Schemes that worsen congestion on community roads & bus routes, increase toxic emissions that shorten lives and stunt children's lung & brain growth.

London, England
Joined March 2018
Eli & I are proud to help @UNICEF_uk raise awareness that #ToxicAir is damaging the health of children across the UK. Our goal @LittleNinjaUK is to reduce #airpollution exposure for the children most at risk as they travel and attend nursery/school on main roads. #NO2idling
15
149
27
250
Little Ninja UK retweeted
We did it! LTN scheme reversed in Chingford after creating mayhem for businesses & residents 🎉 Credit to new Green administration for listening on this, even they get it. Time to face up to the fact that many of Labour’s London LTNs do not work!
23
44
3
168
5,932
The Brixton Road air pollution monitor was notorious for being the first to breach hourly legal limits for NO2 across the UK, until it went offline for 8 months. As no monitoring data captured, Brixton Road was no longer the most polluted road in Europe.🙃standard.co.uk/futurelondon/…
3
211
Do Chris & Kevin agree it's time to reduce air pollution on community roads? Increasing & congesting traffic on high streets and bus routes has failed to encourage people out of their cars but has worsened exposure for adults/kids most at risk. xitter.cf/LittleNinjaUK/status/1… @marmotihe
The claim "LTNs reduce car use" was used by councils to justify concentrating traffic on community roads, generating hundreds of £millions in fines and increasing property prices on affluent high car ownership roads. TfL buried the study that showed this claim to be false. For those suffering increased air pollution exposure from traffic congestion due to LTNs, this research suppression reveals the institutional mindset that prioritises ideology over evidence – with devastating consequences for all who live, travel work, learn or play near LTN sacrificial roads. The £82,095 university study surveyed more than 4,500 residents and found that Low Traffic Neighbourhoods do not reduce car use. When the research proved Mayor Sadiq Khan’s claims about LTNs wrong, TfL officials worried about publication and eventually withdrew funding, burying it. The research suppression is part of broader data manipulation. Councils have for years failed to report cars travelling at less that 10kmph on LTN boundary roads, so increased traffic & congestion caused by LTNs appears as 'traffic evaporation' where cars have simply disappeared. The human cost extends far beyond traffic delays. Residents report missing hospital appointments and children late for school because buses can’t get through gridlock, elderly people feel unsafe when services terminate early, and businesses report customer numbers falling because “it’s too difficult” to reach them. Traffic pollution has significant and wide-ranging adverse effects on public health, causing respiratory illnesses like asthma, cardiovascular diseases, and even premature death, with a high risk for children, the elderly, and people living near traffic congested roads. Key pollutants include particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen oxides, which can damage DNA and lead to chronic conditions and cancer. Exposure to traffic-related air pollution can also impair lung development in children, reduce cognitive function, and negatively affect pregnancy outcomes. Professor Rachel Aldred, the London Cycling Campaign Trustee who led the suppressed LTN study, has previously published seven pro-LTN papers funded by TfL, all positive about the schemes. Only when research showed LTNs failing to reduce car use did TfL withdraw support. The greater damage is to public trust in institutions that prioritise ideology over evidence, revenue above public health. Activists have justified the social & environmental injustices of LTNs by claiming to be evidence led. We now have proof that they control what is shared & publicised and what evidence is buried & suppressed. LTNs have failed to deliver the promised reduction in car ownership & use but continue to increase vehicle miles driven and traffic congestion on community roads, thus significantly increasing fuel burnt, toxic vehicle emissions and public air pollution exposure. The exact opposite of a 'green' scheme.
1
6
8
357
This is peak @activetraveleng dogma, and at this point their directives to remove visitor parking from businesses which rely heavily on it are clearly manifest in PLA approaches. What this department is doing is *changing the format profile of retail* in the United Kingdom, based on an obscure Melbourne-based study whose conclusions were misrepresented in several succeeding studies and meta-studies that essentially all trail back to that single study. What it said was that cycling custom was more spatially efficient, but *not scalable* because the number of customers arriving by that mode was too tiny and spent too little. It's time for a mea culpa, whereby planning authorities and policymakers are informed by ATE in no uncertain terms that their actions are currently resulting in *more out of town 100% motorist retail formats*, and *fewer walkable urban retail formats* reliant on motorists for less than half their custom. Killing off traditional walkable retail for the sake of dogma, and themselves not selling their own cars. Creating amenity deserts in poverty-stricken urban areas whilst strengthening the aspiration to own a car to access basic goods and services. The recommendation from ATE to remove visitor parking where possible must be urgently reversed. @chris_boardman @APPGCW @CommonsEAC @socenvjustice @LittleNinjaUK
Council wants to build on Woodford Way car park in Witney. It's nearly always full + provides free customer parking for Witney's shops. However, they refuse to collect data on capacity. Strong push back from Cllr Liam Walker here. facebook.com/share/v/1DL51EA…
1
5
5
388
It is clear that LTN congestion on red routes is leading to reduced average bus speeds, more curtailments, worse conditions and longer shifts for bus drivers. If you are looking for an explanation for increased bus collisions, look no further than driver tiredness and dehydration caused by LTN traffic displacement.
4
9
18
746
LTNs force bus drivers to spend more time in traffic at temperatures of greater than 40 degrees Celsius. This is done through deliberately manufactured congestion through traffic displacement. It is based on the theory that the prospect of travelling longer will lead to #ReducedDemand. @activetraveleng @APPGCW @CommonsEAC It is no wonder we are seeing more bus collisions, given the obvious impact on driver health and sleep patterns, as shifts are informally extended. Sometimes resulting in fatalities, just for the sake of an ideology. And with scant evidence of any modal transfer resulting. @Heidi_Labour
🥵 As temperatures rise again, watch a London bus driver explain why this problem isn’t going away. Driver cabs can exceed 40°C in hot weather, creating extreme working conditions that increase fatigue and pose serious risks to both drivers and passengers.
6
15
1
22
961
Little Ninja UK retweeted
Replying to @BellRibeiroAddy
Dear @BellRibeiroAddy in your letter you state "LTNs have had a significant impact on traffic on boundary roads" and "journey times to and from their [LTN] properties have increased substantially". You do know, by increasing congestion & journey times, LTNs worsen air pollution?
5
18
288
Just not including illegal levels of pollution on London's busiest community roads like Brixton Road..👇🏾 xitter.cf/LittleNinjaUK/status/1… @AuditCommittees @CommonsEAC @tobyperkinsmp @_OliviaBlake @BarryGardiner @CHinchliffMP @SarahGibsonLD @carla_denyer @alisgriffithsmp @visitcamberwell
We were told it would take 193 years to clean London’s air. We did it in nine. Great to join Ssega and Jayda from Live + Breathe at the Outernet for London Climate Action Week. Because everyone deserves clean air.
1
6
11
634
Oxford's Magdalen Road has lost another popular, long-standing, business thanks in part to the LTNs. Four years ago, the owner warned that this would happen. The LTNs ground them down. There will be no company sale, just closure. oxfordmail.co.uk/news/262215…
⛔️4 years ago: East Ox legend Ping warns the council LTN's are harming business. ⛔️Today: Announcement that her business, the Goldfish Bowl, is closing. "the current transport schemes by the council have proved a considerable business challenge for us & customers visiting us.
2
16
1
38
2,935
“*We believe, based on modelling* that pollution reduced. Tech might have played a role, but the less said the better. None of this is based on coroner reports on actual individuals passing away.” That is the true message. And that’s before we get to the pattern of air pollution monitors “malfunctioning” or simply being removed, after a trend of rising pollution began to emerge for that monitor, such as outside a busy school. Then there’s the corruption of massaged traffic counts, which form the basis through inference/modelling of much pollution analysis.
Estimated annual deaths associated with air pollution in London reduced by around 40% between 2019 and 2024. Real change is possible.
1
2
2
138
As the new councils begin to settle in, a reminder that the deep injustices of the way LTNs move traffic on to already busy roads remain. We look forward to the councils coming up with plans to remedy it.
5
19
3
37
2,469
When will @metpoliceuk @MayorofLondon start to crack down on dangerous cyclist riding in London? Riding like idiots, jumping red lights & riding the wrong way! It is not safe & terrifying for all. Needs action every day all day until this behaviour is stamped out. @ShabanaMahmood
1
6
1
11
1,072
Do TfL include the 30+ journeys a day made by individual delivery bicycles like Deliveroo, Just Eat, Uber Eats in their fixed point counts, and then extrapolate this for their estimate of 1.5 million daily cycling journeys? Is TfL's case for funding main road cycle lanes valid?
5
17
1
21
1,218
Would every person who cycles have otherwise travelled by car? No. TfL confirm cycling infrastructure and LTNs have increased congestion, reduced bus speeds and shifted bus users towards other transport modes. Schemes that worsen traffic congestion are clearly anti-driver.
Better cycling infrastructure isn’t anti-driver. Every person who cycles is one fewer car in traffic, one fewer car competing for parking & one less delay for those who need to drive People don’t cycle where it feels unsafe. That’s why infrastructure gradually changes behaviour
21
16
2
52
5,358
Cycle infrastructure that worsens traffic congestion is also anti-bus. It's women, the young, the elderly, disabled people, lower socioeconomic groups, people of colour and Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic Londoners who rely on buses at disproportionately higher rates.
2
13
19
582
What is the Healthy Streets Scorecard?
Replying to @HSscorecard
A promotional tool which cherry-picks stats to corroborate its main goal of validating #ActiveTravel policies. A few things it won’t address: Fewer shops, pubs, schools, local jobs & services, and longer trips with more congestion. Bus service cuts, increases in cycling KSIs.
1
116
Little Ninja UK retweeted
What I have a problem with is not cycling or most cyclists but with many cycle activists and their lobby groups. I have a problem with their support for: Low traffic neighbourhoods….regardless of the extra traffic they put on the overspill roads. Cycle lanes….regardless of how many bus lanes needed to be removed. Cycle paths between the pavement and the bus stop….regardless of the impact on blind people’s lives. Taxis banned from parts of the City of London….regardless of the impact on cabbies’ takings. Narrowing of pavements - regardless of the impact on pedestrians The eco-ableism many exhibit - the dismissal of the concerns of disabled people The lack of any interest in other road users - be it bus users or those who depend on their vehicles for their livelihood (like plumbers or carers) stuck in traffic The consistent refusal to condemn cycling violations like jumping red lights Rather than build an alliance for change, these activists and their lobby groups set out to get what they wanted regardless of the impact on virtually everybody else. No wonder people are fighting back.
Mr Stewart doesn’t like cyclists.
33
31
8
121
17,090
Replying to @enfield_greens
You do understand that the campaigners lost their appeal, and it was only the joined suit of @TfL which the Court of Appeal upheld, which is that since LTNs are Mayoral policy, local authorities cannot override it, regardless of local mandate? In Tower Hamlets the feedback on LTNs from residents was clearly negative, and overwhelmingly so from BAME and mobility-restricted residents. It is important local political groups understand that in supporting this judgment, they are backing the principle that the Mayor can override local authorities and local mandates. That makes the next mayoral elections important indeed. Meanwhile it is fascinating to see which political parties support the idea of control from the centre, over decentralised decision-making. standard.co.uk/news/london/t…
4
7
195
Little Ninja UK retweeted
You accuse me of gaslighting. I assure you it is not. Let me take what you term my 'sponsored prejudices' one by one: LTNs: I oppose the because the evidence shows they relocate overall levels of traffic; not reduce it. They shift traffic from the generally quieter roads to the already busy ones. I find that inequitable. These are often key bus routes so congestion is worse for buses. Floating Buses: I oppose them because they make life harder and more dangerous for bus users and pedestrians. Cycle lanes: I oppose them because the building of cycle lanes in London is not the priority. The priority right now is freeing up road space in Europe's most congested city for commercial vehicles. London cannot survive without its delivery driver or plumber but can thrive without the commuter cyclist. Where is the gaslighting in any of that? I look forward to your reply.
Replying to @OpenChiswickW4
Surely safer cycling is a by-product of an LTN rather than a protocol of the framework? He seems to be lumping all of his sponsored prejudices into into one, all encompassing basket. This appears to me to be pure gaslighting from him.
7
8
2
30
2,486