Road Safety and collisions
Has the LTN had any impact on road safety in the area?
Within the area of the LTN there has been a significant decrease in fatal and serious collisions relative to the rest of Tower Hamlets and other adjacent boroughs since the LTN opened.
The level of serious and fatal collisions on boundary roads has stayed constant as has the level of collisions with slight injury both inside the LTN and on boundary roads.
Since the LTN has been introduced in July 2021, there has only been one serious collision in the area. This took place on the boundary of the LTN outside the area where the interventions and closures are in place. This is a significant improvement on the average of 2-3 collisions per year prior to the introduction of the LTN.
We used data released by the Department of Transport that records all reports of road collisions with injury that are made to the police. We mapped this data onto the LTN area and identified incidents that happened within the area of the LTN, on boundary roads and outside the LTN area.
We then compared the number of road traffic collisions before and after the LTN was introduced. As a control we compared this to the rest of Tower Hamlets and neighbouring boroughs.
Then we used a test known as the Boschloo's exact test to determine whether there is a statistically significant change in collision with respect to the control variable, we found that there was and this led us to conclude that the LTN had led to improvements in road safety.
Metropolitan Police and crime rates
What do the police think of the new road layouts and their impact on crime?
This email exchange was released by Tower Hamlets Council for a Freedom of Information request. In it, the Metropolitan Police state that they are supportive of the new road layouts, noting: “the MPS is concerned with [Tower Hamlets Council’s] plans to remove these measures both in terms of a potential increase in crime, specifically ASB related, and also increasing road danger”.
The email notes that road accidents have decreased in the Wapping Bus Gate area since its introduction. Anti Social Behaviour (ASB) and Drug-related crimes have also decreased on Old Bethnal Green Road (including the Middleton Green area) and especially Arnold Circus.
Neighborhood Teams within the Met Police are in favour of the new road layouts. The team responsible for the Arnold Circus area states:
“I consider the road management measures that were brought in to have had a positive effect. I am surprised there is consideration to remove them. Of particular concern are the proposed amendments to the roads further West. Prior to the changes there was an enormous level of car-enabled ASB, drug dealing, NOx balloon usage etc which made life a misery for many of the residents in the streets around Arnold Circus and surrounding. This was due to the spill-out from the Shoreditch NTE. This has been dramatically reduced by the traffic management changes and forces those committing crime back onto the well-lit, CCTV covered main roads which are much easier for us to manage.”
Read the Met Police’s email in full here.
Fire Brigade response times
Have the new road layouts impacted fire appliance response times?
No, the new layouts have not had any impact on response times for fire appliances.
We looked at fire appliance response times across Tower Hamlets, and for wards with the new road layouts: Bow West, St Katherine’s and Wapping, Spitalfields & Banglatown, St Peter’s and Weavers.
For each ward, we compared response times for like-for-like periods before and after the new road layouts, comparing the first six months in 2019 and the first six months in 2022.
Using a statistical test known as a t-Test, we found no significant differences between before and after times for any of the wards. In other words, fire appliance response times were statistically the same before and after the new road layouts.
For a detailed breakdown of our analysis and to view the results for individual wards visit this page for the updated 2024 analysis.
Ambulance Service response times
Have the new road layouts impacted ambulance response times?
In the postcode district where many of the new road layouts have been installed (E2), no, they have not had any impact on ambulance response times.
We looked at ambulance response times across Tower Hamlets and compared these to response times in the parts of the E2 postcode district which are covered by the new LTNs (including E2 0, E2 6, E2 7, E2 8 and E2 9).
For each area, we compared response times for like-for-like periods before and after the new road layouts, comparing December 2019-May 2020 and December 2021-May 2022.
We looked at ambulance responses to both category 1 (life-threatening) and category 2 (emergency) calls.
For category 1 response times before and after the new road layouts the average response times fell by 38 seconds (compared to a fall of 37 seconds for Tower Hamlets as a whole). In other words, ambulance response times for category 1 (life-threatening) calls were, on average, lower after the new road layouts. The reductions were also comparable to the those across the borough as whole.
For category 2 response times, there were increases for Tower Hamlets as a whole and for the E2 postcode areas. However, response times in the postcode areas with the new road layouts were not as badly impacted as Tower Hamlets as a whole.
Overall, with very small differences in response times between the before and after periods, it in unlikely that the new road layouts adversely impacted ambulance response times.
For a detailed breakdown of our analysis and to view the results visit this page for the updated 2024 analysis.
Small print: The data we used for this analysis was supplied by the London Ambulance Service in response to a freedom of information request. The data presents average response times per month rather than response times to individual callouts. Thus, the analysis we've conducted must be seen as partial and conclusions provisional. However, the data available suggests the LTNs are not impacting ambulance response times. We'd welcome further detailed analysis from Tower Hamlets.
Public Transport
Haven't the new road layouts slowed down some emergency service vehicles?
The short answer:
Yes, the London Ambulance Service has logged 9 incidents associated with the
"Liveable Streets" scheme in Tower Hamlets and communicated this to the
borough's council. The Fire Brigade has also expressed concerns about the
use of bollards on one road, Barnet Grove.
What we see evidence of in the communications between the emergency services and Tower Hamlets council, however, is how the borough can act to remedy and improve the new road designs.
In the case of the London Ambulance Service, there is also a clear statement of support for road layouts the prioritise pedestrians and cyclists "to promote active travel, while helping to achieve the aim of providing a lasting legacy of greener, safer transport."
From freedom of information (FoI) requests, we have records of correspondence between the emergency services and Tower Hamlets council.
In a letter to Tower Hamlets council, dated 5 July 2020, the London Ambulance Service (LAS) NHS Trust states clear support for road layouts that prioritise pedestrians and cyclists.
In a letter responding to our FoI request the London Ambulance Service (LAS) NHS Trust write:
"... a total of 9 incidents related to Liveable Streets Programme between 2019 and 2022 (hard physical closures/bollards) have been reported via DATIX (the Trusts incident reporting system).
"Each of these incidents have been feedback [sic] to Tower Hamlets Council through meetings between the council and emergency services."
Additionally as with all councils the London Ambulance Service NHS Trust formally wrote to Tower Hamlets in July 2020 to highlight concerns regarding around hard closures and the need for emergency vehicle ingress/egress to be properly considered. We have attached the letter for your assistance.
"... the removal of some of these schemes will have a negative impact on bus services and quality of life.... [T]he bus gate you intend to remove at Wapping ... allows for faster and more reliable journeys on the route 100. Furthermore, removing the Old Bethnal Road scheme would prevent TfL introducing a bus priority scheme on Hackney Road as cyclists who currently benefit from the scheme would be forced back to use that road."
The letter below is written in response to the consultation Tower Hamlets ran in the summer of 2022.
Air Quality
Have the new road layouts impacted air quality?
No, pollution levels have fallen across all of Tower Hamlets and, for locations near to the new road layouts, the falls have been greater than Tower Hamlets as a whole.
How we did the sums:
Using air quality collected by Tower Hamlets council, we compared air quality before
and after the new road layouts were installed in
Tower Hamlets. The results show a fall in the average pollution levels in these
areas. This fall was greater than the fall for Tower Hamlets as a whole.
| Jan-Jul 2019 average |
Jan-Jul
2022 average |
Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| New road layout areas | 48.32 | 33.74 | ↓ 14.58 |
| Tower Hamlets | 48.31 | 37.17 | ↓ 11.13 |
For a detailed breakdown of our analysis and to view the results visit this page.
Pollution on boundary roads
Have the new road layouts increased pollution levels on boundary roads?
No, average pollution levels on Bethnal Green Road and Hackney Road have fallen since the new road layouts and the falls are greater than the fall for Tower Hamlets as a whole.
How we did the sums:
We compared pollution levels before and after the new road layouts at locations
along Bethnal Green Road and Hackney Road. The results show a fall in the average
pollution levels at each of these
locations. The falls were greater than the fall for Tower Hamlets as a whole.
| Jan-Jul 2019 average |
Jan-Jul
2022 average |
Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bethnal Green Road/ Brick Lane | 47.47 | 30.66 | ↓ 16.81 |
| Paradise Row/ Bethnal Green Road | 47.24 | 31.33 | ↓ 13.93 |
| Queensbridge/ Hackney Road | 45.97 | 32.04 | ↓ 15.91 |
| Warner Place/ Hackney Road | 43.97 | 32.01 | ↓ 11.4 |
| Tower Hamlets (excluding LTN areas) |
48.31 | 37.17 | ↓ 11.13 |
For a detailed breakdown of our analysis and to view the results visit this page.
Traffic and congestion
Have the new road layouts impacted levels of traffic on nearby boundary roads?
The short answer:
No, increases in journey times on boundary roads in Bethnal Green cannot be
attributed to the new road layouts.
To get a picture of congestion in Tower Hamlets and near to the borough’s new road layouts we used data from Transport of London’s (TFL’s) bus journey times. Our analysis of bus journey times and other data provided by TfL shows that on Hackney Road and Bethnal Green Road, changes in journey times are in line with general trends. In other words, they don’t look different to other areas in Tower Hamlets.
There is no evidence of any impact on journey times on Bethnal Green Road or Hackney Road Westbound from the LTNs. At the same time some other roads in the borough, such as Whitechapel Road, far from the LTN zone, have become slower than either of them.
Between 2019 and 2022, there has been a slightly greater slowing in the speed of traffic on the Eastbound stretch of Hackney Road compared to other similar roads in Tower Hamlets. Even here, the data shows that at most the journey time to cover the entire stretch of road has increased by an average of 30 seconds.
For several reasons, it is not possible or credible to attribute this slight slowing of traffic to the Tower Hamlets LTN. In particular, this Eastbound stretch of Hackney Road receives a lot of traffic from bordering Hackney, which has also brought in changes to traffic management in the same time period. Any analysis of changes in traffic flow would need to analyse the impact of those changes as well.
Traffic patterns in Tower Hamlets have shifted around a great deal in the last couple of years for many reasons. Besides the installations of LTNs in Tower Hamlets we have seen several lockdowns, new ULEZ rules, and more cars on the roads across the borough than in 2019. None of the evidence we have seen supports the claim that congestion and delays in journey times have increased enough to justify reversing the LTNs – especially given the improvements in air quality across the borough.
A letter released to us through an FOI request to TfL also points out that reversing the changes on the Old Bethnal Green Road scheme, will potentially also have an impact on bus journey times and congestion on Hackney Road. In an official letter to Lutfur Rahman, dated 28 July this year, Will Norman from TFL stated:
“...Removing the Old Bethnal Road scheme would prevent TfL introducing a bus priority scheme on Hackney Road as cyclists who currently benefit from the scheme would be forced back to use that road.”
In summary, there has been NO increase in journey times and delays on boundary roads attributable to the Tower Hamlets LTNs and the potential impact of removing the LTNs on bus travel and congestion could be a worsening of traffic conditions on those roads.
We're aiming to provide detailed analysis on congestion in Bethnal Green as soon as we can.
Health Services
How do health services feel about the new road layouts?
Senior Executives working for the health service "are concerned by the proposals to reverse elements of the Bethnal Green, Bow, Wapping, and Brick Lane [Liveable Streets] schemes". They're calling on Tower Hamlets and its mayor to gather more evidence before it removes the new road layouts. They state support for the objectives of the new road layouts that promote healthier living and reduced traffic.
Leaders at Bart's NHS Trust, the Tower Hamlets Local Medical Committee and North East London NHS Foundation Trust have written a letter to Tower Hamlets' mayor (dated 2 August 2022).
They write:
"Prioritising walking, cycling and public transport while reducing through traffic in neighbourhoods are now recognised as necessary measures in our response to both climate change and health inequalities. We call on Tower Hamlets to maintain its commitment to enabling more sustainable journeys, improving air quality and road safety."
The letter below is written as a formal response to the consultation Tower Hamlets ran in the summer of 2022.
Public Transport
What does London's public transport body (TfL) think of the new road layouts?
London’s Walking & Cycling Commissioner from Transport for London (TfL), has written to the mayor of Tower Hamlets expressing concern for the borough's planned removal of the new road layouts. TfL views the new road layouts as integral to its objectives to promote active transport. In addition, the new roads were part funded by TfL and their removal, without full consultation, is against TFL's policies. If Tower Hamlets does remove the new road layouts it puts any future investment from TfL at risk.
London’s Walking & Cycling Commissioner, Will Norman, from Transport for London (TfL) has written a letter to Tower Hamlets' mayor (dated 28 July 2022).
He writes:
"I am concerned about the removal of [the "Liveable Streets"] schemes without that decision being supported by a full set of evidence, including how you are meeting your public sector equality duty. If these issues are not satisfied it may impact TfL’s decision on future funding for any schemes in Tower Hamlets."
He goes on to write:
"... the removal of some of these schemes will have a negative impact on bus services and quality of life.... [T]he bus gate you intend to remove at Wapping ... allows for faster and more reliable journeys on the route 100. Furthermore, removing the Old Bethnal Road scheme would prevent TfL introducing a bus priority scheme on Hackney Road as cyclists who currently benefit from the scheme would be forced back to use that road."
The letter below is written in response to the consultation Tower Hamlets ran in the summer of 2022.
Fair for all
Are Tower Hamlets' new road layouts fair for all residents?
The short answer:
Tower Hamlets' new road layouts are located in neighbourhoods with high
social deprivation indicators.
In the letters above, TfL and Bart's NHS Trust say they believe the removal of the new layouts could risk the "public sector equality duty". Executives from Bart's NHS Trust, for example, write that the "different and interconnected impacts" of the newly implemented schemes have been largely positive. They note that Tower Hamlets has very low car ownership and that pollution from cars has a disproportionate affect on the most vulnerable in our society. This would mean the removal of the new road layouts would impact those without cars and the vulnerable the most.
The recent introduction of traffic calming, green spaces, and seating areas in Bethnal Green alone, has cost £1.834 million of the Tower Hamlets Council's money (this doesn't include any project-wide costs spent across the borough). Almost all this money is Tower Hamlet's capital funding money that they get from developers specifically for community infrastructure projects (for a breakdown of figures, see freedom of information request Ref. 27521573).
This funding has benefitted the wider Tower Hamlets community. A published academic article (Aldred et al 2021), surveying the relationship between Low Traffic Neighbourhoods and deprivation, shows that the mean deprivation inside Low Traffic Neighbourhoods in Tower Hamlets is 82%. This compares to the mean deprivation outside LTNs in the borough, which is 68%. Of the 21 boroughs surveyed, only Croydon and Westminster have greater disparities than this.
Thus, the immediate benefits of the new road layouts in Tower Hamlets are for areas where deprivation levels are high. In other words, those with less are likely to feel the most immediate benefits of LTNs, such as less local pollution, more green spaces, and more areas to socialise and play.
Attempts to reverse the new road layouts and ease car travel are likely to benefit the few in Tower Hamlets. The Centre for London report says only 32% of households in Tower Hamlets have a car at all, based on data from 2015 to 2017 (London Transport Demand Survey). That is the lowest of any London Borough.
We're aiming to provide detailed analysis on deprivation and its connection to the new road layouts as soon as we can.