Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN) Update

It’s been six weeks since the launch of the Area 3 and Area 4 LTN scheme and four weeks since the 11 new modal filters were installed across the area. We’ve already had a great response, with over 500 local people taking part to share their views on the scheme.

Over the next six months we’ll be monitoring your feedback to make sure we’re able to pick up any key issues or questions that you may have, and we have created a ‘Your questions answered’ to help with areas of concern.

Don’t forget you can continue to email us directly with any questions relating to the scheme, however we are experiencing an increase in emails at this time, so please bear with us while we get back to everyone as quickly as we can.

How we’re using your feedback

Since the project began, we have been analysing the feedback on a weekly basis to pick up on any urgent issues as they arise. A good example of this is your comments regarding the timing of the traffic signals at the Crownfield Road / High Road Leyton junction; we have responded by raising this issue with Transport for London (TfL), who have confirmed that there was a fault with the signals detection system, meaning the traffic signals weren’t operating properly and responding to fluctuating traffic demand in real time.

Another area of concern raised in the comments includes the location of modal filters, particularly Selby Road. All this feedback will help us understand if the locations are right for the area and we’ll be keeping these under close review over the next few weeks as the scheme settles in.

As you may have seen we have been collecting traffic data throughout the area over the last couple of weeks as part of our initial monitoring phase. We will be using this data to understand any initial impacts and trends, and to help support any comments like those above about filter locations.

Please continue to share your views with us so that we can tackle any urgent issues and to help us develop a detailed picture of what a permanent scheme in South Leytonstone might look like.

Consultation and engagement approach

Some local people have raised concerns over our consultation and engagement approach for this scheme. The views of local people are integral to the success of these schemes, and so we’d like to take this opportunity to explain this in detail.

Normally we would conduct an informal public consultation as well as other localised engagement activities with local people before building a scheme such as this. However due to a huge uptake in walking and cycling as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, we must ensure our roads are safe to use, as well as act on advice from Government to change our streets to support sustainable forms of transport.

This does not mean that we are delivering the scheme prematurely, but instead we are running our engagement activities alongside the introduction of the scheme and working to create a dialogue with local people to ensure the changes are right for the area. The benefits of running engagement activities alongside live measures, is that you can see the immediate effects of the changes and provide feedback on actual experiences.

We will run the online map-based survey for at least six months to capture the views of as many people in the area as possible, and then at key milestones in the project (dates to be confirmed), we will invite local people to complete a series of questions to give us more detailed feedback on the overall impact of the scheme, which will help us develop a permanent scheme. This will be facilitated through this website, therefore please sign up to updates (if you haven't done so already) if you would like to be notified.

Please note that although we are not conducting an informal public consultation in advance, the scheme is subject to a formal statutory consultation, where residents can comment on the Experimental Traffic Orders (ETOs) within the first six months; and Waltham Forest has advertised the necessary ETOs and publicised these in accordance with legal requirements.

After the initial six-month period we will analyse all the feedback and data collected and report back to local people on the next steps. At this point, plans for a permanent scheme may be developed and require further input from local people, or we may need to continue to gather additional information from you via the engagement website.

This approach is new for Waltham Forest and so we are working to keep local people informed regarding the scheme, if you haven't done so already please take a moment to sign up to updates and encourage your neighbours to do the same, this way we hope to develop a scheme in partnership with you that is right for the whole community.