone working with vulnerable groups.”

Cathy added that disabled people often rely on taxis, and she had heard reports of some people being “abandoned”. She said: “It is clear that LTNs are turning the crisis in care into a catastrophe, causing more isolation, deprivation and misery for the disabled, the elderly, those with mental health issues or hidden disabilities.”

In May, the government revealed LTNs were not included in its latest £200million round of active travel funding. Some London boroughs have removed LTN schemes that have failed to win local support.

But Mike Hakata, the council’s deputy leader and cabinet member for climate action, environment and transport, defended the Haringey LTNs. Responding to the deputations, he said that the past 20 years had seen increases in congestion and “road danger” and that air pollution was now the country’s “number one environmental health crisis”.

Cllr Hakata assured the residents that traffic counters had recorded “every single vehicle going over at every speed” and the data showed a “really positive impact” so far, adding that there had been an “extensive consultation” with residents.

He told the meeting that LTNs had been introduced while the country was suffering an economic downturn, and that shopping areas in other boroughs, such as Orford Road in Waltham Forest, had remained “thriving” destinations following the introduction of LTNs.

Cllr Hakata said: “The reality is that when we have looked at the footfall and card transactions, what we have found is that what is going on in the LTN areas matches what is going on in the wider borough, which is what you would expect.”

The deputy leader told the meeting that residents with disabilities were among those “most negatively impacted by motor traffic”. He said changes had been made to the schemes following engagement with groups representing those with disabilities.

Cllr Hakata said: “We are the only borough with such an extensive exemption procedure, with access for all Blue Badge holders and people with health conditions to be able to get around and circumvent those filters. But it is really important that those filters work, to disincentivise those people who are taking unnecessary journeys and clogging up the roads.”

Cabinet members agreed to note the findings of the interim review of the LTNs, make a series of changes to the existing schemes and introduce the exemptions for Blue Badge holders. The council will continue to gather feedback and data on the schemes before deciding whether to make them permanent.

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