ohthehugemanateeLTN Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > So I've been lurking a while, and I'd like to > collect together my "favourite" anti LTN arguments > to illustrate their sheer absurdity. < .............. Oh yippee the (self selected) adult is now in the room to put all us anti-LTN nutjobs in our place. The arrogance is palpable. You have (as many in the pro-LTN lobby continue to do) completely failed to address or acknowledge the biggest issue which is at the heart of the anti-LTN debate. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you have simply misunderstood what this is and that's the reason you didn't include it in your smackdown. The current measures disproportionately filter the area's traffic onto streets that have not been fortunate to be selected to be an LTN. The worst affected roads (LL and EDG) have all seen increased air pollution (as have been measured) as a result of the measures. These roads have schools, nurseries etc on. Do you not care about those children? This is quite simply social injustice and any benefits that the LTNs might have perceivably brought are unfortunately outweighed by the unfair and frankly dangerous side effects. Here's my own personal view on what the problem is and what the solution should be: Successive governments have made the repeated mistakes that the way to affect real change is to tax and penalise people for continuing to go about their lives in ways they have done for years - whereby what actually works is to make the alternative more attractive, easier, cheaper, quicker etc. Taxation is necessary, but not without actually making viable alternatives. Additionally, I feel that successive governments have fantasised about making London like European cities where cycling is a huge part of getting around but inexplicably seeming to fail to realise that London is not like any other european city. As such a vast and spread out place, I personally do not believe that cycling can or will EVER have the mass-uptake that is necessary to reduce car journeys significantly enough to positively effect climate change in London. What we need is a balanced measured approach that is centred around public transport. ? Return train services and reduced frequency bus services If the pandemic is making people not want to use public transport - then the answer is not to decrease it (and make it more crowded) but to increase the frequency of bus and train journeys so that there is more space. Then discount all public transport services and advertise the fact. Over the last 10 years (in this area alone) we have lost train services and bus frequency have been reduced. That is a fact. That can easily be reversed. If train companies don?t want to play ball, then you pull the franchise contract and nationalise them. ? Introduction of significantly more bus routes for the areas of the borough which are poorly served by public transport. We all know where these areas are - and they tend to be the areas with higher levels of car ownership. ? Make public transport 24/7 every day of the year Easier said than done, but this would be a radical move that would make a big difference and would help reduce the number of private taxi journeys made (see below) ? Higher taxation of private car companies and a program for private car drivers to re-train as a bus or train driver (or other jobs within PT) It?s unlikely that improving public transport alone will encourage people out of taxis because they are just so cheap. Far too cheap. So the approach would be to pass legislation that ensures a proper living wage for drivers. A tax on profits for the taxi firm (which is used solely for investment in public transport). And then make it almost untenable for black cab drivers to continue to use diesel cabs. Start by subsidising the lease of electric cabs to make it financially viable for drivers to ditch their old vehicles. Then after a little while, introduce a diesel cab tax - but ONLY after drivers have had a proper incentive to make the switch. ? Government-sponsored car sharing Zipcar have done this well with the flex system. The government could put in place a similar system - or perhaps invest in or purchase out-right Zip-car. Nationalising a scheme like this would make it much easier to deal with local authorities and providing the necessary parking. It would also be cheaper and therefore viable for more people. Most people in London don?t actually need to own a car because they only make a few journeys a year. We could drastically reduce car ownership with a wide-spread car sharing scheme. The revenue could then be used to help to pay for things like 24/7 public transport and investment in more of those services. I?ll just finish by saying that I used to have a very reliable and quick way of getting to Peckham Rye station (and then onto work). Number 12 bus every 3-5 mins. Straight up Rye lane - took about 10 minutes in normal morning rush hour traffic. Now, the bus has been reduced to every 8 minutes. They?ve closed Rye Lane. Thankfully i have legs that work well and so I can get off at Nigel road and comfortably walk the rest of the way. But it has more than doubled the journey time. It would be much easier and quicker for me to drive and park in Choumert Grove car park - and if I was rich and didn?t mind the parking cost then I?d probably do that just for convenience. That is not progress. That is not incentivising people to get out of their cars. That is just a counter-productive measure made by people who have clearly not joined up their thinking. My wife has been pregnant in the last year, but still working every day and using Peckham Rye to get to work. That has become increasingly impossible particularly with the heat and so she?s been forced into using a zip car flex in the morning to drive and park at Denmark Hill (not always possible obviously due to varying locations of cars) . And I?ve then had to drive our car to Peckham Rye to collect her in the afternoon. What other choice do we have that does not involve a car of some kind? That is a direct consequence of the measures put in place - and something we are powerless to do anything about. Public transport is a far more effective tool than cycling in the war against climate change and it?s time we got our priorities right in my view.
