Low-traffic neighbourhoods cut deaths and road injuries by a third without having an apparent negative impact on the safety of nearby roads, a study has shown.
Experts from the University of Westminster and London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine compared road casualty statistics between 113 LTNs and boundary roads over a period of 12 years.
They found that LTNs were associated with a 35% reduction in all injuries over that time, as well as a 37% decrease in deaths and serious injuries.
In areas where LTNs have been removed, researchers found injury numbers increased back to pre-intervention levels, while on boundary roads, there was no evidence of a change in the total number of injuries.
They therefore concluded that LTNs in London have reduced road traffic injuries among all road users, with no evidence of an overall impact on nearby roads.
Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) aim to reduce traffic volume and speed in residential areas to create a safer and more pleasant environment for all road users, including pedestrians and cyclists.
They have been heavily criticised for potentially having a negative impact on businesses and emergency services and for increasing traffic on boundary roads which in turn, makes them more dangerous.
But studies have found there is a minor impact on traffic levels and the new paper, published in Inquiry Prevention, suggests this is the same for deaths and injuries.
Of the 113 LTNs studied, 27 were subsequently taken out.
By implementing the LTNs, an estimated 613 road injuries have been prevented that would have otherwise taken place, including 100 deaths or serious injury.
