A letter to the Sheffield Star.
A government-commissioned report has recently been published showing that Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) are more popular than not. For the residents living inside them, active travel increases, congestion decreases, and air quality improves, all of which help contribute to a greater quality of life. Furthermore, two of the criticisms often levelled at LTNs, that they impact emergency service response times and increase traffic on surrounding roads, were not backed up by the evidence. The reason you may not have seen this report? The government commissioned it to try and prove the opposite was true. They then buried it under 10 other press releases and documents hoping no one would notice its existence.
In Sheffield, Labour too have failed to show any leadership or principles when they caved in to pressure from a minority of vocal opponents and removed the modal filter in Nether Edge at Archer Lane. This is despite it being popular with local residents, effective at managing traffic flow and allowing road users to try out alternative modes of transport. This decision was especially upsetting for parents and teachers of children at the four local primary and secondary schools who had felt the benefits of their children being able to walk and wheel safely to and from school every day whilst the filter was in place (as reported here in the Star, 17/10/23).
In contrast, the Sheffield Green Party are proud to stand up for people’s right to breathe good quality air, to be able to move around safely, and with an increased choice on how we travel. We recognise that it’s not LTNs that are slowing down emergency response times, but congested roads. We will continue to make the case that driving should be prioritised for those who need to do so the most so that everyone can benefit. Yes, mistakes have been made in the past and improvements can be made to how such schemes are consulted on and implemented. However, it is only the Greens who have the courage to take difficult decisions to try and make Sheffield a safer, cleaner, greener and more inclusive city for all.
Cllr Maroof Raouf, Nether Edge and Sharrow
Maroof is currently standing for re-election. See his campaign page here.
