A Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN) which causes such bad congestion that buses take two hours to travel less than three miles has been scrapped leaving locals delighted.
Labour-run Lambeth Council has suspended the Streatham Wells LTN in London which has caused traffic nightmares since being introduced in October last year.
The A23, which runs along the western side of the LTN and is one of the main routes out of London into Surrey, was constantly gridlocked.
Data released by Transport for London last month also revealed one bus took 121 minutes to travel 2.9 miles because of congestion. It would have been twice as quick for passengers to walk the route which is only scheduled to take 29 minutes.
A council spokesperson said the LTN was being scrapped following ‘concerns about public transport delays’ and anticipated disruption from roadworks this spring.’
The traffic on the A23 was so bad that it took buses two hours to travel just three miles
Map of the Streatham Wells Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN) which was introduced in October last year
The congestion was so bad at peak times that buses were being diverted around and even though the zone to avoid gridlock
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The congestion was so bad at peak times that buses were being diverted around and even though the zone to avoid gridlock.
Three quarters of another bus route were diverted around the LTN during rush hour while another route forged a path straight through it, Department of Transport data showed.
The council added: ‘During the trial, the traffic on boundary roads, including the A23, has combined with frequent roadworks … to place a significant strain on bus services in Streatham.
‘Transport for London will begin a £9million project to substantially upgrade the experience for walking and cycling on the A23, starting at the end of spring and continuing into 2025.
‘These improvement works will necessarily require some reduced road capacity while this major investment takes place.’
The suspension is with immediate effect which means the council will no longer issue fines to drivers passing through road closure signs but the signs will not be removed for another fortnight.
Since being introduced at the end of October, it generated around £320,000 in penalty notices for the council.
One local resident Alan Glen told : ‘I am very pleased that the LTN nonsense has been ‘turned off.’
‘The traffic chaos imposed on Streatham was predictable.
‘The collapse of the bus transport system was predictable. The delays in the arrival of ambulance and fire services was predictable.
‘Yet, when it was clearly evident, there was no response from Lambeth other than keep going.’
Lambeth Council announced the scrapping of the LTN on Friday after months of traffic chaos
Another local called Judith said: ‘I have recently seen cars mounting the pavements to make way for emergency services to get through putting pedestrians at risk.
‘Ambulances picking up patients for hospital appointments are also taking longer causing backlogs in appointment times , bus lanes only help in certain places.
‘Lambeth Council need to think long and hard about the effects the LTN’s are having on the air quality of its residents.
‘LTN’s are not the answer and Lambeth council have shown no evidence that they work. Air pollution cannot be contained to one area so logically it makes no sense.
‘The traffic diverted to Brixton high street has caused the locals to breath in a higher concentration of exhaust fumes.’
Since 2020, hundreds of LTNs have been introduced across the country but there is growing controversy about the schemes.
And last summer, Rishi Sunak ordered a review into LTNs which the Transport Department is yet to publish any findings or guidance on.
TfL’s bus operations team previously reportedly came to the conclusion that the LTN was actually causing the problem.
The A23 (pictured) is the main route from south London into Surrey
A sign warning motorists not to drive down Valley Road, part of a group of streets that make up the Streatham Wells LTN
The LTN’s Operations Network Management Control Centre recently raised an ‘incident’ as they said the LTN was causing ‘serious’ delays in the area, the Times reported.
Tom Cunnington, Transport for London’s head of buses, said: ‘We are sorry passengers continue to experience delays to services in Streatham — this is not in line with the level of service we aim to provide.’
Stephen Hall, who runs the Streatham Stuff website, said: ‘It’s four months into the scheme and buses on the High Road are still regularly getting stuck for an hour in the congestion.
‘Lambeth Council seems to have hugely underestimated the amount of damage and disruption the LTN would cause.’