Europe UK (Commonwealth Union) – In recent times, a growing global movement towards creating low-traffic neighborhoods (LTNs) as a solution to the issues posed by increasing traffic congestion, air pollution, and road safety concerns. LTNs are residential areas designed to reduce traffic and prioritize the needs of pedestrians, cyclists, and residents. By implementing traffic calming measures, such as road closures or access restrictions, LTNs aim to create safer, healthier, and more sustainable communities. LTNs have been seen as an option to lower the risks associated with road accidents. However, according to a recent study, this may not be an ideal solution and may require re-evaluation.
Residents in Lambeth which is located in South London have begun driving less when their location ended up as a low-traffic neighborhood relative to those residing in areas nearby.
The study is that of the London borough of Lambeth, which made an observation of the annual driving by those residing in 4 new LTNs introduced in 2020 was reduced by 6 percent in the 2 years since their introduction when contrasted to other control locations. This equates to every driver lowering the distance driven by roughly 1.3km per day, relative to drivers of control areas.
Researchers indicated that the findings, appearing in the journal Transport Findings, is proof that LTNs can be effective in lowering driving levels in inner-city locations, with possible public health advantages such as lowering road danger, air pollution along with sound.
The present work had, researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), the University of Westminster together with the Imperial College London utilize annual data on vehicle mileage for evaluating the effects of initiating 4 new LTNs in 2020 on car and van travel for those in Lambeth.
Despite LTNs lowering total mileage, they failed to alter car or van ownership, with LTN and control areas witnessing similar patterns in the number of resident permits issued.
