Analysing the safety and environmental benefits of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods for Haringey Council

How to demonstrate the impact of LTNs on traffic volumes, road safety and air quality

Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) are residential areas where through-traffic is restricted by bollards, planters, cameras or other street infrastructure.

London Borough of Haringey established three experimental LTNs in Bounds Green, Bruce Grove West Green and St Ann’s, covering almost a quarter of the borough. The council needed to find out if these LTNs were achieving their objectives of making streets safer, improving air quality and encouraging more people to walk or cycle.   

The council appointed SYSTRA to carry out extensive monitoring and data analysis across the three LTNs and to present the findings in clear and accessible ways for stakeholders and decision makers. Huge amounts of traffic data as well as insights from consultations and surveys needed to be compiled, analysed and reported, to help the council decide whether or not to retain the three new LTNs permanently.

Complex multi-source data analysis and reporting to support council decision-making

SYSTRA is the market leader in Low Traffic Neighbourhood analysis. We have developed specific tools for accurate traffic monitoring, which we deployed across the three LTNs in Haringey. These tools are designed to eliminate human error and remote-sensor anomalies, incorporating checking processes to identify irregularities. 

Thousands of comments were received from public consultations on the LTN schemes, and our Social & Market Research (SMR) team worked on coding and analysing all of these objections and responses. We also designed perception surveys for businesses in the area, and our researchers visited local companies to gauge their views on the LTNs.   

We conducted an interim round of analysis and reporting across the three new LTNs. This was followed by a final round of reporting to provide clear evidence on the impacts of the traffic-reducing measures in each location, and their success in achieving the council’s goals. 

Mike Hakata, Cabinet Member for Climate Action, Environment & Transport, Haringey Council

“Delivering such transformative infrastructure is truly a whole-organisation endeavour. The journey may have been challenging, but the destination is a borough that prioritises the well-being of its residents and the sustainability of our environment. We are creating neighbourhoods where people choose to walk, where children can play safely where the air is cleaner and where community life can flourish.”

Coordinated effort delivers comprehensive LTN reports within tight deadline

SYSTRA specialists from Transport Planning, Movement and Place, Data Science and Social & Market Research teams worked on processing, analysing and reporting on the huge volumes of traffic data, consultation feedback and survey responses collected from the LTNs. This work included coding and analysing more than 10,000 consultation responses and objections.   

To complete this complex analysis and interpretation of multiple datasets within the tight project timescales, we convened experts from across the business. Technical specialists in traffic data analysis worked alongside experts in consultation data coding to extract meaningful insights and evidence about the LTNs for the council and other stakeholders.  

Approved LTNs create safer, healthier, more cohesive communities

SYSTRA provided both the interim and final reports on schedule. Our analysis found that the traffic restrictions and infrastructure introduced in the Low Traffic Neighbourhoods had a significant impact on reducing traffic volumes and increasing cycling uptake. Consequently, the council decided to make the three LTNs permanent.  

With the LTNs permanently in place, more than 95,000 fewer vehicles now travel through these residential streets each day, significantly reducing air pollution and improving road safety for the 55,000 people who live there. In Bruce Grove, collisions have fallen by 56% and in Bounds Green by 50%.  

The LTNs are changing behaviours too. In the first few months after they were introduced, there was a 425% surge in the use of dockless cycles in St Ann’s. Research shows that these benefits multiply year on year. Residents of these areas are now living in safer and more pleasant communities thanks to the LTN interventions.

For its work on establishing LTNs, the Haringey Council Highways team was highly commended in the Best Transport Decarbonisation Project category at the MJ (Municipal Journal) Awards. This award recognised the legacy being created by the council of safer, less polluted, more cohesive communities.