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From: Frank Krygowski <frkrygow@sbcglobal.net>
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles.tech
Subject: Re: london cycling
Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2025 14:42:22 -0400
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On 7/10/2025 1:39 PM, Roger Merriman wrote:
> <https://youtu.be/OunBRdTIe3w?si=v2Crsm2yMmF6aS5I>
> 
> Essentially numbers of cyclists are up and by quite some margin
> particularly around Central london, aka City of London and areas like
> Hackney.
> 
> The combo of direct high quality bike lanes, and Low traffic Zones ie
> restricting motorists though traffic, which has been around for nearly 100
> years but this is the new term for it, but it’s quite effective, I use a
> few regularly be that by bike or car, or sometimes both.
> 
> <https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/07/londons-low-traffic-zones-cut-deaths-and-injuries-by-more-than-a-third?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other>
> 
> May explain LTZ as not sure how common at all they are in the US, as ever
> get a vocal minority who dislike and claim well falsehoods aka the traffic
> is just moved and worse and so on, which is not backed up by any evidence.

"Low Traffic Neighborhoods" have the U.S. nickname "Bicycle Boulevards." 
They're streets where cars are permitted but discouraged, and/or are 
held to very low speeds. I've encountered them mostly in Portland, 
Oregon and a few streets in Columbus, Ohio, both many years ago. They 
used things like "one way" restrictions, certain barriers, speed bumps, 
etc. to slow or restrict cars while permitting nearly unobstructed 
bicycling.

In my experience, they worked well. I think they primarily deterred "rat 
running," or zooming through neighborhoods when nearby major roads were 
congested. They cut down on motor vehicle traffic and made bicycling 
more pleasant. I think they were much better than on-street sidepaths, 
"protected" or not.

BTW, I find things like the YouTube video at the top of your post much 
less convincing than, say, actual traffic counts and other data. I've 
seen too many such videos and photos shot with very careful planning to 
maximize the density of cyclists in the frame, including even filming 
special bike events and pretending they were normal traffic.

-- 
- Frank Krygowski