• ISLINGTON announced that the Amwell LTN, low traffic neighbourhood, is the latest to be made permanent and published a final monitoring report – see https://www.islington.gov.uk/roads/people-friendly-streets/amwell.

Shockingly the council’s own figures reveal that congestion on boundary roads has increased dramatically as traffic is diverted from within the LTN.

There was an increase in motorised traffic during the trial period on Farringdon Road of 88 per cent, Pentonville Road 30 per cent and Rosemary Avenue South by 19 per cent, an average over all boundary roads of 37 per cent.

This tallies with the lived experience of most people who live or work on the boundary roads of previously implemented LTNs and who are understandably dismayed that the council persists with its policy of imposing LTNs across 70 per cent of the borough.

Boundary roads are now gridlocked on a daily basis in Islington. But what is really disappointing is that the council, as well as its apologists, continues to peddle the old and discredited claim that traffic on Islington’s LTN boundary roads has seen an “average” 3 per cent decrease.

As has been pointed out several times, this claim was based on inaccurate measurements, a flawed analytical methodology and, most importantly, does not reflect the lived experience of residents.

Worst of all, the council persisted in using the deeply misleading 3 per cent statistic in its “consultation” material designed to persuade residents to accept LTN proposals for Barnsbury-Laycock.

The current congestion on Islington’s boundary roads will only get worse if the council decides to implement the current proposals for 15 more road restrictions in Barnsbury-Laycock.

Both east-west access and north-south access to this part of Islington will only be via boundary roads. Traffic will increase on all boundary roads including Liverpool Road, Mackenzie Road, Copenhagen Street, Caledonian Road, Upper Street, Tolpuddle Street and Holloway Road.

LTNs simply do not work as a transport management approach. They result in much more congestion, pollution and misery on boundary roads and, by increasing journey times, even within the LTNs. They increase CO2 emissions substantially. The council should acknowledge this and rethink its transport and environment policy.

NAME AND ADDRESS SUPPLIED, N1