At the MPWRA meeting on Tuesday 2nd March it was announced that the proposed Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN) scheme for Merton Park would not be going ahead. We are now in a position to give you some of the headline findings behind that decision.
Within the consultation area only 36% felt there was a problem with rat running in their roads, against 62% who did not. (2% unsure). As the majority do not see rat running as a problem, the rejection of all four measures designed to reduce it comes as no surprise:
| Measure | Support – yes | Support – no | Unsure |
| Sheridan Road one way westbound between Church Lane and Mostyn Road | 13% | 75% | 12% |
| No right turn from Church Lane into Kingston Road | 28% | 60% | 12% |
| No right turn from Kingston Road into Church Lane | 15% | 73% | 11% |
| No left turn from Aylward Road into Leafield Road | 12% | 72% | 17% |
Respondents gave many and varied reasons for rejecting the LTN for Merton Park proposals, but some recurrent themes can be identified:
- Displacement of traffic onto the principal roads (Kingston, Dorset, Mostyn) will increase congestion, lengthen journey times and raise air pollution levels
- Banned turns have negative implications for safety if drivers make U-turns to circumvent them
- Increased traffic on Dorset Road and Mostyn Road will reduce road safety for Park Academy and Rutlish School respectively
- Inconvenient for residents
Two suggestions were made to improve the acceptability of the proposed LTN measures:
- Rat running is only a problem during the morning and evening peaks, so time limit restrictions
- Residents should be able to register their cars to be exempt from restrictions
The full report (all 75 pages of it!) has now been published, and you can download it here:
https://www.merton.gov.uk/streets-parking-transport/traffic-management/low-traffic-neighbourhoods
We plan a more detailed report for the spring 2021 edition of FORUM.
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