| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:"Ealing Council Makes £2.4 Million from LTN Fines" | |
| Posted by: | Ossian Olsén | |
| Date/Time: | 12/09/21 09:57:00 |
| I am not sure if I should thank any previous respondents in this thread, I am not sure if engaging keyboard warriors is the right thing to do. Calling the designers and engineers in the highways department idiots would require someone to have an ability to understand the design and on the design basis. I note from this thread that there is an apparent lack of understanding of the basis of traffic management/design. That is in essence a wider issue, a feeling or lived experience, is not the same as fact. It may be part of it, but as we saw on the data for ltn25 the ‘vast majority’ of the spencer road consultation the experiences of the respondents did not reflect reality! Wrt to the examples listed in the previous post, where roundabout or junction designs are challenged on the basis of experienced traffic changes are misguided at best. Unless we know for fact that these have not been designed in accordance with the relevant design standards or have been simulated appropriately we cannot have a meaningful discussion. And no one can establish if any of the ‘examples’ are evidence of poor design and/or related to the intelligence of the designers. I think it says more about the person writing it than the professionals doing the work. If I was to venture a guess of the reason for the ‘examples’ I would think the basis of the design may have been exceeded. Meaning; Traffic levels (number of vehicles and the duration of the peak traffic flows) may have exceeded the design traffic levels and thus may be the reason for the ‘examples’ of traffic congestion events. The LTNs may have been poorly designed and thought through, for sure, but to list a number of ‘effects’ of LTN25, without any data to support the conclusion these are guesses at best. In the same way that, I am sure the spencer road consultation respondents were convinced that traffic levels had increased with LTN when in fact they had drastically decreased. Without data it is not possible to draw conclusions that any rat running down Newburgh is due to the LTN. I’m not saying it’s not the LTN cause and effect, but we don’t know until data is captured. But if that rat running bothers anyone, the data shows us that the LTN25 has drastically reduced traffic through poets corner (as per the data), traffic that used to pass the other side of the said primary school - or should we only care about rat running in certain areas? The traffic on churchfield road has remained steady it is worth noting. If the examples’ of why LTN 25 isn’t working is evidence of how the “vast majority of people saw [ltn25] were horribly flawed” I am not sure that the decision makers should follow the ‘vast majority’ opinion. It is the responsibility of our elected leaders to base their decision on facts and data and take decisions that, on balance, are the best for the society. On balance, and based on the facts/data available, ltn 25 seems suitable to me, but the increase in traffic on horn lane is concerning, we have to look at this in more detail and understand if this is due to ltn 25 or if the increase in traffic throughout London has increased by the same amount. But even if it is found that the increase in traffic on horn lane is due to displaced traffic that previously passed through poets corner; I return to the fact that horn lane is a B road with controlled crossings etc and I would keep LTN 25 based on the improved safety for all (kids) walking through LTN 25. The air quality issue I think we need to address through other means. I understand this is an emotive issue for some, but to call someone an idiot without understanding the issues and then defending it with ‘evidence’ without any data or facts has really made me question if I should even respond. I really fear when experts and professionals are called idiots without basis and only because some else ‘feel’ something different. A society basing its, often rage-like, opinions on emotions and rejecting data, facts and listening to experts is what lead to Trump, brexit and antivaccination and I ‘feel’ (!) that is taking us in the wrong direction. |