Thank you for your comment. I fully agree that reducing car journeys is an important objective, and I personally rely on my bike for most trips, using my car only when absolutely necessary. However, the concept of "traffic evaporation" that Lambeth Council promotes is highly misleading. Both their own data and TfL’s statistics show that what actually happens is traffic displacement. Instead of reducing overall traffic, it is simply diverted to boundary roads, resulting in increased congestion and pollution in those areas.
Lambeth’s traffic monitoring methods are also flawed. For example, their counters do not register vehicles traveling below 6mph, which distorts the data and skews the outcome in their favor. By the end of the trial, they will likely mark their own work and claim success, despite the on-the-ground realities reflecting a different story.
It seems this issue is being driven more by political motives than a genuine commitment to addressing pollution. Cllr Rosina Chowdhury has been pushing this agenda without proper resident engagement, similar to the poorly executed schemes in Streatham. It’s only after we initiated the Judicial Review that the council began to communicate with us—though this has been minimal and, frankly, begrudging. The lack of proper consultation and attention to local nuances has been frustrating.
In my opinion, Cllr Chowdhury’s drive to implement a one-size-fits-all LTN scheme appears to be more about her political ambitions within the Labour Party than about improving the local environment. The broader concern seems to be financial, not environmental. There seems to be little regard for the impact on boundary roads, where thousands of children, poorer communities, and the elderly are directly affected.
When it comes to reducing car journeys, I believe a collaborative approach is key. Rather than dividing communities, the council should engage with residents from all areas together and not insist on doing this seperatly so that we can develop thoughtful, practical solutions. When we met with representatives from Dalmore, we proposed reasonable alternatives that could be trialed such as road closures at key times rather than a 24 hour LTN
Improving public transport, particularly in under-served areas like West Dulwich, could be a more effective solution. Expanding bus services or considering time-specific road closures might help, but any approach needs proper evaluation and resident involvement.
Ultimately, we need well-thought-out solutions that truly reduce pollution without simply shifting the problem elsewhere. Collaboration, not division, is what will make a difference in our community.