Croydon council spent £1,578,000 installing six Low Traffic Neighbourhoods – plus an estimated £100,000 installing the hugely controversial – and later scrapped – Crystal Palace Low Traffic Neighbourhood scheme when it was under Labour party control.
- The Parsons Mead LTN scheme in Broad Green ward cost £150,000 to install – according to one response – but £263,000 (£223,000 development, £40,000 construction) in a separate answer
- Albert Road LTN scheme: £263,000 (£223,000 development, £40,000 construction);
- Dalmally Road (just north of Lower Addiscombe Rd and south of Morland Rd) LTN scheme: £263,000 (£223,000 development, £40,000 construction);
- Elmers Road and Kemerton Road LTN scheme: £263,000 (£223,000 development, £40,000 construction);
- Holmesdale Road LTN scheme: £263,000 (£223,000 development, £40,000 construction);
- Sutherland Road (just north of Parsons Mead LTN) LTN scheme: £263,000 (£223,000 development, £40,000 construction);
In the most detailed Freedom of Information response which News From Crystal Palace has ever seen, Croydon council – now under no overall control but with its first elected executive Mayor (Conservative) – said in their response to a Department for Transport survey:
The total Upper Norwood LTN scheme cost is a very rough estimate.
The temporary scheme was rapidly implemented in stages over the summer 2020, initially in a part of South Norwood (using planters) in response to the SoS’s statutory guidance on the Covid Pandemic and Traffic
Management Duty, and to residents’ requests.
https://democracy.croydon.gov.uk/ieIssueDetails.aspx?IId=12231&Opt=3
The temporary scheme was implemented extremely quickly in response to
https://democracy.croydon.gov.uk/ieIssueDetails.aspx?IId=12231&Opt=3
Q21. If the scheme has been removed, please provide the removal date. If you
are unsure of the exact removal date, please provide the nearest estimate.
26/01/2001
see https://democracy.croydon.gov.uk/mgAi.aspx?ID=10718 .
In September 2023, DfT wrote to approximately 130 Local Highway and Transport authorities in England
with an invitation to complete a survey about LTN schemes. The Department received 42 survey submissions
among 130 invited to take part. Of these, 26 reported details of LTN schemes implemented in their area
and 16 reported zero LTN schemes (four submissions were additionally received via email).
A total of 99 schemes were identified by responding authorities.
Were Croydon asked to complete this survey please?
If they did, please could you send a copy of any response (including submissions) Croydon made to the Dft please?
If Croydon did not complete the survey or send any other response please could you say why not?
*For anyone reading the full answers from ‘Q66. Do you have another LTN scheme to report? No’ answers
are all blank – Ed.
*For anyone reading the full answers from ‘LTN Scheme 7 Q130. Scheme name’ answers are all blank – Ed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
**Download relates to the Upper Norwood LTN and repeats much – but not all – of what can be found above – Ed:
NOTE 1:
General background to the Croydon Temporary Low Traffic Neighbourhoods and Experimental Healthy Neighbourhoods, and
Specific background to the Crystal Palace and South Norwood Temporary Low Traffic Neighbourhood.
Introduction
The ‘Review’ defines a LTN scheme as:
‘A type of transport scheme seeking to remove or substantially reduce through motor traffic from a residential area, through the use of traffic signed restrictions or physical features such as planters.’
and states
‘We are only considering LTN schemes meeting the above definition funded by the Department for Transport and installed since March 2020, with construction complete.’
No Croydon scheme meeting the definition, has construction completed. One scheme (the main subject of this note and of the first questionnaire response) was only implemented as a Temporary scheme and has been removed. Other Temporary schemes have been adjusted and replaced by Experimental schemes. ‘Construction’ (including streetscape improvements’ will be completed if the Experiments are made permanent.
DfT/TfL funding will have only met part of the cost of implementing, monitoring and engagement for each of the schemes.
There are only four schemes that address ‘areas’. Whilst Croydon has used the term ‘Neighbourhood’, two schemes only address single streets. These are not the subject of questionnaire responses but are referenced in the reports provided in response 2 and 3, and associated Note 2 and 3. This Note, (and Notes 2 and 3) repeat some of the information in the questionnaire response but provides links to further information in hyperlink format, and gives some information not in the questionnaire response.
Background
The Croydon schemes were first implemented in response to statutory Guidance ‘Traffic Management Act 2004: Network Management in Response to COVID-19’ (updated on 23 May 2020). In his foreword to the Guidance of 23 May 2020, the Secretary of State for Transport explained that:
‘..as people go back to work we need millions more people to cycle. Over 40% of urban journeys are under 2 miles – perfectly suited to walking and cycling. Active travel is affordable, delivers significant health benefits, has been shown to improve wellbeing, mitigates congestion, improves air quality and has no carbon emissions at the point of use. Towns and cities based around active travel will have happier and healthier citizens as well as lasting local economic benefits. Central government therefore expects local authorities to make significant changes to their road layouts to give more space to cyclists and pedestrians.‘
The Guidance stated:
‘Reallocating road space: measures Local authorities in areas with high levels of public transport use should take measures to reallocate road space to people walking and cycling, both to encourage active travel and to enable social distancing during restart……. Local authorities where public transport use is low should be considering all possible measures.’
‘Measures should be taken as swiftly as possible, and in any event within weeks, given the urgent need to change travel habits before the restart takes full effect. None of these measures are new – they are interventions that are a standard part of the traffic management toolkit, but a step-change in their roll-out is needed to ensure a green restart. They include:
- …………
- Modal filters (also known as filtered permeability); closing roads to motor traffic, for example by using planters or large barriers. Often used in residential areas, this can create neighbourhoods that are low-traffic or traffic free, creating a more pleasant environment that encourages people to walk and cycle, and improving safety.’
The Crystal Palace and South Norwood Temporary Low Traffic Neighbourhood
Full details and results of evaluation and engagement (at and around the Crystal Palace and South Norwood Temporary Low Traffic Neighbourhood) can be found in the report (and appendices) to Traffic Management Advisory Committee 12/01/21, at https://democracy.croydon.gov.uk/ieIssueDetails.aspx?IId=12231&Opt=3. The Summary of the report starts by explaining:
- EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
2.1 This report outlines the evolution of the Temporary LTN at Crystal Palace and South Norwood, implemented in stages in response to the ongoing Covid19 Pandemic. It draws on:
- Guidance issued by the Department of Transport in May, when the Secretary of State for Transport was calling on all local authorities to respond swiftly to the Pandemic, to create space for social distancing, walking and cycling, with measures including using planters to close streets to create Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs).
- The refreshed Guidance published in November where the Secretary of State continues the call for action drawing on the government’s ‘Gear Change: A Bold vision for cycling and walking’ published in July, which sets out a range of commitments to increase levels of active travel in the medium to longer term, emphasising that reallocating road space is very much part of that vision.
- TfL’s and the Mayor of London’s ‘Streetspace Plan for London’ response to the Pandemic. (The purpose of the Plan (as explained by the Mayor) being to fast-track the transformation of streets across London to enable millions to change the way they get about the city).
The further sections of this note repeat some of the information given in the questionnaire response but also provide additional information.
- Scheme cost: Please provide the nearest estimate if you are unsure of the exact cost. Provide your answer as a whole number without any additional text (e.g. ‘150000’, NOT ‘£150k’ or ‘£150,000’).
- Please confirm the measures implemented as part of the LTN scheme. Select all that apply.
The total scheme cost is a very rough estimate. The temporary scheme was rapidly implemented in stages over the summer 2020, initially in a part of South Norwood (using planters) in response to the SoS’s statutory guidance on the Covid Pandemic and Traffic Management Duty, and to residents’ requests. Southern Gas Networks repair works had closed Auckland Road prior to Lockdown. Come Lockdown, SGN walked away from site, leaving Auckland Road closed. As Lockdown eased, SGN completed its works. A temporary closure and then camera enforced bus gate were installed, replacing the SGN closure along with further ‘planter’ closures at Crystal Palace, see: https://democracy.croydon.gov.uk/ieIssueDetails.aspx?IId=12231&Opt=3
Funding from DfT/TfL did not match the cost of the temporary scheme, but income derived from enforcing the bus gate was employed to meet implementation and other costs including that of engaging locally.
- If you selected yes for traffic sign(s), please confirm what type of Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) is in place. Please provide the date any TROs were made in the comments box.
The temporary scheme was implemented extremely quickly in response to the SOS’s Guidance calling on local authorities to act swiftly and in any event within a matter of weeks to implement measures such as using planters to close streets to create low traffic neighbourhoods or low traffic streets. There was no mention of exemptions. The recommended replacement Experimental / Trial scheme, proposed replacing many of the physical closures with ‘No Motor Vehicle’ restrictions and signs with exemptions for Permit Holders (including, residents, health workers, carers, blue badge holders), Emergency services, Buses and Taxis, see https://democracy.croydon.gov.uk/ieIssueDetails.aspx?IId=12231&Opt=3
- If you selected yes for PCNs, please complete the following. Please leave the answers blank if the scheme did not issue PCNs.
Enforcement of the bus gate restriction resulted in PCNs being issued, but information on numbers is not to hand.
- If the scheme has been removed, please briefly explain the reasons for removal.
The report at https://democracy.croydon.gov.uk/ieIssueDetails.aspx?IId=12231&Opt=3 recommended removing the Temporary Scheme and replacing with a different Experimental Scheme. The Temp scheme was removed, but a High Court decision re’ a challenge to a TfL scheme (including the ‘Streetspace Plan for London’) delayed implementing the Experimental scheme, see https://democracy.croydon.gov.uk/mgAi.aspx?ID=10718 . The process of then taking the decision through formal Scrutiny and getting the decision confirmed, took a further 6 months or so. After this time, we were close to the 2022 local elections. The Experiment was not implemented prior to the election. With the election of an Executive Mayor and the resulting change in administration, the Experiment was not implemented.
- If readily available, please upload any evidence on impacts of the LTN scheme (including both positive and negative impacts, for example impacts on air quality or congestion on boundary roads)
See report and appendices at: https://democracy.croydon.gov.uk/ieIssueDetails.aspx?IId=12231&Opt=3
NEWS FROM CRYSTAL PALACE 