In line with plans to increase active travel and support a green recovery from the Covid 19 pandemic, Haringey Council has secured over £860,000 funding through Transport for London’s (TfL) Streetspace Fund, to start work on three new Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) in the borough.
This year, the council submitted 19 funding bids to access funding from TfL’s Streetspace Fund, to support plans for cycle routes, the design and implementation of LTNs, and the delivery of School Streets – to support active travel, better air quality and a healthier borough.
To date, TfL has granted the council around £2m funding to deliver a range of streetspace projects, £866,562 of which will be allocated for LTN works in the borough.
An LTN is a relatively new term, but filtering (or closing roads) has been a commonly used traffic management tool since the 1970s and usually involves either temporary or permanent “modal filters” such as bollards, planters and Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras being installed at key entry points to streets.
LTNs allow access and servicing for local residents and businesses, removing ‘rat running’ traffic and improving the environment for local people.
An LTN reduces or removes non-residential motor traffic from residential areas and cuts down the number of short trips made by vehicles which could be walked or cycled.
An initial allocation of £145,000 has been made available by TfL to begin engaging with the community and developing designs for LTNs in Bounds Green, St Ann’s and Tottenham (including Bruce Grove and West Green Wards). The council will be engaging with residents and businesses throughout the process in the new year, before works start later in 2021.
The measures will go a long way towards improving the safety of residents walking or cycling in the borough and will help to reduce the pollution caused by motor vehicles – improving the overall health of residents and the health of the borough’s streets.
In addition to the funding from TfL, the council is also bringing forward £5.1m of its own funds to support the rollout of active travel measures as part of its Streetspace Plan and emerging Walking and Cycling Action Plan which will be published in draft for public consultation in Spring 2021.
Cllr White, Cabinet Member for Planning and Strategic Transport, said:
“I’m extremely pleased to see this funding confirmed, particularly as the need for councils to enable residents to use more active, less polluting and safer modes of travel becomes ever more urgent.
“We are committed to ensuring that our residents are able to travel around the borough safely and have access to active travel measures, such as Low Traffic Neighbourhoods, that they can have confidence in.
“Our plans for walking and cycling measures will not only help to keep our residents active, but they will also help to reduce pressure on public transport, giving people another option for travelling around the borough. This will also help us to reduce traffic on our roads, which will ultimately mean less pollution and a cleaner, greener and safer Haringey.”
View the council’s Streetspace Plans and the full list of bids submitted to TfL’s Streetspace Fund
