Transport for London have been accused of suppressing the findings of research that showed low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) do not reduce car use, it has been claimed.
The allegations suggest that TfL reportedly chose not to publish the study after academics found that LTNs do not encourage people to drive less or walk more, says The DailyTelegraph. Keith Prince AM, the London City Hall Conservatives’ transport spokesman, accused Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan of overseeing a “cover-up” and urged him to “correct the record”.
The March 2024 report, titled Travel & Places looked at the effects of LTNs on car use, walking and cycling. Politicians have said the schemes are intended to reduce people’s ability to drive rather than pay for public transport.
In 2021 the Mayor suggested that the “main benefit of LTNs is to reduce short journeys by car”, while the following year he claimed that the schemes were “effective in reducing car use” and yet the University of Westminster study found that LTNs do not have “a significant effect associated with car use”.
It continued: “This suggests that the lower car use in areas with more LTN roads is the result of the other area-level and infrastructural characteristics rather than the LTN.”
In an email seen by The Times, an official reminded others that “all of this stuff is FoI-able” (available under freedom of information laws) before reassuring them that no one outside TfL knew about the study.
Prof Rachel Aldred, of the University of Westminster and the author of the study, is a former trustee of the pro-LTN London Cycling Campaign, The Times reported. She has previously written seven academic papers about LTNs, all of which were supportive of the road-blocking schemes and six of which were funded by TfL.
One of the study’s three authors, in redacted emails obtained by the newspaper, suggested creating a “suitably contextualised and caveated summary” of the study for publication by TfL.
Mr Prince said:
“Sadiq Khan has spent years telling us LTNs cut traffic use and now it turns out covered-up data suggests otherwise. He needs to correct the record, immediately. The mayor is the chair of the TfL board. He needs to come clean on whether he ordered this cover-up.
“If he did not, then he must pledge a full investigation so he can tell Londoners exactly who did. If it was, in fact, his decision, then Londoners will rightly see that as an utter disgrace.”
A TfL spokesman said: “This particular study was initially funded to explore the impacts of LTNs, but following a review of the second year’s findings, we concluded that the data did not offer sufficient new insights to justify further investment in continuing the survey.”
(Pic: TfL)
