Lewisham and Lee LTN didn’t increase overall traffic state council

Lewisham Council have stated in a report that the Lewisham and Lee LTN did not generally slow down traffic or hamper buses.

The monitoring report before the Mayor and Cabinet claims that traffic levels did not generally increase within the LTN nor on surrounding roads.

The council also states that it hasn’t impacted air quality “in many” areas” and serious accidents have reduced, however they concede they had limited monitoring before 2020.

Traffic measurement data was taken pre-2020:

“Traffic counts and speed surveys were commissioned in March 2019 and further counts in June/July 2020.

These counts were taken at a number of locations across the LTN and surrounding area over a seven-day period and were recorded outside of school holiday time periods.”

Not all areas have seen traffic reductions:

“In three monitoring locations (Leahurst Road – north of Ennersdale Road; Leyland Road – north of Upwood Road; Newstead Road), traffic levels are higher in comparison to pre-Covid levels.

“On Leahurst Road, the latest data shows traffic levels are falling, with a decrease in this location compared to 2022. On Newstead Road, the latest data shows traffic levels are only 1.3% higher than pre-Covid and pre-LTN levels.”

Speed in and around LTN

In terms of traffic speed the report says:

“Average vehicle speeds on roads where pre-scheme data was recorded in June 2020 highlights that avergae vehicle speeds have increased by 0.2mph between June 2020 and February 2023.

“The biggest decrease of vehicle speeds was seen on Campshill Road of just below 4 mph, whereas the largest increase seen was on Belmont Park of 5.3mph”

A number of street changes were introduced alongside the Low Traffic Neighbourhood.

These included school streets, cycle hangers, tree installation and improved pedestrian crossings.

The LTN was implemented in 2020 and revisions were made in January 2022.