Low Traffic Neighborhoods
Our residential streets should prioritize residents.
What if you could snap your fingers and make the streets by your home calmer, quieter, and more local? That’s the goal of Low Traffic Neighborhoods. Right now, cut-through traffic—driving that isn’t going to or coming from the area—is clogging our local streets. These drivers don’t live or work in the neighborhood and they’re not visiting anyone; they’ve veered off the bigger roads and onto your local street to avoid congestion or find a shortcut (apps like Waze and Maps have made the problem worse). This type of traffic accounts for a lot of the cars you encounter—as much as 90% in some areas.
The vast majority of New Yorkers don’t drive a car daily, but their residential streets are filled with moving cars. LTNs reroute that through-traffic back onto bigger roads meant to carry cars longer distances. Residents keep their parking and vehicle access but overall traffic is reduced by 50%. And these streets can then revert to what they were built for – ball games, chats on the corner, walks to the bodega, or bike lessons. Plus, locals who do drive can get where they’re going faster and safer because the streets aren’t clogged with drivers just cutting through on their way to somewhere else.
Diagonal diverters at intersections and plazas at key areas disrupt through-streets to prioritize local use rather than cut-through driving.
LTNs are common across the globe—London has over 70, in a variety of neighborhood types and sizes. They’ve become extremely popular with residents because they make neighborhoods quieter, calmer, and more local.
In Low Traffic Neighborhoods:
Traffic decreases 46.9% and even 1.6% on the boundary roads.
Streets are safer: 50% fewer car-related casualties and up to 33% slower speeds, even on boundary roads.
Crime decreases 10-18%; the longer the LTN has been in place, the less crime there is.
Air quality improves: emissions drop 5.7% inside the LTN and 8.9% on boundary roads.
Active travel increases 25%: resulting in less sick days and improved life expectancy by 200 days.
This treatment is perfect for New York City, where residential streets are far too narrow to accommodate so much driving and nonlocal traffic has transformed these once-quiet, communal blocks. But we can reclaim our neighborhoods by making small changes to street design to prioritize local use. In an LTN, the only people driving in the neighborhood are the people who need access to it—residents, visitors, emergency vehicles, sanitation and delivery services.
FAQs
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No. Because LTNs reduce driving in the whole area, they result in less traffic on boundary roads as well. Additionally, LTNs can increase active travel by 25%, which means more people are traveling with other modes of transportation.
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No. They have been implemented in London, Berlin, Paris, and Bogota. New York does employ a lot of the individual treatments for LTNs, but has not committed to a full LTN.
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LTNs are very effective for their cost. In London, the public health benefit of LTNs equates to $5,960 per person over 20 years, compared to a cost of just $35–44 per person. Even higher-cost versions with additional features, like greening and crossing improvements only amount to an investment of $140 per person (source).
We’re working with DOT to pilot LTNs in supportive local communities. Want to know more? Contact Talya Schwartz at talya@openplans.org.
