The Impact of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods on Active Travel, Car Use, and Perceptions of Local Environment during the COVID-19 Pandemic

We use longitudinal survey data to compare the impacts of ‘emergency’ low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs), set up during Covid-19, to the impacts of longer-standing LTNs. While sample sizes are small, both types of LTNs had similar increases in active travel and similar improvements in perceptions of the local environment for cycling (but no change in perceptions of most other aspects of the local environment). Car use tended to decrease. This similarity suggests the emergency LTNs may bring benefits similar to longer-standing LTNs despite their lower budgets and shorter planning periods. We also found that the active travel impacts of the long-standing LTNs grew larger over time, suggesting the emergency LTNs may likewise see larger effects in the future.