SEJ News

SEJ Comment: TfL’s own research shows, that hasn’t happened yet: affluent white males in their mid-twenties to mid-forties have continued to be the main beneficiaries of cycling policy with very limited signs of other categories of Londoners joining them.

LTNs don't get top billing in this year’s cash - £63 million - given by Transport for London to the London boroughs which manage 95% of London’s streets. There appears to be swing to bus priority, school streets & pedestrian crossing along with a load of cycle lanes. There are just 5 new LTNs listed. Early days but has London past peak LTN? For more detail: https://tfl-newsroom.prgloo.com/news/londons-boroughs-awarded-more-than-gbp-63-million-in-funding-to-make-streets-healthier-and-safer-for-all (Note: this is a TfL press release so puts its angle on the announcement)

No money will be given to Tower Hamlets as part of the TfL settlement Tower because of its concerns that borough mayor Lutfur Rahman (above) is about to remove a number of LTNs in the borough. His party, ASPIRE, made the removal of LTNs a key part of its election manifesto at the last local elections when it defeated the pro-LTN Labour Party. For more detail: https://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/tower-hamlets-funding-loss-lutfur-rahman-b1070138.html

Havering Council in East London has no plans for low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) in the borough, cabinet member for environment, Cllr Barry Mugglestone, told a full council meeting on March 22 nd . For more detail: https://www.romfordrecorder.co.uk/news/23406708.havering-council-no-plans-ltns-borough-meeting-told/?ref=twtrec 23 rd March 2023

The Petitions Committee of the House of Commons has written to the Government to say it considers its response to the petition calling for "an independent review into Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs)” is inadequate. The Government had responded to the original petition, signed by over 10,000 people, by saying it had appointed the Active Travel Unit at Westminster University to do a review. Many queried its independence given the fact that it carried out a lot of the research that would be reviewed. For details of the Petition: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/632748

1.5 million Londoners are being left behind by a digital-first approach to transport. 1 in 6 people in London say they are unable to buy a ticket as they can’t use or don’t have access to a smartphone or internet connection. 1 in 5 Londoners say they have paid more for travel because they are not able to buy tickets online or by using mobile apps. For more detail: https://www.londontravelwatch.org.uk/campaigns/digital-exclusion/

SEJ backs cycling, so take no pleasure in the news bike sales fell to their lowest level for 20 yrs. Recent investment in cycling may yet bear fruit but the findings re-enforce recent TfL research that LTNs are only having a limited impact on numbers cycling. Bike sales have dipped to their lowest level in two decades as the pandemic boom in cycling turns to bust. The Bicycle Association’s Annual Market Data Report shows that pedal bike sales fell 22 per cent to 1.88 million last year — more than a quarter below pre-Covid levels. Sales of children’s bikes slumped even faster, falling by 28 per cent compared with 2019, to 700,000. The report, called “Riding out the Storm”, noted that demand for electric bikes had been more stable but “overall volumes have plateaued since 2020”. For more detail (behind the paywall): https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/bike-sales-fall-to-lowest-level-in-20-years-tt5qp5tpg

Research by the Telegraph revealed most cyclists ignore road rules at Sadiq Khan’s ‘death trap’ crossings. Just one in 10 cyclists stop to let pedestrians cross to floating bus stops. London has overseen a proliferation of Amsterdam-style floating bus stops, where busy cycle lanes are wedged between the pavement and a bus stop island, with a zebra crossing bridging the two. In the most extensive analysis since more such stops were introduced, the Telegraph surveyed the behaviour of 397 cyclists while pedestrians were waiting at three crossings in central London. Just 33, or eight per cent, of cyclists gave way as the Highway Code requires. For more detail (behind the paywall): https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/03/18/sadiq-khan-cyclists-floating-bus-1-10-stop-pedestrians-analysis/

More evidence has emerged that between 5% and 35% of cars, vans and lorries in slow-moving or stop-start traffic are not being counted. For more detail: https://lovingdalston.co.uk/2023/03/how-traffic-counters-under-record-when-they-check-ltn-ripple-effect-in-hackney-and-elsewhere/