Missed the webinar? Catch up with the recording here:
Over recent years private cars have come to dominate our neighbourhoods. Vehicles have got bigger and heavier, satnavs have rerouted traffic from main roads and according to the Department for Transport, traffic on London’s local roads almost doubled between 2009 and 2019.
In 2020, local authorities received funding from the government to introduce Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) quickly in response to the pandemic, through the Emergency Active Travel Fund. The LTNs were intended to promote walking and cycling while people avoided public transport and schemes usually featured barriers or camera systems that close some residential streets to through traffic.
Although LTNs are not new to London’s streets, the schemes introduced during the pandemic were highly controversial, and some councils have since removed them due to fierce local opposition.
On 9th June, Centre for London launched a report detailing what we have learnt from the rollout of LTNs over the last year and examining why they have been controversial.
The research aims to help councils develop new ways of reducing car use on local streets while bringing residents along with these changes.
In addition to this, we also hosted a webinar to launch the report, in which our expert speakers discussed:
- What place do LTNs have amongst a broader suite of policies aimed at ensuring London meets its travel, road safety and net-zero targets?
- What role does road-user charging play in this?
- What planning is required to implement a Low Traffic Neighbourhood?
- What can we learn from case studies of different kinds of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods?
- Have the local elections changed how councils approach LTNs?
Speakers
- Chair: Denean Rowe, Project Manager, Town and Country Planning Association & Planning Aid for London
- Presentation by Nicolas Bosetti, Head of Insight and Data, Centre for London
- Cllr Mete Coban MBE, Cabinet Member for Energy, Waste, Transport and Public Realm, London Borough of Hackney
- Andy Bland, Head of Sales – London & Southeast England, Enterprise Holdings
- Alan Benson, Chair, Transport for All
- Cllr Sarah Merrill, (former) Cabinet Member for Environment, Sustainability and Transport, Royal Borough of Greenwich