What do low traffic neighbourhoods look like? - Video and audio transcripts

Cllr Hetherton - I’m here in Waltham forest and I’m with the deputy leader councillor Clyde Loakes and we're looking at the low traffic neighbourhoods here and we've been very impressed with what we've seen and I’d like to bring um Clyde in and to speak about it. Thank you.

Cllr Loakes - Well thanks for coming along and visiting today and hopefully you'll have seen some stuff that inspires you but here in Waltham forest we've been working on low traffic neighbourhoods and their introduction for about seven years now and we're standing in the original area which was our first slow traffic neighbourhood. And what we've done is we've placed what we call modal filters which prevent through traffic from using residential roads as a rat run, as a bypass for some of the main traffic infrastructure road management infrastructure that exists like traffic lights and users used to use these residential areas to bypass that and this means we're handing back our residential streets to the residents who live in them. You can still access your home by any car if you want to but you're cutting out the thousands upon thousands of traffic movements every day by non-local traffic. It's a lot quieter, it's a lot peaceful, it helps bring neighbours together. It allows and encourages you to walk cycle and micro scoot around this particular area which means more people are stopping using their car for short base car journeys. Maybe to their local schools, instead they're walking cycling and scooting but you can just listen.

Cllr Hetherton -  That's the thing that's impressed me most is the how quiet it is the birds are it's just absolutely so impressive and a difference to what we are used to in areas where we have cars rushing through using it as a rat run as you said.

Cllr Loakes - And even when you are walking in the street and you do come across a car there's none of that big enough horns there's none of that kind of sense of urgency to get out of the road they recognize that this area is different and they'll wait for you to get onto the pavement and safety prioritizing active travellers whether on bike micro scooter or walking safety and feeling safe to take those options is one of the key things that will get people out of their cars and choose those modes of getting about more.

Cllr Hetherton - Thank you so much Clyde thank you to everybody