Low Traffic Neighbourhood Update

15 Apr

You will probably have seen by now that the experimental road-layouts around the Heaton Terraces (the Low-Traffic Neighbourhood/LTN) are going to be removed next week at the end of the 18-month trial period. I’m going to include a brief update in the next edition of Labour Ouseburn Voice, but I wanted also to take the time to write something more comprehensive which I hope you will find helpful.

Where I stand

I want to start by saying that I remain committed to action to make our streets safer and less polluted. Even though the current scheme is being removed next week, that must not be the end of the story – the lessons learned from the LTN trial need to be used, in collaboration with residents, to create something better, not “one day”, but soon.

The scheme has reduced the traffic going through the LTN area to Warwick Street, and most streets within the zone are quieter as a result. But… many of the cars that are still using Warwick Street are not driving around the LTN, but are instead cutting through back lanes and residential streets, creating a real hazard to pedestrians and cyclists, especially for young children and disabled people like me. The Council’s traffic monitoring suggests that up to 700 cars a day are driving through these back lanes!

I understand why many people think the logical next step is to leave the changes as they are and work on improvements, but as I explain below, that’s not legally possible. However, I am not giving up on the goal of safer streets and, and if re-elected will push for coordinated action on traffic and pollution across the city.

Why the scheme is coming out

Under the legal framework for these experimental schemes (called “Experimental Traffic Regulation Orders” or ETROs), the scheme cannot be left in place while look for ways to improve it. That’s because:

ETROs are “learning schemes”, intended to gather real-life data and feedback about the effects of changes, which are hard to predict any other way. They can be put in quite quickly and cheaply because they don’t have the same requirements for prior consultation as standard traffic regulation orders (TROs).
ETROs have a fixed term 18-month life and must either be made permanent or be removed at the end of that period. We have now reached the 18-month point.
The scheme must be judged on its results - the pros and cons of it as it is now - not as we hope it might be in the future with additional changes. There is a real risk with the layout as it is now that a child or disabled person will be injured by a car turning in or out of a back lane, and that’s a risk that must be taken seriously when making a decision.

How the decision was made

The removal of the scheme was not a political decision. It was made by Council officers, likely following guidance from the Council’s lawyers.

That’s because we’re within weeks of an election, when no political “interference” in decisions is allowed. If there were any indication that the Council’s Labour leadership were pushing for a decision one way or another, that would break election law.

It would also be illegal for the Labour leadership to put pressure on Council staff to change the decision now in response to complaints by residents unhappy with the decision.

The knock-on effect of the Jesmond scheme

There are only two members of staff responsible for the three ETROs in Fenham, Jesmond and Heaton, as well as many other responsibilities. It was always going to be a challenge for them to maintain a high level of communication and engagement with residents over the life of the schemes.

When the Jesmond scheme ran into a storm of angry protest, this challenge became an impossibility. Over just a few months, opponents of the scheme in Jesmond (including anti-net-zero culture warriors from outside the area) submitted dozens of Freedom of Information requests, tying up the small staff team for months.

In my view, this is one of the main reasons why it feels as if we’ve all been caught out at the end of the scheme.

It hasn’t been a “waste of money”

Some residents have complained that putting the scheme in, and then taking it out again has been wasteful, and that it would have been better spent on something else. I don’t agree with that complaint.

The scheme was funded from a central government pot of money put aside to carry out schemes just like this, including experimental schemes that may well not end up being permanent, but which (like this one) will help us discover whether our theories about what might happen when traffic controls are put in place turn out to be correct.

So, this isn’t money that could or should have been spent on schools, hospitals or social care – it’s money that was always intended to be used to help learn more about how we can make streets safer, encourage more people to walk and cycle, and tackle pollution.

What I’ve learned from the scheme

If the purpose of ETROs is to gather learning, then I’m keen to make sure that’s what I do. This is what I think I’ve learned so far:

1.The Council’s communication at the start of the scheme was quite good (see list of documents and links at the end of this post), but it wasn’t clear about what would happen at the end of the 18-month period

Many of the residents I’ve spoken to understand the real challenges with the current scheme, but are upset and angry that the decision to remove it seems to have been made right at the end of the scheme with little suggestion in recent months that it might be removed. Most residents assumed that the recent consultation exercise on Option 1 (re-opening Heaton Park View) and Option 2 (sealing off the remaining through routes) would inform the decision about what happens now, rather than a future scheme.

2. LTNs need to be seen as part of a broad, city-wide traffic strategy, with clear goals to reduce pollution, increase safety and encourage more use of alternatives to car travel

I’d like us to get straight back to planning what happens next as soon as the election is over. But I’m also aware that introducing LTNs without them being part of a city-wide plan for safer streets and greener transport can make them more divisive.

3. We need to build a broader alliance in support of safer streets, and work harder to understand each other

I’ve really felt the anger and disappointment of residents who strongly support the scheme in recent days. I’ve also spoken to disabled residents who rely on their cars to get around, who feel as their needs have been overlooked by the majority. Overall, however, I’ve been struck by quite widespread support for “something” to be done about traffic and pollution in residential streets. I don’t expect us all to agree, and I’m encouraged that the debate here has been less combative than the response in Jesmond, but I do believe that if we can ensure that everyone feels that their opinions have really been heard, we are more likely to find a solution that most can live with, even if it isn’t their “ideal”.

A word about politics

I know that some people are considering how they might use their vote at the local election to “send a message” about the LTN.

If that includes you, I’d ask you to consider whether that message might include:

recognising the Council’s bravery in putting in the scheme in the first place, in the face of Tory “culture-wars” rants against low-traffic schemes, even if there were flaws in communication
recognising that I’ve been a strong voice for greener, safer spaces since I became a Councillor, supported the trial scheme, have worked hard to encourage and take part in debate with residents during the scheme, and remain a supporter of safer streets still.

What happens next

I am confident that the Council’s Labour leadership remains committed to the principles that brought the LTN schemes into existence and I’m pressing them to make a public statement in the coming days to make that clear. The current plan as I understand it is that the Council will develop a revised proposal that they will consult on in detail this summer.

One thing I think the Council could and should do quickly, now that Heaton Park View is re-opening, is bring forward the proposed zebra crossing over Heaton Park View from the entrance to the park to the junction with Stannington Grove. This would provide small but significant mitigation while the bigger picture is reviewed.

My commitment to you

If I’m re-elected on 2nd May, I promise to begin working immediately to make sure the Council uses what we’ve learned from the experimental trial to identify workable options to improve local road safety and pollution.

I promise to use my position to encourage and facilitate genuine conversations within the community about these options, and other ways of improving our streets.

And I promise to work within the Newcastle Labour Party to help develop a city-wide approach to safer streets and pollution, so that future LTNs fit clearly within a joined-up plan for transport.

Do contact me if you have further questions

Please get in touch if you’d like to discuss any of the issues raised in this post, or anything else.

How to say all this in a few sentances

I’ve had quite a few email exchanges with local residents over the past few days. One parent recalled being told that the children's voice was important in the consultation, and asked if I could provide a response to children in an appropriate format about why this decision was taken, as their child was upset that Heaton Park View was being re-opened and didn’t understand the current explanation from the Council. This is what I wrote - I’m including it here because I found writing it helpful, and it’s a lot shorter than the rest of this blog post.

“The council put the bollards in at the bottom of Heaton Park View as an experiment to see whether it would make all the streets in the area safer for people and bikes. Some streets did get much quieter, which is great. But some drivers started using the back lanes to get round the bollards, and that made some streets more dangerous instead of safer.
So our experiment didn't work quite how we hoped. But we've learned quite a lot from it about what might work in the future, and we're going to try to do something better soon.”

Useful documents

These are all publicly available documents and websites, but I thought it might be helpful to have them all together in one place.

Council Website pages

Prior to the scheme

Initial Council Cabinet report proposing the schemes in June 2021: https://democracy.newcastle.gov.uk/documents/s172247/Transport%20Changes%20Neighbourhoods.pdf

[edit - added 18-Apr] Leaflet distributed to all local residents in November 2021 (approved by all local Counillors): https://tinyurl.com/ltn-consult-leaflet

[edit - added 18-Apr] Report on intial consultation post-leaflet issued January 2022 (approved by all local Councillors): https://tinyurl.com/ltn-consult-report

[edit - added 20-Apr] Traffic monitoring report on back lane use shared with all local Councillors in March 2022: https://tinyurl.com/hltn-back-lanes

Follow-up Council Cabinet report as the schemes were implemented in October 2022: https://democracy.newcastle.gov.uk/documents/s172247/Transport%20Changes%20Neighbourhoods.pdf

Formal decision to implement the ETRO (22 Sep 2022): https://democracy.newcastle.gov.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?ID=12221

Report supporting formal decision: https://democracy.newcastle.gov.uk/documents/s185671/Report.pdf

[edit - added 18-Apr] Leaflet distributed to all local residents in September 2022 (approved by all local Counillors): https://tinyurl.com/ltn-implementation-leaflet

During the scheme

Main page for all three schemes: https://www.newcastle.gov.uk/services/roads-pavements-and-streets/transport-improvements/outside-city-centre/neighbourhoods

How the schemes work page: https://www.newcastle.gov.uk/our-city/transport-improvements/outside-city-centre/neighbourhoods/how-schemes-work

Detailed report following initial six-month consultation period: https://democracy.newcastle.gov.uk/documents/s200075/Safe%20Heaton%20Trials%20-%20Public%20Consultation%20Feedback%20-%20August%202023.pdf

“Phase 2” document (option 1 and option 2), includes the data from the ETRO: https://www.newcastle.gov.uk/sites/default/files/Adele/Engagement%20Boards%20for%20Heaton%20LTN%20V5%20-%20A4%20-%20Online%20Version.pdf

At the end of the scheme

Formal decision not to make ETRO permanent: https://democracy.newcastle.gov.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?ID=13308

Report justifying the decision: https://democracy.newcastle.gov.uk/documents/s200074/Report.pdf

Citylife news

Story from Oct 2022 about the new scheme in Heaton: https://www.newcastle.gov.uk/citylife-news/new-low-traffic-measures-installed-heaton

Safe Heaton Trials (commonplace pages)

Explanation of decision to remove the scheme: https://safeheatontrials.commonplace.is/