Low Traffic Islington

Low Traffic Islington is an umbrella group of local communitites who want to support their local People Friendly Streets or Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs). To find out what’s happening in your local area, here’s a list of the community websites which have already been set up and there are more to come:

Update 11 January 2021 – and Highbury is open ! What a difference the quieter streets make.

Update 5 December – socially distanced celebration of Canonbury West LTN; leaflets handed out, popup parklet provided some colour and lots of people chatting about the scheme. Do we need a few tweaks ? Let’s see how it settles down. Socially distanced but much enjoyed event.

Update 21 November – Highbury plans announced ! Work to start on 30 November with the scheme being operational on 11 January 2021.

Update 18 November – and Canonbury West went live on 10 November and so far, there have been no major issues.

Update 6 November: latest date for Canonbury West is w/c 9 November which, if this date is kept to, will mean a delay of 2 months.

Update 22 October: Canonbury West still waiting for cameras to be put up and then ready for rollout on 26 October.

Update 4 October: Amwell LTN announced on 25 September to be rolled out on 5 October. This is the same date as Canonbury West is supposed to be finally under way after a few hitches so lots happening !

Update 23 September – A bit of a delay with West Canonbury but now scheduled for early October. Can’t wait !

Update 19 September, many members of community groups were out chatting in St Peters to residents and passers-by; lots of support but also some understandable concerns. We handed out lots of our leaflets which people found helpful. The council’s site for feedback remains open for comments and local councillors are there to pick up on issues and try to resolve them. And something to remember is that all these LTNs are being rolled out under ETOs (Experimental Traffic Orders) which are in themselves a type of consultation. Full consultations will be held after 18 months so we can expect these later in 2021.

Update 3 September – West Canonbury and Clerkenwell due to be rolled out on 7 September. Excellent news. More excellent news is that we are teaming up with people who know what they are talking about when it comes to The Power of the Pedestrian Pound and are planning a webinar later in September. (Living Streets, The Urban Movement and a well known face from Waltham Forest to give a clue or two.) The aim is to provide facts and evidence and will give our audience an opportunity for an informed debate. Keep an eye out for more details.

Update 27 July – two LTNs have been rolled out now St Peters and East Canonbury. Both areas have an active neighbourhood group each of whom is busy leafleting, arranging surveys, creating websites and engaging with as many people as possible. Other wards are also getting geared up for when their LTNs are rolled out but we have no dates at the moment; Barnsbury and St Marys are particularly active !

Update 9 July – share this leaflet with your family, friends and neighbours; it gives an explanation of what an LTN is and the benefits all the community will gain.

Update 2 July

What can you do to support the rollout of LTNs in Islington ?

Ask Richard Watts, our council leader to #StopTheTrafficTide and take the pledge to keep our air clean and our streets safe for cycling, by keeping traffic below pre-lockdown levels. Take two minutes to send an email created by the London Cycling Campaign here.

Work with groups of volunteers ward by ward to create small local websites for each ward – inspiration from the websites for St Peters and Barnsbury & St Mary’s with more being created.

Send out a survey to your local contacts such as faith groups or school groups;  Chris Kenyon, on the Cycle Islington committee, has created a survey and is happy for it to be adapted to local needs

Original post in June – What are Low Traffic Neighbourhoods ?

Low Traffic Neighbourhoods, mini-Hollands, Liveable Neighbourhoods, whatever their local branding, all mean the same thing – groups of residential streets, bordered by main roads (the places designed for buses, lorries, non-local traffic), where through motor vehicle traffic is discouraged or removed. Here in Islington, they are called People Friendly Streets https://www.islington.media/news/islingtons-first-people-friendly-streets-will-be-created-in-st-peters. The Council has committed to rolling out 6 LTNs by the end of 2020, starting with St Peters and followed by Canonbury, Highbury, Clerkenwell, Nags Head, and St Mary’s. Have your say about your local area on the Commonplace map; over 2,000 comments to date providing invaluable input for the council’s planning officers.

Who benefits from a low traffic neighbourhood – in a word, people !

Pedestrians – anyone who walks in and around their neighbourhood will benefit from the introduction of an LTN.  Walking will become safer, cleaner, quieter and healthier, just as it was during lock-down.  Walking has loads of physical health benefits including managing various conditions such as heart disease, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes and is a known mental health booster.

Parents and children – fear of road traffic injury is a key reason parents give for limiting their children’s independence.  Safer roads mean children are able to walk or cycle to school and breathe clean air while doing so.  We have seen many more familes walking and cycling in Islington recently; it’s become a normal activity.

The elderly and people with a disability – quieter, safer road conditions encourage people to travel by means other than cars. Our streets become more accessible for mobility scooters, e-bikes,hand cycles and more. Public transport also becomes more efficient for those having to travel by bus, train or tube.

Residents – your homes will be on quieter, cleaner roads where rat-running isn’t allowed. Your children can play outside safely and the pace of life will be calmer with opportunities for small community projects like communal parklets or planters

Shop owners – making streets more appealing for pedestrians and cyclists can boost footfall and trading in nearby shops by up to 40% – as seen in Waltham Forest.  Those who stroll past a small independent cafe or shop are much more likely to stop than someone in a car.

Cyclists – fewer cars means safer routes for cyclists.  Everyone from the very young to the very old who are on a bike will be safer on our roads – something particularly important for newer or returner cyclists choosing a bike as a means of travel over public transport or a car.

Emergency services – data shows response times for emergency services like the fire brigade and ambulances actually decreases when a LTN is introduced.  Less traffic means that they can get to an emergency faster.   Bus gates are often built into a LTN; these are points which prevent all through traffic except buses, cycles and emergency services.

Drivers – by discouraging unnecessary journeys, a LTN means less traffic and less congestion for those who genuinely need a car to get around.  And only 26% of Islington residents own or have access to a car.

And of course ….

The environment – Road transport accounts for 22% of total UK emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) a major contributor to climate change. This pollution impacts the health of everyone but especially children and the elderly andn puts pressure on the NHS.  Every car journey not taken helps the environment. Planters can be used as LTN filters, greening our urban environment and fostering local community cohesion.

A few facts and figures:

  • In a Kings College study, compared with 2013, changes to road infrastructure in Waltham Forest will reduce exposure to NO2 by 25% and by 13% for particulate matter by 2020
  • People who are physically active take 27% fewer sick days each year than their colleagues
  • By 2041, the number of Londoners over 70 will have grown by 85% – they need to be enabled to lead healthy, active indepedent lives
  • The average road within the Waltham Forest mini Holland saw a 44.1% reduction in vehicles on the road and a reduction in speed from 21.6mph to 19.5mph. In Islington we are a 20mph borough but we know that’s not the case, with speeding rat running a blight on many of our roads
  • If every Londoner switched car trips of under 2km to to walking and car trips of  2-8km to cycling, the share who got enough exercise to remain healthy by simply going about their business would rise from 25% to 60%.
  • Around 15% of displaced traffic disappears from an LTN as drivers adjust routes and behaviour. It can take months for traffic patterns to settle, but medium-term ‘traffic evaporation’ is well-evidenced. (http://rachelaldred.org/writing/thoughts/disappearing-traffic/)

There is lots more here, here and here.

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