The following statements were collected in the few days prior to presentation to the full council meeting in July and have been sent to all Lambeth Councillors. Personal details have been removed. However, we can verify identities of all contributors
I am a wheelchair user as the result of a spinal injury. Because of my injury I need to use the toilet every hour or so, so I need to plan my journeys very carefully. The journey from my house for the school run (I have 3 children) was about 5 min but now is at least 15 min. My return journey plus waiting time at school is nearly an hour! This is insane. Unfortunately I am not able to do things I used to do before, with my children or for myself. I am also finding it more difficult to get to medical appointments due to the removal of disabled parking.
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I live on Shakespeare Road North, adjacent to the Railton LTN. I have chronic pulmonary sarcoidosis which is life-limiting and incurable. The condition affects my breathing, muscles, joints and lymphatic system, and therefore my mobility). I have severe pain which I manage with opioids. Currently I can only walk about 10 metres and although I use an electric wheelchair, I have become increasingly reliant on my Motability car which helps me maintain my independence.
I contracted COVID-19 in March 2020 and was hospitalised for 97 days. As well experiencing symptoms relating to my underlying health condition, I am also struggling with a number of symptoms related to Covid infection and the fact that I was on a ventilator for 4 weeks.
Railton LTN road closures make even previously short journeys to Herne Hill (eg to the post office, grocery shop on Railton Road, and to meet family/friends locally) much more arduous, as instead of driving down Shakespeare Road, the very road I live on, I am forced to make a detour around Railton LTN and drive out via Coldharbour Lane onto roads that are often very congested, Being stuck in traffic exacerbates my pain and fatigue so much that I now only go out now if I really have to, which isn’t good for my mental health,
My neighbours organised a Zoom meeting with councillors in June 2020 (which I joined from my hospital bed), when we explained our concerns (particularly around the much longer journeys by car to access our homes and increased noise, dust and vibration from the increase in waste trucks accessing the Norris site on our side of the LTN barriers).
As there has been no meaningful engagement from the council regarding our concerns or mitigations for disabled people since that time, I decided, with the support of my community, to take legal action on the grounds that the council did not pay proper regard to Public Sector Equality Duty when implementing LTNs across the borough.
Although the judge found in favour of the council, he took the highly unusual decision of immediately granting an appeal against his own decision which I am now pursuing.
The last 16 months have been one of the most difficult times in my life, made worse by the imposition of these LTNs and the way our concerns have been continually dismissed by the Council. I found the way several senior councillors gloated on social media about their narrow court victory, particularly upsetting.
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I am disabled and unable to walk any distance and definitely unable to cycle. During lockdown I was shielded. Now I am unable to reach my pharmacy without driving all round the houses as it is at the other end of Upper Tulse Hill road. My GP practice is in the Streatham Hill LTN and the same applies. My daughter lived on Brixton Water Lane but has had to move because of the traffic outside her home 24/7. My son does not visit as much due to being stuck in traffic getting to and from my home. I can elaborate further if required. Daughter has now moved out of London due to the LTNs and Khans ULEZ. She needs her car to work but refuses to pay additional costs because of her job.
These people who are supposed to represent us do not understand the damage they are causing to residents. And what is worse when we tell them we are made to feel that we don’t count and don’t have any rights. Elderly and disabled who can’t walk or cycle are discounted. Thank God they haven’t got access to lethal injections
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I have been on maternity leave since the LTN was introduced. I have found the increased traffic on Leigham vale very depressing and it has affected my mental health. It’s like living on a motorway and was never like this before. At night I hear cars and motorbikes racing down our road. It has been even more distressing that the councillors don’t seem to care about residents on “boundary” roads and it feels like Lambeth Council run a dictatorship.
I worry that emergency services get stuck in traffic and have seen motorbikes and vehicles mount pavements in order to get around the LTN boundaries.I worry that my disabled mother can no longer visit me as again the LTNs have massive inequalities.I can’t take my baby out in the car for an occasional day trip outside of London as I just get stuck in gridlock traffic on the way back home, and on our residential road. My parked car has been damaged by the increased traffic on our road.
I hate taking my baby for a walk up our road as I can smell the car fumes and hear the road rage, honking horns and swearing. I spend my days dreaming about how to move out of Lambeth as I don’t like living on my road due to increased traffic and disagree with how LTNs have been implemented and have lost faith in our councillors.
I hate living on a” boundary” road and feel it is unfair it has been made into one, and will greatly affect the value of our home. I know that there has already been a drop in the number of school children at Hitherfield school and feel the LTNs will add to this drop.
It’s also worrying, the thought of walking home on quiet LTN roads, as it’s not safe to walk on empty roads in London.
LTNs do not support a public health need and certainly do not support professional working parents who do not have the option of flexible working or working from home. I’m an NHS consultant working across two hospitals and relied on driving to one of my hospitals to avoid a lengthy journey via public transport (a long, time-inefficient, journey that would otherwise involve a walk, the overground, the underground, a bus & another walk).
The introduction of LTNs means I cannot access childcare by car which is required due to the child carer’s time restrictions & working hours. I‘ve recently had to resign from working in one of the Hospitals where I was the sole consultant in my speciality leaving the local area without a consultant-led service.
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LTNs in Lambeth make it a very arduous journey getting to my 87 year dad who lives in Wandsworth. He has prostate cancer and a rare blood cancer so frequently attends hospital appointments at Kings or St Thomas. Journeys now take an hour and a half and not half hour. It is a nightmare for him and me.
My work in a crisis team in Lambeth means I spend more time in my car than getting to patients in mental health crisis. The service is dependent on frontline health staff who drive we would not be in a position to deal with the deluge of people needing emergency treatment and care at home. There has been no evaporation of traffic if anything we are now contributing more pollution to the environment due to spending longer periods sitting in idling traffic.
The traffic on Norwood Road has increased exponentially since the introduction of Tulse Hill and Dulwich LTNs, My living room feels like it has a constant stream of traffic running through it. I can’t open windows in the mornings afternoons and evenings due to the stench of car fumes and noise.
It was never this bad before there are young children walking to schools and joggers who use Norwood Road to get to the park breathing in the surge of car fumes. I cannot see how LTNs improve my life or anyone living and using Norwood Road whether you are a cyclist or not
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I am a carer for my brother who lives on the other side of Brixton, and has severe epilepsy. I visit 3 times a day by car which was a quick and easy journey before LTNs. Recently, he had a seizure and I was unable to get to him before the ambulance took him to hospital.
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Today I went out for a little shopping and I didn’t know they put a camera on the bottom of the road so now been informed by my son I will be issued with a ticket. As a disabled person who has problems with breathing and need assistance when out I depend on others. I don’t know what happening if know-one informs me if I’m not told by anyone I will continue to receive keep getting fines I have never had a letter from Lambeth informing me on we’re roads are closed and we’re not to drive down so if I receive a fine I will send it to Lambeth to pay it.
Can’t even get to my doctors as Ferndale Road is blocked off so can’t get on to nursery road so what does Lambeth want me to do stay locked indoors cause all roads are closed and roads being busy/air pollution. Lambeth you are killing me in all different ways I’m not happy of the way things are going
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Brixton Water Lane often has a permanent queue of vehicles waiting to turn onto Brixton Hill since LTN installed – never witnessed that in the 30+ years. I have lived in this area
I have seen emergency service vehicles frequently stuck in traffic on this road.
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I have lived in the area for 20+ years. I am concerned about the Tulse Hill LTN restricting direct taxi and minicab access at night due to the road blockages and camera restrictions, meaning lengthy & expensive diversions for residents. I was seriously mugged on my street by a gang of 5 boys, where I was shoved and hit a car, falling face down. I was pinned down & my hair was then grabbed & my face repeatedly smashed into the pavement, resulting in paramedics coming to see me for a suspected fractured eye socket.
As a result of this incident I do not like to walk around alone at night on quiet streets & choose door to door taxi or minicabs. I now face the choice of being dropped off at a barricade & walking the remaining distance home in the dark or face an expensive & lengthy detour thanks to the road planters. As an unemployed woman, the additional detour cost now makes it prohibitive for me to journey out at night, which is affecting my ability to connect with my support network, especially in winter with the long, dark, & wet nights. The LTN has meant I am now unable to see friends in the evening as the cost of getting home from relatively short distances is considerably more.
The lack of traffic within the LTN at night means it is eerily quiet & feels unsafe as there is no passing traffic to come to anyone’s aid if there is an incident, such as a mugging.
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LTN has impacted me a lot due to being a mental health nurse who also has a young family as well as being a carer for my disabled mother. We rely on the use of the car to get to appointments work and childcare and the LTNs have made a usual 5 minute journey take anywhere up to 45 mins.
On top of that traffic has been displaced onto Effra road which is causing a unfair amount of road pollution to the residents who live on these roads (my asthmatic children included). There was no consultation or information given to any of us until after they were installed.
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I run a domestic plumbing and electrical service business employing 4 people. LTNS add extra time to my journeys between even local customers. I can't afford to pay x 3 as yet unpaid PCNs, I worry that the Bailiff will be coming soon to take the company that I will have to shut down my business
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My journeys are not unnecessary. I use the car for a variety of things, from shopping to trips to the dump, from carpooling to football in West London to doing an airport run for our elderly parents. If there is a jam somewhere due to a problem on the roads the traffic should be able to filter away from the blockage but in the current state we just have to sit there and continually pollute.
I also cycle and when on a bike I want to get to my destination in the most efficient way possible. I am commuting - not going for a leisurely ride! I am sure that the side streets are not most commuters preferred route. I head straight to Brixton Hill before using the main roads all the way to Islington where I work. The main roads are now more congested with traffic which increases pollution that I have to directly breathe in, road surface wear and tear which is more difficult/dangerous to ride on and which will increase roadworks (leading to more traffic) and also the increased number of disgruntled drivers leads to a very real increase in road rage and danger for ALL road users.
The children in my house both attend schools that are on the main roads in Lambeth. Their little lungs are undoubtedly suffering.
But apart from the children, this policy of blocking off the side roads is mainly hurting the poorer people in Tulse Hill. I say this because the estates and blocks of flats line the main roads while the large houses like mine with their own private back gardens are where the roadblocks are set up.
Therefore the residents living along the main roads have to suffer with increased pollution, traffic rumble vibrations and associated noise while I and the rest of my immediate neighbours live in some faux utopia! It should be unacceptable in this day and age for this level of blatant inequality along the lines of class and race (look at the demographics of the residents in these contrasting sections) to the allowed to go ahead.
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Croxted Road is a narrow, atypical, 95% residential main road, with 2 nurseries and a school. The residents have been impacted hugely by lower traffic neighbourhoods in the area. Being on the Southwark/Lambeth boundary we have LTNs in both boroughs forcing traffic onto our road. Our biggest worry is the future health of all children living, walking and schooling on or near this road due to the air and noise pollution.
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My husband has an injury which has meant he was unable to walk anywhere. To get to our GP surgery has been nightmarish due to roadblocks in Roupell Road & Palace Road. Instead of a straightforward journey of 0.6 miles, this is now a 2.3 journey via the A204, A205 & the A23. How can this be justified?
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My son was mugged inside Tulse Hill LTN recently. Due to the roadblocks I could not drive to help him and due to arthritis, I couldn't run. This left a 13yr old extremely distressed. When speaking with police, they informed me that they were having I increased reports of robberies in the area and the LTNs made their job more difficult. They put the increase in street robberies down to the lack of traffic on upper Tulse hill. My son could have been seriously hurt and not being able to get to him was distressing for me as a parent and has left him with anxiety.
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I hardly drive now as I am worried about fines but this is impacting on my independence and mental health. I am worried about walking on quieter roads as it makes me feel vulnerable. I struggle with breathing when walking along Tulse Hill/Brixton Hill or Streatham Hill.
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I have 3 young children (ages 6, 4 and 1) and a school pick-up and drop-off to do each day. The school is a 2.3 mile walk away (too far for a twice-daily walk or a bike) and poorly served by public transport links. The new rules in place mean I will be adding at least 15 minutes to my journeys (60 minutes each day in the car given 2 pick-ups and 2 drop-offs) and more pollution to the Tulse Hill residents
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Serious concerns over ULEZ adding to the already significantly increased traffic on Christchurch Rd & the impact on the 4 schools, a youth centre, a residential care home and thousands of residents. In the planning approval for City Heights they said they'd keep the children safe from pollution. There is nothing to protect the children and the council have added to the problem. It's been proven that lung development in children is impacted by poor air quality. What are the council doing to protect children and residents from this?
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I am a single mum, I have 5 children, 3 of whom live with me and are dependants. My eldest son has severe autism and is non-verbal. He has a Motability car, with me as the allocated driver. This car is to give him the freedom to get out and about safely. But since the LTNs have been put in place, that freedom has been seriously reduced. As you may have noticed traffic has severely increased on the main roads since the introduction of the LTNs. This means our journey times have tripled.
My son has become increasingly stressed during journeys and in response begins flapping his arms, clapping sharply and at times resorts to violence. My son's anxiety and stress impact others in the car including myself and his primary school aged siblings. I have to make a judgement about whether to pull the car over, something that is much more difficult to do on a traffic- filled main road.
These behaviours have also occurred on public transport. Despite campaigns around disability, some people are not tolerant of this behaviour, hence it is safest for us to travel via car using the shortest routes possible.
I understand your concern about the environment, but it's important that those who aren't able to safely access alternative means of transport are considered and consulted when decisions are being made that directly affect their quality of life.
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At the beginning of 2019 my daughter had 2 cardiac arrests and was told she was clinically very vulnerable. She had to continue working which included face to face sessions. Normally her partner would give her a lift when he is out en route at work because it only used to take him 10mins to get to her. With he LTN he is now stuck for over an hour in 1 place and hasn't got the time to drive around Tulse Hill to get to her. She is having to get the bus to work, ironically to train volunteers to support families with walking. She feels so unsafe on the bus and exposed. She suffers from anxiety as it is, so travelling by bus or walking in public for a long time doesn't help this either. Her anxiety was further heightened when she had to work in the very area where Sarah Everard was kidnapped. She also has asthma. She has found the added traffic on the main roads, especially Brixton Hill, has caused her to have to use her inhaler more which is very worrying.
Her partner has Perthes disease which is a rare disorder of the hips so walking or standing for more then 10mins causes a lot of discomfort. This is a "hidden disability" and so his difficulties are not recognised. Sitting for long periods of time every day in traffic jams created by LTNs increases the pain and as a result is detrimental to his mental well being. Not forgetting the damage caused by added air pollution through sitting in unmoving traffic.
My son works as a driver delivering to construction sites. He has been working in this industry for 20 years. It has been very difficult for him to complete targets due to LTNs and as a result his job is threatening to let him go. Furthermore, he has had to pay fines from his low wages when he has inadvertently taken a route that now carries penalties. His day is much longer, yet this is not financially acknowledged by his employer.
I am in my 70's. I do yoga and am a member of a community choir. These have been on zoom from lockdown though with the relaxation of the regulations this is now changing to in person sessions. If the LTN continues it is going to be more difficult for me as I feel safe in my car from Covid (I am on steroids which suppresses the immune system) and I do not want to walk home from bus stops in the dark especially on quiet roads. I have been mugged twice in the past.
The LTNs were set up, we were told, to keep us safe in COVID times and healthier through reducing pollution and promoting walking and the use of bicycles. I do not see this is happening in the Tulse Hill area. I have lived her for over 30 years. The people I see cycling are those who always have. I see no increase in walking. Yet the pollution on the main roads is much worse where we have to walk to the bus stops. The traffic becomes gridlocked on Tulse Hill, Effra Road, Brixton Water Lane, Brixton Hill, Palace Road etc with vehicles idling their engines. It was never like this on Tulse Hill, Brixton Water Lane or Effra Road pre LTNs. Traffic on Effra Road now can be queuing from Brixton to Brixton Water Lane. And on Brixton Water Lane almost to Sainsbury’s from Brixton Hill. Previously, the traffic moved within one or two changes of the traffic lights change. And this is before the COVID regulations have been completely relaxed. How can this be healthier for us? The stress as well as physical effects are not conducive to healthier physical or mental well being on myself, my family or other Lambeth residents.
In addition, the LTNs have divided our community. As I said above I have lived here for over 30 years. The traffic has never been heavy in all those years apart from when CPZs were introduced in Josephine Avenue and more people parked in the roads around here. Since the CPZ was extended the traffic went back to its previous volume.
The ’rat running’ claimed by pro LTNers was a myth and falsely used to push for LTNs, mostly from people who have only recently lived in this area. With the Tulse Hill LTN the council Pinnacle vehicles were queuing up on Athlone Road on their way back to the depot. This is no longer the case. I wonder why. Their queuing took in one of the councillors’ house. How is it that this has changed, yet for parents who have to take their children to schools nearby by car they still have to manoeuvre on the junction with Claverdale Road causing stress. Familes are made up of children of all ages and backgrounds. If you have to get your children, including one with autism or another disability, to 3 different schools on time and pick them up as well, driving can be the only option.
The residents of Harriet Tubman Close which is part of Athlone Road were not even informed of the LTNs. Several have mobility needs and mental health issues. These are residents many of whom I have known since the houses were built are being ignored. Creating divisions within the community is not enhancing wellbeing for anybody.
These divisions are being deepened by many pro LTNers who have used unacceptable tactics, e.g. not allowing the anti LTNers to voice their opinions. Local residents who are opposed to the LTNs have been insulted on the local Whatsapp groups for voicing their opinions and some have even been removed! Is this democracy? Is this creating a healthy neighbourhood which is safe for us all? All this myself and my family find very stressful and it causes great distress to all of us.
I believe in reducing air pollution and workable ways of doing this have to be found. Consultation with the residents is key in this as many people have very creative ideas for doing this in a democratic, practical, logical way. It is interesting that Arundel in West Sussex didn’t implement their LTN when residents pointed out the shortfalls of it and so they consulted every resident as a result. Manchester is designing their cycle routes over a 10 year period.
The fact that my family’s voices have not been heard, especially by our local councillors who have been very dismissive to our situation – driving as the work of my son and daughter’s partner who deliver large tools and equipment which is no way can be carried on a bike or cargo bike; hidden disabilities such as Perthes disease, anxiety, asthma - is adding to the stress that the LTNs produce on a daily basis for us.
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I am a single parent small low emission car. My flat overlooks A23. I am self-employed on low income and need car for work and also for helping vulnerable neighbours. LTNs causing delays and more fuel consumption due to traffic and longer routes
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My business has suffered a drop in takings of around 33% due to the congestion caused by the LTNs reducing the capacity of my drivers to get to jobs I have had to increase the rates I charge to customers in order to make up that shortfall
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Several small local business (many of which are BAME owned/managed) told us that the sudden imposition of LTN barriers has adversely affected their income, as well as deliveries to and from their premises. We have withheld their names as several reported that they have been threatened with boycotts if they do not support LTNs.
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LTNs affect me because my friends find it difficult to get to me and as I find it much harder to get around. I have to take cabs to my doctor and hospital appointments but depending where they are coming from it can be hard for them to get to me and I have missed a few hospital appointments because of LTN'S
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The increased traffic along Norwood Road, Herne Hill due to the locals LTNs & timed road closures has been unacceptable since Nov 2020. Sometimes it goes back past the park to Bewyn Road. I wrote to the council about having cross borough meetings in Dec 2020 and no one has come back to me. I am concerned for our safety as Ambulances cannot get along Norwood Road to Kings Hospital. I have seen them put their blue lights on and turn around. We are in the middle of a respiratory pandemic and you are risking our lives by adding more pollution to our roads and delaying Emergency services saving lives.
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The road where I live, and the nearby roads, are now feel too quiet at night and unsafe. I had to walk to my GP in the dark last winter and felt very unsafe because of the quietness. At the time I had very severe back pain and could not walk fast – normally it would have taken me 7-8 minutes to walk there, that time it took me 30. I felt very uneasy all the time, for both the journey to the GP and back – at least 60 minutes walking. I no longer walk along Elm Park after dark because it is much too quiet.
When my daughter was a toddler she went to a nursery on Upper Tulse Hill and one winter day, after dark, we were attacked on our way home. Pedestrians on the other side of the road heard me scream for help, saw what was happening, and just walked away. One driver actually stopped, helped us, called the police, and stayed with us until the police arrived. These LTN days I believe it would be highly unlikely that someone would be driving by and help us. The roads inside the LTNs now are much too quiet and unsafe.
I find the traffic displacement to the boundary roads insulting. I am lucky I do not live on a boundary road, otherwise, my health and the health of my family would have been sacrificed, exactly like the health of those who do not have the same luck as me. And even though I live inside an LTN, every time I use a boundary road for anything (including taking buses) my health is put at risk because of the extra traffic and deterioration in air quality. This applies to my family too, on a daily basis.
After the Tulse Hill LTN was introduced, every time I need to drive out of my house I meet a horrific amount of traffic that was never there before. I regularly face journeys of 30 minutes or more to only reach Clapham. I am constantly worried about what will happen in an emergency – will I be able to drive anywhere, or be caught in the permanently bad congestion? Brixton Road regularly has solid queues of both cars and buses all the way from the Town Hall to the South circular and beyond (both ways).
For a long time by now I have only driven essential journeys, and/or those that cannot be done reasonably by public transport. Every time I drive out I wonder what is the reasoning behind making me drive more and be called a vermin for doing it. Even if it is agreed that my journeys are essential and I should drive them, I still have the problem of the boundary roads. What should happen then? I would still be stuck in the problem created by the LTNs.
About one year ago there were leaflets distributed by the Tulse Hill councillors that advertised LTNs as being a solution for the speeding problems on my street. Since the Tulse Hill LTN was introduced I have been observing a considerable worsening of speeding instead. Nothing is being done to address the worsening of an already existing problem.
My husband has been a cyclist for several decades and now finds his journeys to work far more dangerous because of the traffic displaced by the LTNs. He had to extend his cycling route to work considerably because he can no longer use the main roads safely.
I find these LTNs absolutely hideous. Please remove them.
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Living at the border of a LTN, on Christchurch road, we have seen the traffic noise and pollution increase since all the cars, including people leaving in the neighbourhood, are redirected to the periphery to go between any two points within the neighbourhood.
Living on Coburg Crescent, we were already concerned about the air quality in our home, but in the past few months, this has further increased, as we can clearly see the increased pollution in the form of dust and deposit on surfaces.
The other morning, taking a driving lesson and needing a quiet road, instead of 2 minutes, it took us 15 minutes to go from my home to three roads away. This illustrate very well how cars end up spending more time in and around the neighbourhood, lost in the created maze, stuck in traffic and trying to go around the restrictions.
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Railton LTN has caused considerable travel delay for me, getting to King’s Hospital, due to Shakespeare Road’s closure, in Railton LTN. I need to take my father, who has Parkinson’s, and mother, who is diabetic, from Effra Parade to King’s Hospital for regular check-ups almost every month. Shakespeare Road provides the most direct access to Cold Harbour Lane without passing the congested Central Brixton area. Now that Railton and Shakespeare Roads are both closed, the access to Coldharbour Lane towards Camberwell and Kings Hospital has increased a journey that used to be 5 minutes, to 20 minutes minimum. Last time my father fell into the bath, I took him to King’s Emergency during the day, the journey via Brixton was over 30 min which increased his pain and distress.
A number of businesses in Railton LTN have told me that they have suffered from losing business from passing traffic, particularly convenient stores and takeaways, with some indicating 30% trade lost, compared to pre-LTN days.
Railton LTN has created a no-man’s vacuum on the side streets, day and night, with many people worried about increased risk of crime such as assaults, burglary and violent crime on women.
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We contest the proposed LTN for the following reasons:
Lack of consultation- We were totally unaware of the LTN plans before a neighbour brought them to our attention. The LTNs disturb us greatly, and their introduction has caused me huge anxiety.
Extra travel time - I currently commute to Wimbledon and the extra travel time will amount to another hour/day. Additionally my GP is within the proposed Streatham Hill LTN and as we are outside of this I will be unable to drive / be driven there going forward, as I have needed to do in the past. And the GP surgery is 25 minutes’ walk from my house along the now much busier “boundary” road.
Pollution - I am extremely concerned about the pollution levels here that are undoubtedly increasing, particularly with 5 schools along Leigham Court Road. This road is the boundary for one LTN currently and is supposed to be the boundary road for the Streatham Hill LTN in future, and has already had a 50% increase in traffic.
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The traffic build-up has become much worse going down Leigham Vale since the implementation of this scheme. Queues at rush hour are full of honking cars, waiting for ages to get through the junction now the traffic flow is so increased. Lots of dangerous overtaking is going on, with cars travelling the wrong way up Leigham Vale after getting tired of waiting in the queue. I have seen 5 near crashes just in the last couple of months, one involving a kid on a bike. This is so much worse than before.
I am fed up of living on a junction which was previously relatively peaceful, and has now become a backlog of idling cars. I am also concerned that the new changes (additional blocked off roads in our corner of the LTN) will mean that we cannot access our flats if travelling from the south as there is no right turn into our junction.
This seems to be contrary to the aims of the LTN where the measures are not supposed to restrict access to flats, but to improve our quality of life – at the moment the scheme does neither and the plans at this junction need some serious thought so that we are not the ones who catch the entire impact of the ABC roads having a nice peaceful life, while we get all of their traffic.
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The LTNs are increasing traffic on our road, worsening already high levels of air pollution. Leigham Court Road has a large resident population and is a key walking and cycling route for many local people and schoolchildren.
I walk my asthmatic daughter to school along it and along Leigham Vale each day and can see the increased volumes of traffic and the impact it is having on congestion and driver aggression, which makes the whole area that children walk to school along much worse. I fear for the impact on her health.
The scheme pits those living on the boundaries against those lucky enough to live inside them and is being pushed through in a shoddy and ill-thought through manner. The Council is choosing not to document any of the aspects of the scheme that are abhorrent to us, such as much higher pollution. There are no good reasons for not measuring pollution where the traffic is, as a consequence of the LTNs, very high.
Those of us who live on Leigham Court Road are, as one, against the scheme remaining and against it continuing to harm our way of life. Every single person I know here - whatever their age, income, background, race or (dis)ability - is opposed to the imposition of the LTNs. Nor were we consulted on them at all, even though we stand to receive and inhale all of their negative impacts.
It is an ineffective public policy programme that doesn’t achieve its own stated aims, such as the LTN aim of making roads safer for children. This is a road with more schools on it, and more school children walking along it, than any other road for miles around. It is much less safe now it is so much busier.
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Can the Council actually measure the pollution on Leigham Court Road and commit to not making it worse on roads like this that are already relatively polluted and / don’t meet acceptable pollution limits? This has not happened and needs to.
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I am a resident of Leigham Court Road (LCR). My husband and I have lived here since 2015. We have a 3 year old and 7 week old child. My below experience of living on LCR relates to the stretch of road between the petrol station (junction with Valley Road/ traffic lights) and Streatham Hill station. Over the past 6 years we have noticed a significant increase in traffic volume and dangerous driving/ speeding. Whilst the speeding has always been present, the 50% increase in volume of traffic since last September and the added road danger it brings can be attributed to the local LTN. I am genuinely scared of walking my buggy/ baby and 3 year old toddler on this stretch of road now and many other mum friends of mine have said the same thing.
The footpath does not feel a safe enough barrier to speeding HGV’s, buses, motorcycles and cars. The footpaths are busy with school kids and their parents due to the high number of nurseries, primary, secondary and sixth form buildings on this street. In the 6 years I have lived here I have witnessed and been up close to 3 road vehicle collisions/ crashes. I have seen the aftermath of many more.
Whilst I appreciate we do not live on a quiet residential road, what I cannot accept is dangerous driving and speeding as I push my buggy and walk my child to nursery, or the Council trying to make this residential road even worse. In 2018 I emailed Cllrs Jackie Meldrum and Jane Pickard requesting monitoring of speeding and introduction of speed cameras SUBJECT: Speeding/ Dangerous Driving - Leigham Court Road (ref: 1555896) the response to my concerns re speeding were as follows:
“Speeding enforcement is primarily a police matter and the Community Speedwatch scheme works in partnership with local communities: https://www.communityspeedwatch.org/ The council does have mobile CCTV which is better value for money than fixed CCTV cameras. Can you suggest the optimum time of day /day of the week for identifying speeding vehicles? There have been discussions on traffic calming for Leigham Court Rd. I will ask for an update.”
I sought an update however I never received one. I did advise, “the problem is evident all day and would seem more so during off peak times as the road is less congested and allows for speeding. It is however an issue also during peak. I would suggest the mobile car does an audit/sample during peak and off peak to determine extent of the issue”.
The 50% increase in the volume of traffic has exacerbated an already dangerous situation. The pollution attributed to the increase is also a concern and whilst LTN might be good for some SW16 residents it is not good for the health of the residents of LCR and the health of 1000’s of children who attend school here. The prevalence of queuing/ engine running traffic has dramatically increased.
I consider myself to be an engaged person that stays close to developments in the area. I do not recall an email/ letter/ leaflet relating to the LTN’s progress and affect on roads surrounding it. I would like to understand this consultation process – did I miss this?
It has now come to a stage that my husband and I will sell in the near future and move to another area. An area where my children can breathe clean air and I can safely allow my eldest to cycle her bicycle to school. This will not be possible on LCR until something is done to ensure traffic volumes and speeding are actively managed. How the council and/ or police can do nothing to address these issues on a road with 1000’s of children attending and walking to schools here is nothing short of negligence.
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The past 18 months have been incredibly challenging - the pandemic has resulted in multiple and diverse losses for our communities. During this time, it has been so disheartening to live on a road - Leigham Vale - which has become: busier, more polluted (both chemically and verbally with abuse language and behaviour by enraged motorists), increasingly unsafe to walk along (cyclists and motorbikes forced onto the pavement), and to be part of a community that feels unsupported and ‘dumped’ on.
I am in support of creating environments that are safe and healthy. I do not believe this has been fairly or accurately actualised by the current LTN in my area. The current scheme has created the absolute opposite of this for me and my family, and my neighbours on Leigham Vale. It has made my neighbourhood and immediate community seem like a place that does not matter.
I feel we have been discriminated against and cannot support a system that seems to actively ignore the impact it has on whole areas and community of people. I find it very hard to make sense of the rationale around the LTN implementation. For example, there is a school on this road, which my child goes to. This means he inhales more pollution when at home and all day, at school. I am saddened by the fact that the risk of a child being involved in a road traffic related incident has increased.
I welcome a coordinated negotiation around how we make our roads and communities healthier and safer, for all. Thank you.
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We are residents of Glyn Court on Leigham Court. We are both avid cyclists. In the last year we have noticed a significant increase of traffic on our road. This is being caused by the displacement of traffic as a result of the LTNs. We consistently hear people sounding their horns in anger. We have seen multiple road rage incidents. We no longer feel safe to cycle down our own road, which means we cycle much less. We have seen multiple cycling accidents and traffic accidents.
We deserve to be consulted and, more importantly, listened to. The LTNs are divisive, exclusive and exclude residents on a road which is mainly flats (and non-car owners) bearing the brunt of the traffic to improve the quality of life for a small number of neighbourhoods.
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I do worry about the extra pollution effect on our son. He has respiratory problems as it is He uses and oxygen concentrator and is on a ventilator 9 + hours a day. We've bought an air purifier for him since the restrictions (in Lambeth and Southwark) came in
Taxi costs to special school and for carers has increased. At one stage it was hard to even get a taxis as they would cancel when they realised how long it would take to get here if they were coming from the south or west of Croxted Road.
One of our son’s regular carers was going to retire at the end of this year however the No.3 bus she relied on to get home got so bad she'd had enough and retired early.
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Traffic and pollution increase by schools and homes caused by the Streatham Hill LTN is unacceptable. Speeding and dangerous driving increase is also unacceptable. There are 5 schools here, on or just off Leigham Court Road. The LTN has negative impacts on this huge school population.
Diminished access to the neighbourhood for taxis and cars is causing major problems for those who have their own businesses. We rely on having travel times that are predictable as we need to be in a certain place by a given time every day of our working lives.
My partner sets out for work half an hour earlier every day, due to the delays to travel times and interruptions to business certainty that LTNs create.
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My husband and I are strongly opposed to the current and proposed experimental LTNs in Streatham. We live on St Julians Close, off Leigham Court Road and have already noticed a significant increase to the volume of traffic, including HGVs, on Leigham Court Road resulting from the experiment so far. The increase in traffic volume has also led to increasingly dangerous erratic driving from frustrated motorists - in May 2021 my husband was walking along the pavement by St Julian’s Close and was hit by an overtaking car that mounted the pavement. The car then sped off down the wrong side of the road overtaking all the slow-moving cars.
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I am a 42-year-old woman with two young children and osteoarthritis. I have significant mobility issues so am restricted to travelling by car and the increased traffic has added to journey times and my sense of isolation. I do not have a Blue Badge but, because my condition limits my movement, I really need to drive over short distances, and don’t have the choice to walk or cycle instead. The increased noise and sound pollution means that we can no longer open our windows at the front of the house which is so uncomfortable with our children, particularly during the summer.
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I have been a resident of Lambeth Council for over 15 years. I am a working parent, with two young children. I am also a pedestrian, a cyclist and a motorist. I have lived on Leigham Court Road for 9 years now. It has always been a busy road as it has always been a route taken to avoid the A23 Streatham High Road, but I must bring to your attention the massive increase in traffic recently, to a point where we have (as the norm) idling stationary traffic backing up right past Rockhampton Road (heading north) during rush hour. LTNs have brought more traffic onto our road and it is untenable.
The increase in pollution is felt in the air. The dust inside our house is actually grey from the pollution, the noise and the fumes make it impossible to open the windows even on a very hot day. I now fear for the health of my two children aged 10 and 12.
LTNs are actually TDNs (that stands for Traffic Displacement Networks). A very few streets may benefit from no traffic to the detriment of other streets.
The system is unfair, undemocratic and divisive. The streets with increased traffic are those that have people from lower incomes, frequently in rented accommodation, and are often immigrants. Leigham Court Road is one of those streets. In rush hour, idling stationary traffic backs up past Rockhampton road (heading north).
LTNs therefore exacerbate social division and are damaging to neighbourhoods.
Residents who actually live on an LTN street often are worse off too, with those needing access to a car due to frailty or disability being unable to travel or even receive deliveries
Car journeys have not stopped. Not everyone is able to cycle, walk or take the bus, and bus routes do not necessarily go to the intended destination. We don’t have a tube and there are big gaps in the public transport network here.
Journeys take much longer therefore creating more pollution. LTNs are making the existing problem worse.
We all want greener streets and less traffic, but this system has not been thought through properly and is punishing Lambeth residents. This is not the way to solve the problem.
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Thank you so much for fighting this. We have a small baby and contemplated moving because of the increased pollution on our street. I can't even work outside in the front garden anymore without coughing because of the pollution caused by the back to back traffic outside all the time (we live on a main road). I really hope they reverse these changes!
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Mursell Estate (a private road) has turned into an A road, where motorists are using it to get to/from Clapham Road to South Lambeth Road. Our children and elderly and disabled people are no longer safe using the estate narrow road.
We have complained to Lambeth Council but they choose to ignore us and allowed the LTN on Albert Square to remain.
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I live on Kenington Oval where there is a permanent queue of bumper to bumper traffic as all I can’t get out the area (always traffic) so I’m late for everything. I don’t even know how to get home most days. I have to park up and think. My son is late to school most days. Walking and cycling isn’t an option in the mornings when you are a busy mum. The area is not safe. A young boy was chased with a knife on Fentiman road after school a few weeks ago.
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All the traffic has been redirected to the Harleyford road right outside my lounge window.
There is constant noise and the pollution is off the scale. Impossible to escape the pollution so I am extremely concerned for my health. The volume of traffic has meant my window has started to rattle and it is only 6 years old! The Oval LTN roads are eerily quiet, As a woman I don't feel safe to walk down any of these roads on my own - even in broad daylight
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Access to my estate by car/taxi has been cut off. You would have to travel an extra two miles and sit in traffic for an eternity. The cost of that would (in a taxi) would be very prohibitive. What right do the council have to stop cars coming on to my estate - Claylands Road is closed, so I would have to walk down a deserted road in the dark on my own.
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I am concerned about the lack of consultation with experts or local residents to gain ideas and understand their needs. Lack of coordination with TFL: in addition to extra traffic on Clapham Road created by the Oval LTN, TFL simultaneously introduced the cycle superhighway so more bikes and priority for bikes on a road which is full of cars making it dangerous for cyclists, drivers and pedestrians.
I can no longer able to stop car outside the house to collect/drop off my disabled mum due to double red lines and cycle highway. When she has hospital appointments, if an ambulance is sent to collect or drop her off it can stop outside the house but if they send a minicab, it cannot stop outside the house or turn into Durand Gardens meaning my mum’s journey is longer to/from the hospital and she has a longer walk to the house. She has chronic pain in her legs, cannot be seated for long periods or walk very far. Her needs have not been considered and she has been a resident on Clapham Road since 1974!
Lambeth Council originally put a letter through the door to advise of the Oval LTN just one week before it was implemented and did not reply to my email expressing my concerns. Moreover, they said it was so that the residents in the Oval triangle would have more space to socially distance due to Covid. This is completely untrue as those roads are generally pretty empty anyway and at the time of the first lockdown there was hardly any traffic – there are several parks walking distance of that area for people to take socially distanced exercise.
Its an extra 15-25 mins to get to and from work (depending on time of day) due to not being able to take any turn from Clapham road to south Lambeth road to cross Vauxhall Bridge. Traffic forced onto Clapham Road creating congestion, pollution and extra noise on Clapham Road
TFL has made Durand Gardens a no entry so cannot turn left or right either side of Clapham Road in the roads directly surrounding our home and where we park our car. Sometimes I have to sit in traffic on Clapham Road directly outside my house due to having to take a detour via Caldwell Street and Liberty Street to get to Durand Gardens to park my car causing more traffic in the narrow side streets and a longer frustrating journey.
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Camberwell New Road is affected by back up traffic which can no longer user Vassell Rd then Fentiman AND has traffic diverted from Southwarks’s Brandon LTN. Dire. All roads taking extra traffic are residential and six schools on or near it.
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I live on Kennington Oval where there is a permanent queue of bumper to bumper traffic as all other routes between Clapham Road and Vauxhall are blocked
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I live on the ‘north’ part of Shakespeare Road and, along with many of my neighbours, I am unhappy that the Railton LTN barrier has partitioned the road we live on, at the exact point that the demographic changes from mainly white affluent home owners (on the south part of the road) to a more of a mix of ethnicities/private and social housing.
Councillors/officers met with a large number of residents in June 20, when we told them of our concerns, namely
having 8 access/exit points reduced to one, which is particularly difficult for disabled or elderly people who rely on motorised transport, paid/unpaid carers, key workers, deliveries (including Royal Mail) who would have to navigate their way around the LTN barriers
displaced traffic/congestion onto other roads around the LTN
increase in waste trucks accessing the Norris Recycling site on this part of the road (we are now getting 160-180 truck journeys past our homes every weekday, with their associated noise, dust and vibration) I and my neighbours now feel like we are now living on a 900m long industrial estate.
Concern about walking through the ‘no man’s land’ created by the planters and quieter LTN roads, particularly after dark.
After a year of no meaningful engagement from the council, the planters have become a focus for people’s discontent and are frequently ‘ vandalised’
None of us want to live on roads which have become such battlegrounds and yet rather than considering why people might be so unhappy about the LTNs, with some taking direct action, councillors and officers press on with their human experiment, choosing to listen only to proLTN campaigners who have been dismissing, disbelieving and belittling anyone raising concerns for the last year.
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I am a community nurse and part of my role is to help people with long term health conditions and depression/anxiety become more physically active and less socially isolated.
Prior to March 2020, I was facilitating walking and wellbeing groups in local parks and hope to do so again. I am aware that it often takes a great deal of effort for people with chronic disability and illness to plan an outing, and that if the chosen mode of transport is problematic (i.e. people have to completely change their usual route due to road closures and/or get stuck in traffic on congested roads around LTNs which for people with chronic mental or physical illness can exacerbate some of their symptoms), they might well decide not to leave their house at all.
Although shielding has ended, it is highly unlikely that people with underlying health conditions and disabilities, who cannot walk or cycle, will feel confident or be able to switch to public transport for some while yet, and are therefore likely to be relying on private cars or taxis for the foreseeable future.
I have also highlighted concern around diverting traffic from LTNs onto roads such as Coldharbour Lane which is an area of high deprivation, with large numbers of people of colour living and working on it. The council’s traffic monitoring programme does not appear to very comprehensive and rather alarmingly, we have been told that air quality will only be modelled rather than accurately measured.
Although emergency vehicles are able to pass through the LTN barriers, I often see these vehicles caught up in traffic congestion on Herne Hill roads surrounding the LTN. This is a real worry in terms of unnecessary delays to all three emergency services and I understand from FOIs that both LFB and LAS staff have raised concerns via their incident reporting procedures.
On a personal level, as a woman, I feel much more anxious about walking back from Herne Hill or Brixton station now via quieter streets and the no man’s land on Shakespeare Rd North created by the barriers. I highlighted this a few months ago at a ‘Coldharbour Made ‘meeting as well as a Labour Party meeting focused on the safety of women and girls. I am not aware of any action from the council regrading this matter.
I also hate how the current LTNs are re-enforcing the disparity between those who are able bodied, work from home and have campaigned to tailor the streets to suit their needs,
VS those feel they do not have a voice with regards to how these schemes adversely affect them.
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