Changes in motor traffic inside London’s LTNs and on boundary roads

​Responsible (https://www.wearepossible.org/latest-news/ltns)

We’ve just conducted the biggest ever study of LTNs, looking at over 40 schemes, and the results are clear.  Low traffic neighbourhoods reduce traffic on residential streets by nearly half. That means our communities are quieter, safer, and nicer places to live.

We have worked with the University of Westminster’s Active Travel Academy to publish the most comprehensive study of low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) ever, showing that streets within LTNs experience substantial, overall falls in traffic and, implying significant changes in street use.

This report shows that most streets within low traffic neighbourhoods see reductions in traffic, improving the experience of walking and cycling. Two-thirds of these neighbourhoods now have vehicle flows below 1000 vehicles a day, compared to only two-fifths before. Across London the average traffic reduction within LTNs was 46.9%.

Little impact on boundary roadsWhat’s more, there is little indication of this traffic being simply displaced onto boundary roads. Average motor traffic counts showed that on boundary roads, traffic changed relatively little - with a less than 1% increase on the mean average of 11,000 vehicles that pass through boundary roads on a typical day.

Average decreases in motor traffic on roads within LTNs are almost ten times higher than average increases in motor traffic on boundary roads. This suggests that not only do LTNs have substantial benefits inside their boundaries by creating an overall reduction in traffic, but they can also contribute to wider traffic reduction goals.

Our study shows that LTNs mean more people can get around by walking, wheeling, cycling and scooting, and fewer motorists are using minor roads as a cheeky shortcut.

But there’s more. Our study blows concerns about congestion on surrounding roads out of the water. 

The average increase in traffic on the surrounding roads is just one percent. That's an extra 82 cars per day on roads which usually carry 11,000 cars. This means LTNs don’t just cut traffic in the local community, they cut traffic full stop.