‘Even if every car-owning resident ceased driving tomorrow our local streets would still carry plenty of traffic’

• WHETHER you fall into one of the groups defined by your correspondent (Liveable neighbourhoods, the divisive issue of today, July 28) or not, the divisive issue of LNs, or LTNs (low traffic neighbourhoods) won’t go away.

Even if every car-owning resident ceased driving tomorrow our local streets would still carry plenty of traffic.

Ambulances, taxis, mini-cabs, service trade vehicles, Royal Mail, utility maintenance trucks, delivery vans, rubbish collection and recycling all need access and in LTNs that is more difficult and involves longer journeys on perimeter roads to reach an access point.

We live near a camera junction in an LTN and, apart from rubbish collection, all vehicles visiting our section of the street who do not wish to pay a fine have to do a U-turn to get out of it again.

We therefore have a steady stream of vehicles of all sizes executing three- (or more) point turns outside our house on a daily basis.

And this will be occurring at all junctions which split LTN streets into two to prevent through-traffic, increasing rather than decreasing air pollution and affecting the wellbeing of residents.

Local authorities can’t change society on their own. We are becoming ever more reliant on delivery to the door for everything, from takeaways to supermarket shopping and many, many, items we would have previously bought directly from high street shops and which we now purchase online.

To manage or stop this trend needs a seismic shift in thinking and acting, on a national scale. It is deluded for any borough to believe they can do it alone, especially in a city like London where we are all so inter-connected.

Unforeseen adverse impacts of poorly thought-through policies do not make people change their behaviour. They make them angry.

SUE PRICKETT
Great Percy Street, WC1