“What are they going to do to keep my children safe?”: Active travel campaigners accuse council of ignoring report and listening to “bullies” after removal of Low Traffic Neighbourhood trial

Cyclists and active travel campaigners have criticised Manchester City Council for ignoring its own report showing the benefits of a Low Traffic Neighbourhood and instead base its decision on a survey which has been described as “non-representative” due to the flaws in accepting responses. However, the council has told road.cc that it’s working to install different traffic calming measures.

The ‘Safer Streets’ scheme was put in place on Parsonage Road, Withington as a trial running from August last year to February 2024. Following the end of the trial period, the impact of the measure was studied and residents were asked for their opinions about it, published in a report by the council on 27 March.

However, the council published its decision to remove the LTN on 8 April was published on 20 March — one full week before the report came out, leading to questions from local campaigners on whether the council even used the report to take the decision.

George Banfill from WalkRide Withington & Didsbury tells road.cc: “We are incredibly disappointed with this decision. It feels like the voice of the supportive majority has been ignored and the anti LTN group have bullied and harassed the councillors and council into removing the trial.

“The report is dated 27th March, yet the council published their decision on 20 March — was the report therefore not used in their decision making? Our local councillors made their decision weeks before the data was available — why?”

Safer Streets trial led to 55% drop in traffic

In August, Manchester City Council began a trial of nine temporary modal filters and the introduction of one-way streets in a residential area of Withington, centred around Parsonage Road. After six months, the assessment found “substantial reductions in traffic levels”, decreasing by 50 per cent in just one month and then a 55 per cent drop in traffic by February 2024.

There was also a reduction of average motor traffic speed between 16 and 23 per cent. In terms of boundary traffic, there was no noticeable change on the northern side. However, in the southwest area of the scheme, there was initially a 14 per cent increase in traffic, but it reduced to a six per cent increase by February, suggesting that there was a period of “bedding in” while the traffic adjusted to the new road layouts, according to the report.

But on the other hand, the online form used to collect feedback on the scheme painted a different picture. The reports states that 69 per cent of the respondents held a “negative” or “very negative” view of the trial, compared to the 29 per cent who had a “positive” or a “very positive” view.

Meanwhile, 64 per cent of the participants said the scheme would not make them more inclined to travel by active modes, as opposed to 27 per cent who said the scheme would initiate a behavioural change in them.

> Government continues “angry rhetoric” against low traffic neighbourhoods despite its own report showing more people support LTNs than oppose them

However, George claims that the results from the survey could have been influenced by the “loudest voices”. “The collection of information for B was flawed,” he says. “It was not representative polling — the survey didn’t account for multiple submissions by the same person, nor was there any way to exclude responses from people who weren’t residents of the area, so it may have been manipulated.”

He adds: “There was never any indication until the report that responses would be used to make the decision. If there had been, those more in favour may not have remained quiet.

“The council had said, ‘The success of the project will be measured through monitoring the changes in levels of motor traffic and numbers of people travelling actively as well as, perceptions and feedback from people who live, work and socialise in the area’. However the data appears to have largely disregarded.”

“My children have loved cycling and walking on these safer streets”

Siobhán O’Leary Donkin is a mother of two who lives on Alan Road in Withington, one of the roads which had a modal filter installed as part of the Parsonage Road scheme. She was involved in setting up the Love Withington Streets campaign on social media to try and celebrate safer streets for cyclists, walkers, and just families, in general, she told road.cc.

> "Human bollards" step in to enforce road closure after "child knocked off bike" by motorist and cyclist reversed into

She points out that the state of the roads in Withington have been abysmal. Two persons — a 19-year-old girl crossing a road, and man in his 30s riding a scooter, have lost their lives due to drivers crashing into them over the last six years in the area.

In another instance, a motorist drove his car at 65mph in the 30mph area and crashed after a high-speed police chase, leaving his two passengers with serious head injuries and fractures.

“What I’d personally like people to understand is that this scheme was called for by the residents of Withington because the former situation was so dangerous,” she says.

“The scheme has stopped people speeding down two very long roads — Alan Road and Parsonage. Because traffic has been forced onto other roads, the overall speed has to come down, and this will save lives. With the larger straight wider roads left unblocked after the removal of the trial, we will return to these incredibly high speeds of 60-70 and there will be more fatalities. The planters that are remaining will not solve this as they aren’t in the right place.”

A crashed car in Withington, Manchester (image supplied by Love Withington Streets)

Siobhán adds: “My children have loved cycling and walking on these safer streets, we are heartbroken than with the planters going. we will feel less safe, less part of a community, less healthy — but ultimately more afraid.

“We’d call on the MCC to keep the trial for at least 12 more months. If they won’t do that, then what are they going to do to keep my children safe in getting to and from school? Will it take another serious accident before the council acts?”

It’s not just the Manchester City Council which has ignored a report presenting the benefits of LTN. Last month, the government sources claimed that Rishi Sunak’s “pro-motorist” government was responsible for trying to bury a report into the success of Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTNs) schemes throughout England, which concluded that they are effective in reducing traffic and generally popular among residents was buried by Downing Street.

> Manchester City fans slammed for “constantly blocking” cycle lane outside Etihad Stadium, as council says it “shares cyclists’ frustration” with illegal parking

Similar events, however, have previously taken place in Manchester as well. Two years ago, cycling advocates were left disappointed when proposals for an active travel scheme in Wythenshawe were scrapped after locals raised concerns that the plans would “not make walking and cycling easier” in the area.

However, many campaigners and some residents felt that the council took the decision in a haste — the consultation was closed in just 15 days — to accommodate motorists’ concerns.

road.cc contacted the council for a statement regarding the Parsonage Safer Streets, and a spokesperson for Manchester City Council said: “Following a trial period where extensive feedback was gathered from a range of community voices in Withington the Council has made a decision not to make the changes put in place permanent. The feedback used to inform that decision included all information contained within the published scheme evaluation report.

“Work is now underway to explore options for an alternative scheme. Throughout this entire scheme the Council has wanted to make sure that local residents had a voice in how their community was shaped. This decision is a result of listening to that feedback. 

“While we understand there are some people who will not be happy with this decision, it is important to note that the area will not be reverting to how it was before the trial. The Council is working to secure additional funding that would allow the installation of different traffic calming measures to address concerns that have been made by residents throughout the trial. 

“Safety has always been at the heart of what the Council aimed to achieve with this scheme and we would like to reassure residents that efforts will continue make Withington’s streets cleaner, greener and safer.”