LTNs associated with a decrease in overall volumes of traffic and increased road safety

A new report commissioned by us, and written by academics from Imperial College London, Westminster University, Cambridge University, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, has summarised the new and emerging evidence on Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) in London and why they’re necessary.

It finds that high levels of car use harm us all, particularly marginalised groups and those without cars. Groups least likely to use motor vehicles are most likely to be harmed by them while over 30,000 Londoners were injured in road collisions in 2019 alone. Additionally, motor traffic is a major contributor to air pollution and traffic noise has been found to increase the risk of stroke and premature death.

As such, LTNs use bollards, planters, and cameras to reduce motor traffic from neighbourhoods and are an important policy decision to ensure less reliance on cars. They are both ‘carrot’ and ‘stick’, seeking to make walking and cycling more pleasant and safer, while making journeys by car a bit less convenient. 

There is substantial evidence to show that implementing LTNs is associated with a decrease in overall volumes of traffic while substantially improving road safety. Inside Waltham Forest LTNs, for instance, there was around a 70% reduction in numbers of road traffic injuries, with similar declines in risk for people walking, cycling, or in cars.

The study finds that LTNs did not cause increased risk of road collisions on boundary roads or increased traffic on surrounding streets that were not part of the LTN.

The analysis of the evidence shows that there is no ‘natural’ level of car use. The level, and harms, depend on decisions taken by policy–makers.

We are calling for an evidence-based approach to implementing LTNs, with improved communication and consultation from various groups. It should be noted that prior to installation LTNs are often associated with controversy but that residents are overwhelmingly in favour of LTNs once they have been implemented.

The report also finds that the introduction of complementary measures alongside LTNs such as substantive changes to the street layout, such as new cycle tracks or prioritising buses, as well as parking charges or distance-based road user charging, would make LTNs more effective as a whole.