Low Traffic Neighbourhoods?

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Stevek76
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Re: Low Traffic Neighbourhoods?

Post by Stevek76 »

Past experience from other areas has shown repeatedly that these schemes (once implemented) are vote winners and those opposing them lose votes.

Opinion polling over the last year (i.e. properly done with an effort to have a representative sample) has also shown huge support for this latest roll out.

About half of Ealing residents don't have access to a car, few have exclusive access.
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ratherbeintobago
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Re: Low Traffic Neighbourhoods?

Post by ratherbeintobago »

The problem is the vocal motoring lobby.

Candidates who stood on an anti-LTN platform (in London, certainly) found out the hard way that it wasn’t the key swing issue they thought it was, and ultimately the people inconvenienced by LTNs often turn out not to be those who live and vote in them.

School streets are, I think, similar.

Mahmood is off again, incidentally
Stevek76
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Re: Low Traffic Neighbourhoods?

Post by Stevek76 »

Councils using public consultations as proxy referendums doesn't help.

National guidance is quite clear that they should not be used to assess opinion in a numerical way, as a self selected sample this should be obvious to anyone who's had a good intro to stats etc but it happens anyway and so such consolations end up swayed by whoever got more traction for their view on social media.
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Jdsk
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Re: Low Traffic Neighbourhoods?

Post by Jdsk »

Stevek76 wrote: 1 Jun 2021, 11:07am Past experience from other areas has shown repeatedly that these schemes (once implemented) are vote winners and those opposing them lose votes.
ratherbeintobago wrote: 1 Jun 2021, 11:10am Candidates who stood on an anti-LTN platform (in London, certainly) found out the hard way that it wasn’t the key swing issue they thought it was, and ultimately the people inconvenienced by LTNs often turn out not to be those who live and vote in them.
Some observations on the political effects:

"The evidence is in: low-traffic neighbourhoods are popular"
https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... re-popular

"Cycling schemes popular with London voters, analysis finds"
https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... ysis-finds

Jonathan
Jdsk
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Re: Low Traffic Neighbourhoods?

Post by Jdsk »

"Oxford Circus to be turned into pedestrian piazzas this year"
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/202 ... -this-year

Jonathan
Stevek76
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Re: Low Traffic Neighbourhoods?

Post by Stevek76 »

Somewhat related it appears that tfl has won the appeal against the judgement that the streetspace plan was illegal.
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ratherbeintobago
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Re: Low Traffic Neighbourhoods?

Post by ratherbeintobago »

Stevek76 wrote: 16 Jun 2021, 7:15pm Somewhat related it appears that tfl has won the appeal against the judgement that the streetspace plan was illegal.
Will be interesting to see what happens next; presumably this gives license to expand schemes as well as keeping the ones that already exist?
Jdsk
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Re: Low Traffic Neighbourhoods?

Post by Jdsk »

Simulation of the future Champs-Élysées:
https://mobile.twitter.com/TheB1M/statu ... 8929856515

Jonathan
thirdcrank
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Re: Low Traffic Neighbourhoods?

Post by thirdcrank »

Low traffic neighbourhoods ‘will prevent priests from giving last rites’
A priest has warned that low-traffic neighbourhoods will prevent him from carrying out last rites at the bedside of patients.

Father Gerard King, of St Joan of Arc Roman Catholic Church in Islington, north London, used to drive from his home to Whittington hospital in around 20 minutes.

But the journey can now take as long as one hour and 15 minutes because of heavy traffic since the introduction of the Highbury Hill and Aubert Park low-traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) by Islington council.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/0 ... ving-last/
ratherbeintobago
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Re: Low Traffic Neighbourhoods?

Post by ratherbeintobago »

There was some thing on Twitter a while back where Dave Walker was retweeting assorted clergy saying that they had a moral duty to travel by the lowest impact means ie. bike/foot. It’s what Jesus would have done…
Mike Sales
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Re: Low Traffic Neighbourhoods?

Post by Mike Sales »

ratherbeintobago wrote: 27 Jun 2021, 10:24am There was some thing on Twitter a while back where Dave Walker was retweeting assorted clergy saying that they had a moral duty to travel by the lowest impact means ie. bike/foot. It’s what Jesus would have done…
When I am cut up by a driver with the fish symbol on his boot I remember Palm Sunday, when Jesus entered Jerusalem on an ass, not a big white stallion.
It's the same the whole world over
It's the poor what gets the blame
It's the rich what gets the pleasure
Isn't it a blooming shame?
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mjr
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Re: Low Traffic Neighbourhoods?

Post by mjr »

St Joan of Arc Roman Catholic Church in Islington to Whittington hospital is 18 minutes by cycle.travel route and only 20 via either Finsbury Park or Tufnell Park.
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awavey
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Re: Low Traffic Neighbourhoods?

Post by awavey »

well youll do well to find an article in the Telegraph thats even vaguely supportive of LTNs, and they seem to have quietly dropped their keep kids active campaign, there was a period last year where they were putting out 2-3 of these kinds of articles every week, so its clearly an editorial decision to try and print stuff like this and paint LTNs in their worst light.

whilst I realise its more a CofE cliche, but wasnt a vicar riding a bicycle one of those quintessential British archetypes like talking about the weather or drinking tea. I also dont understand why they peddle (sorry) the myth that being in an LTN means you cant drive to someones front door, it just means its not as conveniant for you to drive there, if it takes longer, set off earlier.

there shouldnt be a need for anyone from that church to drive 3miles, really its shocking they think thats even reasonable to begin with.

as for the butchers losing business, yeah I think theres been something else going on the past 18 months thats impacted them, it really isnt the LTNs, and why arent they cargo biking things too anyway, again a classic British cliche but how is it viable to deliver stuff over a short distance by van in London anymore even if the roads were completely empty ?

maybe Islington cycle club could give them both some advice.
ratherbeintobago
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Re: Low Traffic Neighbourhoods?

Post by ratherbeintobago »

Jeremy Vine has it about the priest.

Funnily enough, the Times had a ‘Cities fit for Cycling’ campaign. I wonder what happened to that?
Stevek76
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Re: Low Traffic Neighbourhoods?

Post by Stevek76 »

Jdsk wrote: 20 Jun 2021, 11:56am Simulation of the future Champs-Élysées:
https://mobile.twitter.com/TheB1M/statu ... 8929856515

Jonathan
Architect's wet dream of the future of the Champs-Elysees*

One would hope that whatever actual design is used doesn't end up being some hideous Exhibition Road style shared space in the parts still actually used by motor vehicles. Surfaces like that are terrible for those with limited vision and will quickly become a maintenance nightmare.

As much as it looks less pretty, anything carrying more than insignificant levels of motor traffic should be clearly delineated, same goes for any cycle (and other low speed/power personal transportation devices) lanes.

Landscape architects need to be kept on a tight leash...
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