Agenda item

[Report of the Director of Housing, Regeneration and Planning.  To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport, and the Climate Emergency and Deputy Leader of the Council]

The Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport and the Climate Emergency and Deputy Leader of the Council introduced the report which sought approval of the principle to implement the Bruce Grove West Green Low Traffic Neighbourhood (Bruce Grove West Green LTN) experimental scheme and a range of complementary measures including new pedestrian crossings, cycle hangars and four trial School Streets. The LTN aimed to reduce or remove non-local motor traffic from residential areas of Bruce Grove and West Green, as well as reduce the number of short trips made by vehicles which could be walked or cycled.  If approved, the proposed Bruce Grove West Green LTN would be implemented on a trial basis for a maximum of 18 months under an experimental traffic management order.

The Cabinet Member referred to the information provided in the late business addendum:

“As part of the work to prepare for the implementation of the Bruce Grove and West Green Low Traffic Neighbourhood, the Council will carry out further engagement with residents on Broadwater Farm and the surrounding streets, the Emergency Services, including the local police team and the Council’s Community Safety, Highways and Transport officers. This engagement will explore concerns including those which relate to the impact of the proposals on resident safety and crime and consideration will be given to making amendments in response.”

The Cabinet Member responded to questions from the Cabinet:

-           The implementation of a scheme like this was an unprecedented move in many ways.  A detailed and expansive engagement process had been carried out, which included a survey for disabled users, resulting in the inclusion of an exemption scheme.  This showed a good example of where officers had worked hard to make sure is the scheme was as inclusive as possible.

-           All issues raised by residents and organisations would be taken seriously.  Officers had carried out 11 months of engagement, and would look to improve engagement where possible based on lessons learned.

Cabinet Members spoke in support of the scheme and highlighted the importance ensuring the schemes were inclusive for all.

The Cabinet Member responded to questions from Councillor Cawley-Harrison:

-       One key aim of the scheme was to reduce overall volume of traffic, which would improve journey times.  There would be an exemption for special dispensations and the team would work with Childrens and Adults services to identify where exemption / dispensations were required.

RESOLVED that Cabinet

1.         Notes the responses received to the proposed Bruce Grove West Green Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN) as part of Engagement Stage 1 (Early Engagement), Engagement Stage 2 (Community Design Workshops) and Engagement Stage 3 (Public Consultation) as set out in Appendices E and K;

2.         Approves the making of an experimental traffic management order to implement the Bruce Grove West Green LTN experimental scheme, as set out on the plan in Appendix L, subject to funding, and provided that any changes to the plan in Appendix L are reported back to the Leader, Cabinet or an individual Cabinet member for approval before being implemented;

3.         Approves the making of an experimental traffic management order to implement the School Streets, as set out on the plan in Appendix L, subject to compliance with relevant statutory requirements and detailed engineering drawings to implement the traffic control measures show on the plan;

4.         Approves the bike hangars, as set out on the plan in Appendix L, subject to compliance with relevant statutory requirements and detailed engineering drawings;

5.         Approves the pedestrian crossings, as set out on the plan in Appendix L, subject to compliance with relevant statutory requirements and detailed engineering drawings;

6.         In relation to the LTN only, approve the exemption of:

a.            Blue Badge holders living within the LTN or on its immediate boundary;

b.            Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) transport; and

c.            Essential Haringey Council services catering for people with a disability

to non-hard closure filters in the Bruce Grove West Green LTN experimental scheme, as per paragraph 6.80 of this report.

7.         Delegates approval to the Director of Environment & Neighbourhoods to agree the engineering drawings for the experimental traffic management orders for the Bruce Grove West Green LTN and School Streets and the engineering drawings for the bike hangars and pedestrian crossings, set out in recommendations B to E, provided any changes to the Plan in Appendix L do not need to be reported back to the Leader, Cabinet or an individual Cabinet member as a key decision;

8.         Authorises the Director of Environment & Neighbourhoods, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport and the Climate Emergency, to modify or suspend the operation of the experimental traffic management orders for the Bruce Grove West Green LTN and/or School Streets if it appears to the Director essential in the interests of the expeditious, convenient and safe movement of traffic or for providing suitable and adequate on-street parking facilities, or for preserving or improving the amenities of the area through which any road affected by the order runs provided any decision to modify or suspend does not need to be reported back to the Leader, Cabinet or an individual Cabinet member as a key decision.

Reasons for decision

The proposed Bruce Grove West Green LTN has been developed over 10 months informed by a significant amount of engagement with local residents and other key stakeholders. In early 2021, the Council began early engagement with residents and businesses on the proposed Bruce Grove LTN. The most common issues raised by respondents were ‘traffic speeding’, ‘traffic volume’ and ‘rat-running traffic.’ The most common suggested improvements from respondents were ‘reduce traffic volume’, ‘reduce traffic speeds’ and ‘increase traffic and speeding enforcement’. Having regard to strong feedback received that the proposed Bruce Grove LTN should be extended westwards to include the area between Belmont Road/Downhills Way, West Green Road and Westbury Avenue, the Council began to work up an expanded proposal for a Bruce Grove West Green LTN. A series of Bruce Grove West Green LTN design proposals were subsequently developed to help address the concerns raised. Engagement was carried out on these in May 2021 via online Community Design Workshops.

From 16 August 2021 to Friday 17 September 2021, a public consultation was held on the preferred design options. There was an overall positive response to the Council proposing to reduce motor vehicle traffic in the Bruce Grove West Green LTN but, when people were asked how they felt about the proposed changes in each of the two areas within the proposed Bruce Grove West Green LTN, there was an overall negative response. While some people opposed the principle of the proposed scheme, many supported the principles behind the Bruce Grove West Green LTN but had concerns about the Council’s specific approach. In response to specific concerns raised, the Council has made a number of post-consultation changes to the proposed Bruce Grove West Green LTN as well as proposed a number of exemptions to the traffic restrictions.  Other key concerns of those opposing the Bruce Grove West Green LTN are noted, particularly increased traffic on main roads, followed by concerns around increased car journey times and increased air pollution on main roads, including near schools. However, by taking a phased implementation of delivering the School Streets, pedestrian crossing facilities and bike hangars first and monitoring the impact of these, potential traffic displacement mitigation measures can be better identified and deployed, in conjunction with any changes within the Bruce Grove West Green LTN. It is also the case that people without access to a car were underrepresented within respondents. Such people were found to be much more positive about the Bruce Grove West Green LTN than those who own or have access to a car.

Introducing the Bruce Grove West Green LTN is expected to result in the adjustment of motor vehicle travel behaviour of both those living within the LTN and those living outside. Some drivers will adjust routes and behaviour to avoid the Bruce Grove West Green LTN area, switch to walking, cycling or public transport or even reduce the number of journeys. The proposed Bruce Grove West Green LTN will contribute to reducing through-traffic in the area; it will also help encourage residents who currently make trips by motor vehicle to switch some local journeys to more sustainable travel modes. A substantial proportion of locally-generated motor vehicle trips (i.e. by Haringey residents) are short. TfL data indicates that over 60% of such trips (accounting for those that are essential/cannot be made by other means, e.g. due to a physical or other disability) could be made by cleaner, more sustainable modes. By making some local motor vehicle trips slightly less attractive (e.g. slightly longer due to restrictions in certain places) and walking/cycling much more attractive (by reducing dominance of vehicle traffic on these streets), a switch from the former to the latter will be encouraged.

Transport is the third largest source of emissions in the borough yet less than half of Haringey households have access to a car or van and this figure is falling. Census data from 2011 shows that household access across the area to cars or vans is low. 59% of households in Bruce Grove ward and 57% of households in West Green ward do not have access to a car or van. This means that that the majority of households in the area do not benefit from the large amount of space on the public highway which currently enables rat-running.

A range of assessments have been carried out to understand the potential impacts of the proposed Bruce Grove West Green LTN. The Equalities Impact Assessment (EqIA) showed that the measures are likely to advance equalities for many protected groups, albeit with a small disadvantage noted for those solely reliant on motor vehicles for transport. On balance, the scheme is considered to promote equality of opportunity among protected groups.

Under the Traffic Management Act 2004, Haringey Council has a ‘network management duty’ under section 16 in its capacity as local traffic authority. In simple terms the duty is to secure “the expeditious movement of traffic including pedestrians on the authority's road network”.

A high-level transport assessment was prepared for the Bruce Grove West Green LTN which predicted a reduction in motorised vehicular traffic within the proposed Bruce Grove West Green LTN and a range of a range of potential negative impacts on motorised vehicular traffic on certain parts of the boundary roads and at certain times (from a 0-50% increase to a 100%+ increase). However, it should be noted this is only a prediction and was based on the worst-case assumption that all motorised vehicular traffic reassigns to the nearest available route and assumed that the boundary roads are able to accommodate additional motorised vehicular traffic. There are varying levels of spare capacity in those boundary roads. Early reviews by Sustrans of 6 trial LTNs across London have shown a general reduction in traffic over time within the LTNs with a mixed picture for the boundary roads. It is only possible to accurately understand impacts of the proposals on the highway network once the scheme is in place. The scheme is proposed to be implemented on a trial basis supported by a comprehensive monitoring programme covering traffic flows and pedestrian flows, bus journey times, emergency response times, and air quality. It should be noted that ‘traffic’ includes motorised and non-motorised travel modes and it is considered that the Council would not be in breach of its network management duty in implementing the Bruce Grove West LTN, provided that it is phased appropriately including having regard to other LTNs proposed to be taken forward by the Council (Bounds Green and St Ann’s) and considering possible mitigation measures to counter the extent of negative impact on its boundary roads.

The Department for Transport’s statutory guidance on the Traffic Management Act 2004: network management to support recovery from COVID-19 (last updated 30 July 2021) sets out that, following the pandemic, local authorities are expected to continue to reallocate road space to people walking and cycling including through measures such as modal filters which can create low-traffic or traffic-free neighbourhoods.

Alternative Options Considered

The alternative options available to the Council are:

Option 1: Implement an alternate design for the Bruce Grove West Green LTN. The original design for the LTN excluded the area bounded by Belmont Road/Downhills Way, West Green Road and Westbury Avenue. Proceeding with the original option is rejected because it does not take account of strong community feedback at Engagement Stage 1 (early engagement) to include this area with the proposed Bruce Grove West Green LTN

Option 2: Implement the Bruce Grove West Green LTN in a geographically-phased way – i.e. segmenting the area into discrete parts. Although this would enable the funding currently available to be used to implement full LTN measures in one or more parts of the LTN (e.g. the West Green element, a western section of Bruce Grove – say, Belmont Road/Downhills Way to Mount Pleasant Road - and an eastern section of Bruce Grove – say, Mount Pleasant Road to Bruce Grove/High Road), the effect would merely be to temporarily displace rat-running through-traffic to slightly fewer roads within the overall Bruce Grove West Green LTN and therefore exacerbate the problems currently experienced on those roads, particularly by their residents. However, the selection of which parts to proceed with and which ones should be deferred until sufficient funding was available would be arbitrary and, for the most part, would represent a slight variation of Option 1 in terms of timing and coverage. Furthermore, additional cost would be incurred in creating any such discrete parts, delaying the rate at which the full Bruce Grove West Green LTN could be created.

Option 3: Not to implement an LTN in Bruce Grove West Green i.e. ‘Do Nothing’. This option is discounted as would not: reduce pollution; reduce motor traffic collisions; reduce carbon emissions; reclaim neighbourhood streets for pedestrians and communities; support active travel modes and therefore improved health outcomes; address inequalities with impacts felt disproportionately by those who do not own a car.