The evidence: low traffic neighbourhoods – Westminster Healthy Streets

Much has been written recently about low traffic neighbourhoods and how they do or don’t benefit our local communities. A large amount of this has been based on anecdotal evidence and people’s opinions. But what do objective evidence and credible studies show?
Is there even a problem?
Our side roads have always been open; indeed, “knowing the shortcuts” has been a much-vaunted skill, so why the sudden need to close-off these roads? The reason is the huge increase in traffic now using these roads, due largely to the use of satellite navigation apps such as Waze and Google maps. The graph below shows (in yellow) the increase in vehicle miles on residentials streets, whilst the traffic on main roads has actually decreased slightly.