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The evidence is in: low-traffic neighbourhoods are popular

The London election proves that measures to make streets safer are a vote-winner, says a former Labour leader of Ealing council

Are measures to make streets safe for walking and cycling unpopular? Are they vote-losers? Have we failed to take communities with us – and will we, as local politicians, pay the price?

As a former Labour leader of Ealing council in west London, I was at the heart of this debate. The low-traffic neighbourhood schemes we installed in my borough, using cameras to stop rat-running in more than a hundred streets, caused a row noisy even by the standards of cycling scheme rows. Demonstrators marched to the council offices with “Julian Bell – end this hell” placards. The “Bell” and the “end” were placed together to make a further well-loved phrase.

This footnote was added on 3 June 2021 to give Ealing council’s response on the status of its nine low-traffic neighbourhoods: The West Ealing South scheme (LTN 21), it said, was ended early because roadworks in neighbouring Hounslow would have made it unworkable for residents; there are no plans to remove the remaining eight before the end of the trial period. At that point “we will be offering a consultation on each LTN, keeping schemes that work and are supported, and removing those that do not”. It was further amended on 8 July 2021 to add attribution to a caption assertion that oil had been poured on the road to create danger for cyclists.

Julian Bell is councillor for Greenford Broadway ward, and was leader of Ealing council for 11 years.

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Cycling, Environment, Fitness, Health & wellbeing, Life and style, Local government, Local politics, Politics, Transport, Transport policy, UK news, Walking -

The evidence is in: low-traffic neighbourhoods are popular

The London election proves that measures to make streets safer are a vote-winner, says a former Labour leader of Ealing council

Are measures to make streets safe for walking and cycling unpopular? Are they vote-losers? Have we failed to take communities with us – and will we, as local politicians, pay the price?

As a former Labour leader of Ealing council in west London, I was at the heart of this debate. The low-traffic neighbourhood schemes we installed in my borough, using cameras to stop rat-running in more than a hundred streets, caused a row noisy even by the standards of cycling scheme rows. Demonstrators marched to the council offices with “Julian Bell – end this hell” placards. The “Bell” and the “end” were placed together to make a further well-loved phrase.

Julian Bell is councillor for Greenford Broadway ward, and was leader of Ealing council for 11 years

Continue reading...

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