Frequently asked questions

Islington’s streets belong to everyone. They are a place where life happens and where the community comes together, no matter what our individual circumstances or daily routines look like. But as technology has changed, including the development of app-based driving directions and sat-navs, we’ve seen more motor traffic taking short cuts through local streets.

We have been listening to local people. They tell us that they want their streets to be friendlier places that are easier for everyone to use; to enjoy being outside in clean air; to make it safer for walking, cycling, using buggies and wheelchairs; to relax or play. Over 70% of households in Islington do not own a car (see appendix 7 in link) and 1/3 of journeys in London are less than 2km, a distance which could be walked or cycled by many people – especially if the roads were quieter. 

The introduction of liveable neighbourhoods, low traffic neighbourhoods, School Streets and cycleways under our ambitious people-friendly streets programme will create more space for those who want to enjoy Islington as they walk or cycle. This way we will make Islington a more equal place for everyone. 

In 2019, under the “liveable neighbourhoods” banner, the council committed to improve all residential areas in Islington to create a healthy, more equal, accessible and enjoyable environment, and to enable local people to walk and cycle safely. We set this out in our Islington Transport Strategy; our Air Quality Strategy; and our Net Zero Carbon Strategy, Vision 2030. Other examples include our ambitious School Streets programme, installing new electric vehicle charging points and electrifying the council’s vehicle fleet.

In 2020, the coronavirus pandemic had a big impact on the way we use our streets, due to the need to avoid public transport and practice social distancing. During the pandemic Transport for London predicted that, without action, traffic volumes would get much worse compared to the pre-pandemic world. That’s why we acted quickly to create more space for local people to walk, cycle, use buggies and wheelchairs as safe alternatives to using public transport. We achieved this by installing a series of low traffic neighbourhoods and school streets between 2020 and 2022 in various parts of the borough.

After the pandemic restrictions eased, we continued to develop and continue our liveable neighbourhoods programme. We want local people to rethink how they use their streets and create spaces for communities to come together, where children can play safely with their neighbours, where walking, wheeling and cycling are safe and accessible, and where the street environment is more pleasant with increased on-street greening and trees.

A liveable neighbourhood will have quiet, pleasant streets with less traffic where you can safely and comfortably walk, cycle, scoot and use buggies and wheelchairs. It will be greener and healthier, with places to sit and rest, enjoy your street and meet your neighbours.

Liveable neighbourhoods will use “traffic filters” to make streets quieter and safer while still retaining vehicle access to all properties. Please see 'What is a traffic filter?' for more information.

We want to introduce liveable neighbourhoods in areas across the borough.

The first areas we are implementing liveable neighbourhoods (LNs) are the Mildmay LN (within the Mildmay ward), and The Cally LN (Barnsbury and Caledonian wards).

Liveable Neighbourhoods are also in development in the Annette Road area (Arsenal and Finsbury Park wards) and the Barnsbury and Laycock area (Barnsbury, Caledonian, Laycock, St Mary and St James’ wards), as well as in the Bunhill ward area in collaboration with the City of London.

We will also be looking to introduce liveable neighbourhood measures in other areas across the borough.

Additionally, our programme will include further improvements in areas where we have previously introduced low traffic neighbourhood (LTN) schemes, so that those areas also benefit from greener streets and improved public spaces and pavements.

As part of our plans to develop liveable neighbourhoods across the borough, we have been looking at the ideas Islington residents are raising in response to our public engagement, to help us design schemes to best suit local needs. The road network is complex and we need to take time to plan how best to make improvements in new areas.

In all our liveable neighbourhood projects we are engaging closely with residents and businesses to hear local people’s views on how the neighbourhood can be improved. We also run a full public consultation before we introduce any liveable neighbourhood scheme, so you will have an opportunity to have your say. We send out leaflets about our engagement and consultation activity and use our website and social media to make sure that local people hear about it.

Please be assured that we will also do everything we can to ensure residents who are directly affected by the installation of any new scheme receive a leaflet through the door prior to works starting.

You can get involved with the development of liveable neighbourhoods.

As we develop more liveable neighbourhood projects around the borough, we want to work with local people to hear your views and ideas. As part of each liveable neighbourhood project, we will engage with local people from the beginning and throughout the development of the scheme.

We want to hear from as many people in each local community as possible. Before we develop plans, we will hold public engagement activities to hear people’s views about how they would like their neighbourhoods to be improved, and will use this feedback when developing initial designs.

See upcoming engagement opportunities:

• on each liveable neighbourhood’s webpage
• on Lets Talk Islington

Traffic filters are fixed points on local streets, which most motor vehicles are not permitted to drive through. They are clearly marked with a standard traffic sign (for example ‘No Entry’, ‘No Motor Vehicles’, or a ‘bus gate’) and they can also use a physical barrier, such as a bollard, or camera enforcement.

For more information about specific traffic filters installed within liveable neighbourhoods, please look at the relevant project on the Let's Talk Islington website.

For more information about older traffic filters installed before 2023, visit the low traffic neighbourhoods page and the public low traffic neighbourhoods map. 

Traffic filters within liveable neighbourhoods are generally implemented using a legal power called an Experimental Traffic Order (ETO).

An ETO is like a permanent Traffic Regulation Order in that it is a legal document that imposes traffic and parking restrictions. However, unlike a Traffic Regulation Order an Experimental Traffic Order can only stay in force for a maximum of 18 months while the effects are monitored and assessed.

An Experimental Traffic Order is made under Sections 9 and 10 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984.

Once an Experimental Traffic Order comes into force there is a six-month period in which objections can be made. If the ETO is subsequently modified, objections can be made in the six months following from the date of the changes.

Any formal objection to a specific ETO must be in writing and must state the grounds on which it is made. Send your objections to:

• Email: Environment@islington.gov.uk
• Post: Environment, 1 Cottage Road, London, N7 8TP

Please note that that any formal objection that is submitted may become a public document and could be published.

The council will consider objections, as well as other feedback and monitoring data, when deciding whether any ETO measures will be altered, made permanent or removed at the end of any 18-month trial period.

The council installed a series of low traffic neighbourhoods in 2020 and 2021. All these schemes were introduced as a trial under an Experimental Traffic Order (ETO). Each scheme was monitored closely during its initial operation, and as of 2023 all the schemes have been converted into permanent traffic orders. During the ETO trials for our low traffic neighbourhoods, we closely monitored traffic levels within and around the area.

Current and future ETOs connected to liveable neighbourhoods will also be monitored closely using the same methodology as outlined below.

Before each ETO trial begins we take ‘baseline’ traffic (including pedal cycle) counts in various streets in and around the area, which also give us information on speeds. The primary method we use is automatic traffic counters (black rubber tubes on the ground) which detect vehicles and cycles moving over the top of them). We also have access to historic traffic data and can analyse traffic travel times across all of Islington’s roads that are covered by the system. We also collect other data relating to air quality and crime rates. Data on emergency service response times is provided independently by the emergency services, and bus times data is provided by Transport for London (TfL).

We repeat the counts in the ‘baseline’ locations at intervals during the 18-month trial period. You can find the monitoring reports for the 2020 and 2021 low traffic neighbourhood (LTN) schemes below. 

The pre-consultation monitoring reports for the following schemes are here: 

• St Peter’s LTN 
• Canonbury East LTN
• Clerkenwell Green LTN
• Canonbury West LTN
• Amwell LTN
• Highbury West and Highbury Fields LTN

The interim monitoring reports for the following schemes: 

• St Peter’s LTN
• Amwell LTN
• Canonbury East LTN
• Canonbury West LTN
• Clerkenwell Green LTN 
• Highbury West and Highbury Fields LTN

In general, the monitoring reports for the 2020 and 2021 low traffic neighbourhood schemes showed a decrease in traffic volumes, a decrease in the rate of speeding, and no significant impact on crime, anti-social behaviour or emergency service response times, within the scheme areas. In addition, air quality has changed in line with wider borough trends. Please refer to each individual report linked above for specific local context and data.

To monitor air quality, we primarily use NO2 diffusion tubes that have been installed at various locations in the borough, including school entrances, roads within each low traffic neighbourhood and on roads surrounding those areas. These tubes measure the air’s concentration of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a toxic gas that can be very harmful to health. The tubes are replaced and analysed on a monthly basis. Research suggests that at urban roadside locations in the UK up to 80 per cent of the nitrogen dioxide measured comes from road transport.

Air quality results and analysis feature in the monitoring reports. Typically, at least 12 months of data is needed in order to undertake meaningful analysis. Find out more about our air quality work.

For current and future ETO trial schemes relating to liveable neighbourhoods, monitoring data will play an important role in deciding whether the measures will be changed, made permanent or removed at the end of the 18-month trial period.

There is a common misconception that traffic is like water – block one route, and it will flood another. But it is important to remember that traffic is created from people’s individual choices. When walking and cycling are made easier, safer and convenient, and driving slightly less convenient, fewer people will choose to get in their cars, particularly for short journeys.

When traffic filtering schemes are first launched, there may be some moments in the day where queues form, but as people get used to the changes many will change their behaviour and make different travel choices. Evidence from our own monitoring reports and similar projects in London suggests that traffic on the main roads spreads out across the day, and that bus journey times are not significantly increased. Our monitoring also shows that air quality on main roads does not get worse. The changes do not happen overnight, but this is a common observation across all traffic filtering schemes.

Our monitoring reports show that there has been a decrease in traffic volumes across each low traffic neighbourhood area (and there has been no significant adverse impacts on the boundary roads), a decrease in the rate of speeding, and no significant impact on crime, anti-social behaviour or emergency service response times. In addition, air quality has changed in line with borough trends and has not worsened in any low traffic neighbourhood (including boundary roads) compared to wider borough changes. For those schemes which were implemented during the pandemic, the changes in traffic levels caused by the lockdown have been taken into account in our analysis. This is explained in more detail in each report.

See question 'How will you monitor the liveable neighbourhood trials and measure success?' for more details on our monitoring reports.

Liveable neighbourhoods make it easier and safer for people to walk, cycle and use wheelchairs, buggies and scooters, by introducing measures to stop traffic from taking short cuts through local streets. Every local trip which is switched from a motor vehicle to another way of travelling means one fewer vehicle on the road, leaving the roads clearer for people who have no choice but to use cars. We will keep the impacts of all changes under close review by monitoring traffic patterns on roads, including main and boundary roads, following the introduction of each ETO trial within our liveable neighbourhood projects.

Yes. It is vital that people who need to use their cars, such as Blue Badge holders, can still do so (see Will there be exemptions for Blue Badge holders?). Traffic filters are not a pedestrianisation scheme. If you have a car or other motor vehicle you will still be able to drive to your home, as will visitors, but you may need to take a different route to reach your address. Trade and delivery vehicles will still be able to access all addresses, and emergency vehicles are exempt from all the camera-enforced restrictions.

Near some of the traffic filters we have had to remove a small number of parking bays, although we always do what we can to keep this to a minimum and, if needed, we try to find alternative locations for those we remove. This is the case with any current or future scheme.

The council has a transport strategy which focuses on adapting the way residents and businesses travel within the borough, in an effort to reduce the number of cars on our streets.Each individual decision to change a mode of travel away from private car use benefits everyone. Currently, one third of car journeys in London are under 2 kilometres, which is a distance that could easily be walked or cycled by many.

By delivering liveable neighbourhoods, we are encouraging residents who could walk or cycle to consider their travel options before starting their journeys. By choosing an alternative like walking or cycling, residents are not only helping the environment and reducing air pollution, but also boosting their physical and mental health. This also helps to leave the roads clearer for people who have no choice but to travel by car.

We understand that it will take time for residents to adjust to any changes in their area. Monitoring data for low traffic neighbourhood schemes installed in 2020 and 2021 has shown decreases in traffic volumes across each low traffic neighbourhood area (and there has been no significant adverse impacts on the boundary roads), as well as a decrease in the rate of speeding, and no significant impact on crime, anti-social behaviour or emergency service response times.

Most people are not eligible for an exemption to the traffic filters. However, some people may be eligible to apply for an “Individual Exemption”, if they meet specific criteria. You do not need to have a Blue Badge permit to apply for an Individual Exemption permit. Individual Exemptions will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Find out more about Individual Exemptions.

People who do not qualify for a local Blue Badge exemption nor for an Individual Exemption, are not permitted to drive through the traffic filters. The council’s reasoning for this policy is explained below.

Access to all addresses is maintained. Our schemes have been designed so that all residents can access their homes without the need for an exemption. We know that it’s vital that people who need to use their cars, such as local Blue Badge holders, can access their home by car at all times. That's why in any of our low traffic neighbourhoods and liveable neighbourhoods across the borough, all residents are still able to drive to and from their homes, and people are still able to access shops and services in their area by car. The only thing that may change in some circumstances is the route they have to take.

We need to create a safer environment for people to walk, use wheelchairs and cycle. If private vehicles in the area are still able to travel through the restrictions, then we will not see the benefits in terms of improved road safety, air quality and noise pollution that we would otherwise expect. One of the main barriers that puts people off walking, using wheelchairs or cycling instead of driving is not feeling safe when sharing the road with the increasing volumes of traffic in the borough. By restricting motor vehicle trips through traffic filters we will make the environment feel much safer, and make it much more likely that local people will begin to travel more by active means.

We need to reduce congestion and air pollution on the main roads. The objective of the liveable neighbourhoods programme, and for the council’s transport strategy more generally, is to reduce the overall number of trips, rather than displace all traffic from local streets onto main roads. This will only happen if some car trips are replaced by walking, using wheelchairs or cycling. For some journeys the traffic filters will make driving more inconvenient, and are in this way designed to encourage those who don’t need to drive to choose a different way to travel, especially for short trips. Every journey switched from driving to active travel (such as walking, using wheelchairs or cycling) removes a car from the road and leaves the roads clearer for people who have no other choice but to drive.

Congestion has risen in Islington (and in London) because every day people make decisions to drive, thinking that is their easiest option. By introducing liveable neighbourhoods, walking, using wheelchairs or cycling become a more convenient choice for people to make - safer, easier and quicker than driving. Every journey switched to active travel removes a car from the roads and leaves the roads clearer for people who may have no choice but to drive.

The overall net-reduction in traffic we are aiming for should also mean that in the future all those who need to use a car will experience less congested, safer journeys.

The council carried out a Resident Impact Assessment (RIA) for each individual low traffic neighbourhood scheme implemented in 2020 and 2021. Liveable Neighbourhood schemes are also subject to an Equalities Impact Assessment, which is a comprehensive assessment of the schemes on people with protected characterises, including disabled people.

Anyone who can currently access their home by motor vehicle, private car or taxi will still be able to after any traffic filters are installed. People who use walking aids, wheelchairs or mobility scooters will find the streets quieter, safer and more enjoyable with lower amounts of traffic, and fewer drivers using local roads for quick short-cuts.

Blue Badge holders who live within a low traffic neighbourhood (LTN) or a liveable neighbourhood (LN) will also be exempt from camera-enforced filters in that LTN/LN. Find out more about Blue Badge holders exemptions permits.

Resident safety remains a key priority for the council. We want to be sure that the changes we make do not have a negative impact on people's health or safety.As part of our liveable neighbourhood development process, we carefully assess the impact on the emergency services.

We have worked closely, and continue to work closely, with the emergency services before the installation of each scheme to ensure they can access every street, and ensure their crews are aware of the changes. Our monitoring reports show no significant impacts on emergency service response times arising from our 2020 and 2021 low traffic neighbourhood schemes.

We have shared, and will continue to share, our maps and suggested routes with all emergency services so they can update their route-planning and mapping software. There will be an adjustment period as the services get used to the new routes, but we expect them to be fully embedded within a short time.

If there's an emergency on your street, the emergency services can still get to your address, as no roads are being closed to motor vehicles. Emergency vehicles can legally pass through camera-controlled traffic filters, so their routes across many local streets remain unchanged. Where there are physical barriers, like bollards, these can be unlocked by the London Fire Brigade, who carry keys. In many cases, a filter with a physical restriction is often nearby to a camera-controlled filter, so there is usually an unrestricted route through via a short diversion.

We monitor roads in and around each area during any traffic filter trials, and we can make changes if we think we can improve how a scheme works. We also work with the emergency services to monitor the impact that the changes are having post-implementation.

Our liveable neighbourhoods programme is designed to help residents to lead active and healthy lives, and the changes we are making should make it easier to move around the borough in ways which will also provide benefits to individual and public health.

No. The council does not profit from traffic filter fines. Any revenue generated from the camera-controlled filters is re-invested into improving our streets, roads and pavements, as well as improving road safety, across the borough.

We have installed camera-controlled filters to allow emergency services to access local streets, not to raise revenue. Signage displayed at the traffic filters informs all drivers that they are not permitted to drive through these traffic filters. When new traffic filter trials are introduced, additional signage is also installed away from the traffic filters to warn drivers about the restrictions ahead, to warn residents and other motorists that the scheme is live and to help drivers avoid having to make U-turns. We issue penalty charges to motorists who do not follow these restrictions.