Low Traffic Neighbourhoods in London Research Study

Low Traffic Neighbourhoods in London Research Study: a mixed-methods study of benefits, harms and experiences (January 2022-Sept 2025)

What is a low-traffic neighbourhood?

Low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) are transport interventions that restrict through motor traffic in a set of residential streets. Their aim is to make walking, wheeling, and cycling (active travel) safer and more comfortable within the area covered (as there are fewer cars passing through), and make driving through the area less convenient, both of which, it is hoped, will encourage people to walk, wheel, or cycle instead. LTNs commonly use modal filters to prevent motorised through-traffic whilst retaining access for people walking and cycling. Modal filters can be street furniture such as planters or bollards, or camera enforced closures.

By the end of 2020, 4% of Londoners (300,000 people) lived in areas covered by 72 LTNs introduced between March to September 2020 as part of the Covid-19 response. While some have been removed, more are planned to be implemented across London.

LTNs have been somewhat controversial. There is some promising evidence of benefits, including increased active travel, a reduction in road traffic injuries and street crime, and decreased car ownership and use (all of which are important policy goals in London). There is also concern about adverse impacts, for instance for residents on scheme boundary roads if motor traffic increases there, or on those disabled people who need to use cars and whose journeys may take longer. These debates continue with Transport for All’s Pave the Way report finding that disabled people interviewed perceived both positive and negative impacts from LTN interventions. The project will therefore study benefits, harms, and experiences of these changes.

Aim of the study

The aim of the study is to examine the potential benefits and harms of new LTN schemes, understand the experiences of those living in or near LTNs, and consider how policymakers can navigate controversy. Questions we want to answer include:

1. Do new LTNs lead to greater levels of, and more diverse, walking and cycling, compared to areas without them?
2. What are the health benefits from these schemes (e.g. reduced road injury risk)?
3. Do these schemes cause harms, including congestion on boundary roads or longer journeys for those disabled people who are reliant on cars?
4. How do local people experience and respond to LTNs?
5. How can policymakers navigate controversy surrounding these schemes, and make them more inclusive?

What are we doing in this study?

Our study focuses on up to 8 new LTNs due to be implemented in London in Autumn 2021-Autumn 2022, plus an equal number of matched control areas (which are areas with very similar characteristics, but which are not getting an LTN). This study will collect and analyse different types of information. This includes:

1. Quantitative (numerical) follow-up data in LTNs and control areas for three years. This will cover numbers of pedestrians, cyclists, and motor vehicles; age and gender diversity among people walking, wheeling, and cycling; congestion on boundary roads; and local car journey times.
2. Modelling of the health and health economic impacts of LTNs, via the pathways of physical activity, injuries, and air pollution.
3. Conducting interviews about experiences of LTNs with local residents, including disabled people, and with policymakers. We will interview residents and policymakers again at a later date to explore how experiences change as LTNs ‘bed in’.

Why is this research needed?

We need to know if goals such as increasing walking, wheeling, and cycling and reducing road injury risk are being achieved. We need to understand the daily experiences of people living within or near the low traffic neighbourhoods and how it impacts them and their journeys, both positively and negatively. This includes understanding how inclusive schemes are by exploring the experiences of residents with diverse travel needs and barriers, including disabled people. By speaking to policymakers involved in the LTNs, we will gain insights into the implementation process and how they have navigated any controversies. This research will provide policymakers with robust and timely evidence that can inform the future of transport interventions and ensure that they are inclusive.

Read an update on the first year of the project.

Researchers and other staff involved in the study

• Dr Ersilia Verlinghieri, University of Westminster (Joint Lead)
• Dr Anna Goodman, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (Joint Lead)
• Professor Rachel Aldred, University of Westminster (Co-Investigator)
• Patrice Ajai-Ajagbe, University of Westminster (Project Manager)

Quantitative Research and Health Impact Analysis

• Dr Jamie Furlong, University of Westminster
• Asa Thomas, University of Westminster
• Dr Anthony Laverty, Imperial College London
• Professor James Woodcock, University of Cambridge
• Dr Haneen Khreis, University of Cambridge
• Professor Philip Edwards, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
• Professor Benedict Armstrong, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

Qualitative Research

• Dr Harrie Larrington-Spencer, University of Westminster
• Dr Emma Lawlor, University of Westminster
• Luz Navarro, University of Westminster
• Caroline Stickland, Transport for All
• Emma Vogelmann, Transport for All
• Alisha Pathania, Transport for All

Funder

The study is led by the University of Westminster. The study is funded by a grant from the National Institute for Health and Social Care Public Health Research Programme (NIHR135020).

Contact us

If you would like to know more about the study, please email us at nihrltn@westminster.ac.uk