Islington Council asked residents what they think of LTNs

• THERE has been a steady stream of heated debate since the introduction of LTNs and finally, after more than a year, Islington Council asked residents what they think.

This, in part, is how I responded in the “Is there anything else you would like to say?” box and I believe it echoes the feelings of many:

‘My street is now much quieter, which is perhaps not surprising with road blocks at each end.

‘However traffic is now much worse on Holloway Road, St Paul’s Road, Essex Road, New North Road, Highbury Corner, Seven Sisters Road, Blackstock Road etc… People living, working or just walking on these roads are suffering.

‘These are also the roads I cycle on, but as there are no cycle lanes, this makes it much more hazardous…

‘I simply do not believe your statement about ‘limited impact on boundary roads’ – this is disingenuous nonsense. I have also witnessed emergency vehicles delayed by backed-up traffic.

‘Highbury Corner is clearly a disaster (it worked much better as a roundabout), and now resembles a litter-strewn urban wasteland choked with encircling stationary traffic and an unintended lake in the middle.

‘I suggest you put a cycle lane across between Highbury Fields and Upper Street – everyone takes the short-cut anyway. Drayton Park cycleway is an expensive, poorly designed and potentially dangerous white elephant, ludicrously situated in what is now a designated LTN.

‘I myself have recently witnessed a hapless delivery driver being hit by a cyclist as he attempted to deliver to the scrap merchant across the cycle lane.

‘Bus journey times are now longer, due to the extra traffic backed up on the bus routes and the lamentable design of Highbury Corner… Getting anywhere by road, be it by bike, bus or car is now more difficult.

‘We all want a cleaner, more accessible, environment but the incompetent and high-handed manner in which the LTN system has been implemented has led to a feeling of captivity in our now ghost-like enclaves, disconnected from the vibrant metropolis which we once felt part of.

‘It is both ill conceived and badly designed, which is perhaps not surprising since no one (until now) has asked us, the residents, before implementation.

‘And if LBI is committed to its environmental credentials, why are they not also implementing low meat zones, banning gas fired central heating, and cracking down on the use of barbecues (which until only recently they were promoting on Highbury Fields)?’

Is it perhaps because people in motor vehicles present an easy target?

JOHN KEANE,
Highbury Hill