| Topic: | Reply | |
| Posted by: | Gordon Southwell | |
| Date/Time: | 04/02/21 11:32:00 |
Sorry Simon but you have this wrong. The LTNs are very much a central government policy formulated by Andrew Gilligan at the behest of Boris Johnson. They are being implemented nationwide and by both Labour and Conservative councils. At the start of the crisis the government withdrew funding for the borough's Local Implementation Plan which took away about £4million from the borough's annual budget for transport schemes none of which were LTNs. The only source of funds were schemes following a set of guidelines laid down by the government to be implemented on a temporary basis through Experimental Traffic Orders. If a council followed these guidelines they could hope to get a fraction of the funding they were expecting. It was implicit that they needed to show enthusiasm for the schemes if they wanted to get the money. It was of course possible just not to bid but this would mean a budget shortfall that would have to be covered by cuts including job losses. Ealing Council have implemented these schemes badly, failed to consult with residents properly even within the limited requirements of the ETOs, positioned schemes on the basis of political expediency rather than actual need and exploited the situation to install numerous new fine generating cameras. The LTNs are precisely government policy being implemented by Ealing. It is a partnership which is working against the interests of residents. |