UK city scraps low traffic neighbourhoods after 'concerns'

Newcastle has SCRAPPED low traffic neighbourhoods after "concerns" from drivers. Newcastle Council has scrapped a low traffic neighbourhood which affected roughly 10,000 residents in the area after receiving numerous complaints.

Bollards installed 18 months ago to prevent some residential streets from being used as rat runs will be ripped out once a trial period ends on April 23. Sunil Bhopal, a local dad and children's doctor, said: “For 18 months the council made the streets safer for our kids by stopping through-traffic from the Coast Road...

"They just offered two options for making this change permanent in the last few weeks, but now seem set on ditching the whole thing. It's baffling in the face of widespread support – local children and families deserve better.”

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Tom Madge, another supporter of the LTN, said that the “speeding, congestion, stress, pollution and noise” prior to the scheme’s introduction was “unsafe and horrible”. He added: “The LTN scheme here has made it crystal clear how unsuitable these roads were for thousands of cars using them as a cut through every day.

"That’s what we’ll go back to in week one if they remove it." Jeff Pickthall said: “Although it has a laudable aim, in reality it just created congestion and hassle. As someone who is a pedestrian and a cyclist and a driver, all three got worse.

"As a pedestrian and a cyclist, you are forever taking your life into your hands because there were vehicles dotting in and out of back lanes.” A spokesperson for Newcastle City Council, said: “Following a review of consultation feedback and data collected during the Heaton Neighbourhood Low Traffic Zone trial, we have concluded that it would not be appropriate to make these measures permanent when the experimental traffic regulation order expires on April 23.

“Traffic data collated during the trial showed that, rather than using main routes, vehicles often used alternative residential streets, with Falmouth Road and Wandsworth Road particularly affected by an increase in traffic. We know residents would agree that this is not what we wanted to achieve. We have examined all 2,380 responses to the consultation and the views of residents were almost evenly split between those in favour of the measures and those against.”