Road-end closures are being put in over the summer in the Active Travel Neighbourhoods in Bradford. The aim is to make roads safer by reducing traffic on side roads. Bradford Council’s Consultation is open for six months to assess your reaction to the changes.
Measures like these have been labelled ‘Streets for People’ by George Monbiot, who points out that traffic grew by just 36% on minor roads between 1995 and 2019 and has surged since 2010. On major roads it rose by just 1% in the same period. Some of the rise has been encouraged by satnav driving.
He says that as local streets become more dangerous, fewer local people are prepared to walk or cycle so they, too, turn to their cars. Measures to reduce traffic cutting through on minor roads are key to Active Travel Neighbourhoods, called Low Traffic Neighbourhoods in some places.
Despite opposition these measures are usually welcomed, and their success is seen by roads being reclaimed by people walking and using the space outside their houses for leisure and social activities.
