The council has promised to explore mitigation measures to alleviate the concerns of those negatively impacted by the LTNs.
Greenwich implemented the West and East Greenwich Neighbourhood Management Trial Scheme a year ago with the aims of reducing traffic, increasing sustainable travel and improving air quality and road safety in two areas of Greenwich.
The scheme attempted to do this with camera enforced filters that restrict traffic from 7am to 10am and from 3pm to 7pm on weekdays.
The council moved to make the LTNs permanent last month after it found the scheme decreased traffic throughout the entire area by six per cent and air quality in the LTN areas had slightly improved, although only by a “negligible” amount.
However, two sets of councillors called in the decision and it was discussed at Thursday night’s meeting of Greenwich’s Overview and Scrutiny Call-in Sub-Committee which saw many of the borough’s residents share their thoughts.
Colin Humphries lives on Maze Hill with his wife and two children.
He spoke in favour of the scheme after explaining that his family now feels safer cycling to and from nursery.
Colin said: “In a week before the traffic management scheme began, we were dangerously close passed [by cars] on the way to nursery four times.
“In the last 10 months while the scheme has been in operation we have not been close passed once.”
East Greenwich resident Kate Middleton praised the scheme for making roads safer for the young people in her area.
She said: “Over 1,000 children walk to school more safely, more healthily and more pleasantly than they have done in the previous 6 years.”
Neil Robertson of the Greenwich Cycling Group supported the LTNs as he said they “prioritised people over vehicles” and made Greenwich a “safer place” for cyclists.
Although those living within the LTN areas feel safer, those on its boundaries feel the opposite.
Council studies found the scheme has pushed traffic onto other roads, particularly a north-south ‘rat run’ in Charlton that runs past a primary school.
Charlton Central Residents Association Sarah Hornsey said: “We are experiencing traffic jams and very aggressive behaviour from drivers which is compromising the safety of pedestrians. I experience this myself daily.
“The scheme sought to make our area safer and cleaner for everyone, but it is completely failing those of use who live on the boundary roads.”
John Tierney, an Eastcombe Avenue resident who lives along the apparent rat run, called on Greenwich Council to “cancel this failed experiment” and called the LTN scheme a “social injustice” because of the negative impact it was having on the lives of those living in Charlton.
Cllr Calum O’Byrne Mulligan, Cabinet Member for Climate Action, Sustainability and Transport, assured Charlton residents that once the LTN scheme was made permanent, the council would explore mitigation measures to offset what was happening in Charlton.
He suggested these mitigations could be turning restrictions, new crossings or changes to existing junctions, but he was not able to explain these further as “we do not yet know what the scheme is” and it must be made permanent before mitigation ideas can be legally explored.
Benjamin Dholakia-Wellens said that he and others living in Charlton “aren’t convinced there are mitigations” to solve the increased traffic in their streets.
He said: “It’s all very well waiting and see what will happen, but we see more and more traffic on Eastcombe Avenue particularly and it’s not safe. It’s not safe around where we live.”
Cllrs Lakshan Saldin and Tamasin Rhymes of the Independent and Green Group called in the decision to make the LTNs permanent because they felt the scheme did not deliver its aims of reducing traffic, improving air quality and improving safety for all road users.
They wanted to defer the final decision on making the LTNs permanent in order to implement mitigation measures in areas adversely affected by the scheme.
Cllr Saldin criticised the scheme for pushing cars onto boundary roads, particularly those in Charlton where he lives, and he said the “negligible” air quality improvement was hardly an improvement as the reduction of air pollutants was “in the billionths” of a gram.
He also said that in some instances, traffic had actually increased under the scheme, such as on boundary roads to the western area of the scheme during the afternoon filter slot of 3pm to 7pm.
Council Leader Anthony Okereke said the scheme had to be looked at holistically and “we cannot pick and choose data points”.
He felt the overall six per cent reduction in traffic was a positive step.
“We are beginning to change behaviour,” he said in reference to an uptake in Greenwich residents walking and cycling because of the LTNs
He also said that any improvement in air quality, no matter how small, should be celebrated. Cllr O’Byrne Mulligan agreed that in the long term the scheme would have a deeply positive impact on air quality and in turn, public health.
He said the major impact of these modal shifts would be made apparent in two to five years.
Cllr Saldin also questioned whether the scheme had made roads safer. He spoke as a competent cyclist, and said he did not feel safe cycling on Charlton roads during the times in which the LTNs were active.
Council officers revealed the amount of collisions and casualties on roads were down following the implementation of the scheme.
In the six months before the LTNs were introduced there were 51 collisions and 58 casualties in the affected areas and boundary roads. After it came into force, there were 29 collisions and 32 casualties.
Tory councillor Charlie Davis wanted the LTNs to be scrapped entirely because of the increased traffic on boundary roads and the “absolutely appalling” impact that was having on residents.
He said: “I think the mitigations, for someone who is living on a boundary road, has seen the increase in traffic, has maybe seen their children suffering with breathing difficulties; mitigating that is not going to make a difference to their life.
“The thing that is going to make a difference to their life is removing the scheme so that the huge increase in traffic is not going to continue on their road.”
In response to his boundary road concerns, Cllr Okereke brought in a council officer who said the boundary road traffic increase was partly down to roadworks that were being undertaken at the Blackheath Hill and Greenwich South Street junction at the time.
After the sub-committee—which consisted of three Labour councillors—heard presentations from councillors and residents, it decided to take no further action and allow the Council Leader’s previous decision to make the West and East Greenwich Neighbourhood Management Trial Scheme permanent.
After handing down the decision, sub-committee Chair Cllr Lauren Dingsdale urged the council to continue monitoring the boundary roads and to make that data publicly available as soon as possible.
