Lewisham & Lee Green LTN – monitoring data summary

1. Introduction 1.1 This executive summary and the accompanying reports sets out the findings of the Council’s traffic and air quality monitoring in and around the Lewisham and Lee Green Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN).

1.2 The Council is committed to being transparent and sharing information to make sure residents are kept up to date about the impact of the LTN.

1.3 The report shares the data we have, after the changes that were initially implemented, but it is important to note that we are continuing to collect data following the changes to the restrictions that were introduced in November 2020 and ahead of a formal public consultation, which will ask for people’s views about the LTN. It is also important to remember that all monitoring has been undertaken during the pandemic, when people’s transport usage and travel choices may have been different to before the pandemic.

1.4 The report includes air quality monitoring data from three points at Upwood Road, Leahurst Road and Manor Lane. These monitoring stations show that the Lewisham and Lee Green Low Traffic Neighbourhood have had very little to no impact on the surrounding air quality.

1.5 The Council has also set up diffusion tubes – which monitor Nitrogen Dioxide levels – at 51 points across the borough.

1.6 The traffic monitoring in the report shows a dramatic decrease in the volume of traffic within the LTN – with a fall of 80-93%.

1.7 The Council has used Commonplace to seek feedback from residents during the trial period. This online platform has been used to allow the public to comment on the various measures with the LTN. This is not a consultation tool, but a feedback tool which some members of the public have used. A full public consultation will be undertaken with all affected residents in March.

1.8 The Council has committed to sharing this data and will continue to do so. Further traffic monitoring and data from the diffusion tubes will be made public in the coming months, ahead of the public consultation.

2. Background 2.1 In October 2020 Lewisham Council published a monitoring strategy for the Lewisham & Lee Green Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN), which laid out our plans for measuring the impacts of the scheme using a range of metrics. You can read this strategy here.

2.2 You can find the full reports for each subject below by clicking here and scrolling to the bottom of the page:  Traffic flow and speed data on Lewisham managed roads  Bus journey times and traffic flow/congestion levels on Transport for London (TfL) managed roads  Initial feedback from the project pages on Commonplace  Air quality data

3. Context 3.1 It is important to acknowledge that any transport related monitoring carried out within a pandemic will always need to be considered within this context before drawing any conclusions. The tightening and easing of restrictions during the pandemic have had an impact on travel behaviour and as a result traffic levels during this period have been volatile. The monitoring period is covering conditions that are not normal and there are still uncertainties around what the ‘new normal’ may be. Traffic levels are still lower than they were this time last year – the latest data (15th January 2021) shows that traffic on the Transport for London Road Network (TLRN) was 77% of normal demand. Traffic counts in central London were 58%, in inner London 76% and in outer London 78% of normal demand.

3.2 Below is a summary timeline of the measures introduced as well as the COVID- 19 restrictions deployed by the UK government.

3.3 There have also been a range of factors that have impacted our monitoring work. In July, Thames Water closed Dorville Road for a water burst at the junction of Burnt Ash Road, which led to increased congestion in this area.

3.4 In September a 5G mast was installed on Burnt Ash Road/Hill next to Lee Station with temporary two-way traffic lights (permission for which was granted before the LTN measures were introduced), which led to further disruption.

3.5 There have been four major gas main replacement projects on the A21, A205 & A20 along with one off the A205. These have impacted on traffic flows further on routes already affected by changing traffic patterns associated with the LTN measures.

3.6 In addition, we’ve seen schools return in September as well as tiered lockdown restrictions and a full lockdown throughout November, which has affected traffic flows on the roads in and around the LTN.

3.7 Since the first lockdown we have observed a large increase in the number of people cycling and walking but on the other hand public transport numbers have dropped significantly with many people opting to drive due to public safety concerns. It is these factors that makes it difficult to draw conclusions on the impact of the LTN at this stage. However we can make some general observations based on the data we have collected to date.

3.8 We will be carrying out a further round of monitoring in light of the revised restrictions that were introduced in the area in November 2019 (details of the revised restrictions can be found here).

4. Traffic flow and speed data on Lewisham managed roads 4.1 Traffic monitoring was commissioned by officers before and after the LTN was introduced in July/August 2020.

4.2 Before traffic counts were taken from June 25th to July 2nd 2020 (some locations also had data collected in March 2019 as part of the previous ‘Healthy Neighbourhood’ programme) and the post implementation counts were taken from 28th September to 4th October 2020.

4.3 The highest traffic flow increases were recorded on the roads surrounding the LTN most notably on Burnt Ash Road/Hill. However, Ardgowan Road, Springbank Road and Minard Road also saw increases.

4.4 The greatest reductions were recorded on Leahurst Road, Dermody Road, Ennersdale Road, Manor Park, Eastdown Park, Upwood Road and Manor Lane.

5. TfL freight/traffic/bus journey time/flow data

Bus journey times (202/261 buses):

A205 Brownhill Road/Westhorne Avenue

5.1 Overall bus journey times remained largely stable until restrictions started to ease in July when we began to see an increase in journey times above pre- COVID-19 levels. This can potentially be attributed to more people choosing to travel by car where they previously would've opted for taking public transport.

Burnt Ash Road/Hill

5.2 Bus journey times reduced after the first lockdown but increased in early August, which was the same time as the LTN was introduced. However, we have recently seen a reduction in bus journey times.

TfL traffic flow data:

A205 - eastbound at the junction between Brownhill Road, Hither Green Lane, St Mildred’s Road and Verdant Lane (07:00-19:00)

5.3 Traffic flows dropped sharply on the south circular following the first lockdown in late March but started to rise back towards pre-COVID-19 levels from mid- April onwards. Traffic flows were higher than pre-COVID-19 levels when the LTN was fully implemented in early August and remained the same until late October where these numbers began to drop. However, these results need to take into account the impact of increased congestion as this affects the amount of traffic that is able to travel along the south circular in a given time period. In other words, Brownhill Road may report lower traffic flows but is explained by the fact that increased congestion has allowed less cars to pass through.

A205 - westbound at the junction between Brownhill Road, Hither Green Lane, St Mildred’s Road and Verdant Lane (07:00-19:00)

5.4 Traffic flows dropped sharply on the south circular following the first lockdown in late March but started to rise back towards pre-COVID-19 levels from mid April onwards. Unlike eastbound traffic flows where the volumes returned to significantly higher than pre-COVID-19 number, the westbound flows returned to roughly the same as pre-lockdown levels.

6. Air Quality 6.1 Three real time sensors were installed inside the LTN area at Upwood Road, Leahurst Road and Manor Lane to monitor the concentration of pollutants (i.e. NO2, PM10, PM2.5 and O3) in May 2019 (click on link below for locations).

6.2 In addition to the ongoing 52 diffusion tubes installed across the borough a further 51 diffusion tubes were installed in September 2020 and the results of the monitoring carried out as part of the project will be quality assured, ratified and published in the coming months.

6.3 The current results from the real time sensors show that NO2 concentration around the LTN has decreased since 2019. This general decline in NO2 corroborates very well with the general trend in London as reported by the Mayor of London and the research from Kings’ College. Whilst the most recent decrease in NO2 noted may be due to the effect of lockdown and the pandemic and not directly attributable to the interventions implemented low traffic neighbourhoods form part of this picture and are being implemented in a number of boroughs across London.

6.4 The current results from the new real time monitors, which are being trialled, also show that the concentration of Nitrogen dioxide - NO2 have not exceeded the short term air quality objective of 200 µgm-3in 2020. These relative low concentrations suggest that there is no short term negative impact of the LTN on air quality.

7. Feedback from the project pages on Commonplace

7.1 The Council has been using the engagement platform Commonplace to gauge residents’ experiences of the LTN before a formal public consultation is undertaken. This report (which can be found on the home monitoring page here) shows the results to the two principal multiple choice questions in the survey:

'How effective do you feel this scheme is in helping you socially distance and walk or cycle more?'

'Would you like this scheme to be made permanent?'

7.2 It is important to note that Commonplace has been used to seek feedback from residents and is not a consultation tool. It is a feedback tool which some members of the public have used and, therefore, the views expressed cannot necessarily be taken to be indicative of wider opinion. The council will be carrying out a full public consultation in March 2021.

7.3 The report provides an overview of responses to these questions, followed by a breakdown of results by the 13 schemes that make up the LTN. Below is an overall summary of the responses received to the project pages.

8. Emergency Services response 8.1 Prior to the launch of the Lewisham and Lee Green LTN, officers held regular meetings with the emergency services to discuss any emerging operational issues coming from police, fire and ambulance service representatives. Discussions at these meetings also covered impacts on emergency service response times.

8.2 We have so far received feedback that there has not been any negative impact on response times as a result of the LTN. However, it should be noted that similar to monitoring traffic data within a pandemic, the emergency services have been operating under different circumstances to ‘normal’. Officers will therefore continue liaison and reporting of the latest feedback received.