SOME EXTRACTS FROM THE LTNWATCH ‘TESTIMONIALS’ PAGE
THAT MENTION THE IMPACT OF THE STREATHAM WELLS LTN - ON STREATHAM BUSINESSES.

“Having LTNs is causing a lot of traffic in other areas which is increasing my journey time and will cause me to not want to shop in my local area.” (T. p26)

“As an asthma sufferer, I will no longer use the high street by foot due to the extra pollution caused by the constant queue of traffic. I will get in my polluting car and drive away from the madness that is Streatham to do my shopping elsewhere”. (T.p6)

“I will no longer shop on Streatham High Road because the traffic is impossible and now shop in Tooting as its much more accessible”. (T. p121)

“It takes me a lot longer to get to Sainsburys at Streatham Common and also to do any other local journeys using Leigham Court Road or Streatham High Road. I am already adversely affected by the Streatham Hill LTN as I can’t drive to local shops. Now my choices are even more limited.” (T. p34)

“As a result of the Streatham Wells LTN, we will find alternative centres for shopping and entertainment. Streatham will become a ghost town and all the businesses will suffer. Such a waste as it was increasing in vibrancy and diversity.” (T.p74)

“Our business model is now looking outside of the aforementioned areas to grow.” (T.p23).

“With the new LTN I find getting from pupil to pupil very difficult within my allotted time and it means I have to widen the gap between pupils and drop a lesson each day, resulting in an income loss of £300 per week. This is quite a substantial sum in a month to lose, especially given the current cost of living crisis.” (T.p20)

“I am a local dog walker and it’s affecting my business greatly as we can’t collect certain dogs from the roads closed off we also have been very affected by the increased traffic and the closure of Larkhall bridge which I need to get home I live the other side. It’s had a huge impact on our income leading to almost financial ruin.” (T.p35)

“The Streatham wells LTN has had a negative impact on both my business and my personal life, I’m a self employed electrician and I’ve been late getting to jobs for the last few days and spent an extra 30 minutes sitting in traffic getting home each evening.  I’m spending more money on diesel and spending more time away from home.” (T. p53)

“As a local tradesmen this has added a lot of travelling time from job to job. Have used more petrol and my van is idling a lot more as traffic is flowing a lot slower”. (T.p89)

“My partner and I have businesses in Streatham Hill, West Norwood and Streatham Common. The LTNs have seriously impacted on our ability to move about effectively. We spend much more time on the road (sitting in traffic). We do not know what the long term impact of these levels of traffic caused by the LTN road closures will be on our business.” (T. p152)

“As a window cleaner it has put extra hours on my work day, there’s only so much you can pass onto customers, because of this I’ve now had to apply for universal credit for the first time in a very long time” (T. p101)

“I live and run a small business in Lambeth as a cat sitter. Many of the houses I visit are in the Streatham LTN zones. Many of the cats I visit require times medications such as insulin and it has become virtually impossible for me to be able to get there on time. Even without the pressure of timed meds a day’s work is costing me extra in w fuel and time, having a concerning impact on my business.” (T. p129)

“The Streatham LTN and Roupell road LTN have really had a negative impact on me and my family. My husband has a business in Streatham High Road. Since the LTN has gone live the deliveries for the shop have been delayed if not cancelled.” (T. p142)

“I live in very bottom of Streatham Vale and the traffic is terrible since the new LTN’s started. I have started a new job on the high road just before the LTN’s because O have a child it was important to me to work close to drop my child to nursery and go straight to work… when it took me by bus 10-15 minutes to get to work after dropping child at 8:55 now it takes over 30minutes and I’m worried I will get fired as I am constantly late, I can’t drive because of traffic, I can’t take bus for same reason, I can’t walk as it doesn’t make timing difference at all as I tried that as well , I will be late for work unless the traffic goes back to normal. I filed formal complaint to Lambeth last night that who it may benefit? People losing jobs.” (T.p148)

“I have lived in Lambeth since 1990 and on LCR since 2012. My work as a dance teacher and fitness instructor is hourly paid and routinely takes me to a number of different venues - I use my car for some journeys, mostly at off-peak times… If car and bus journey times continue to be unreliable I may find I have to relinquish classes which I have been teaching for many years and lose the vital income which goes with them. Some of my classes take place at a venue on LCR and customers who cannot walk to class are finding it difficult to get to me on time due to the increased traffic. This will further impact my income if it continues to a point where people decide to look elsewhere for their classes.” (T. p143)

“I will be impacted as I’m a health care worker who works in Gracefield Gardens it will take me longer to get to work -I need my car for when go out into the community to complete health care assessments and attend safeguarding meetings. I will also be stuck in traffic in LCR when I’m returning from work and most likely will be late for my children’s pick up.” (T.p56)

“I work as a childminder and need to use my car as I have 6 children. How is it possible to walk with 6 children to playgroups , parks, museums etc.” (p.60) 

“My journey to and from work has been severely disrupted- I travel on public transport and have to go through Streatham to get to my school (I’m a teacher in tooting) from Upper Norwood. The knock on effect of the LTNS has been massive and is making everyday life a real struggle!” (T.p120)

“The effects of the road closure has had detrimental effects on transport to and from work, journeys that should take 5 minutes are now taking over an hour. I am a health visitor and my job is to see families in and around Lambeth and I am constantly late to appointments or on some cases cannot even meet appointments due to issues getting to and from clients homes”. (T.p124)

“I am a Community midwife, so have no choice but to drive as per terms and condition of employment, due to carrying heavy medical equipment”. (T.p126)

“I work a healthcare worker in Lambeth. I’m struggling to do my basic work and to get on time to my patients due to LTNs.” (T.p155)

“My husband is a delivery driver and it takes him twice as long to drop off goods now meaning he cannot meet timeframes which affects his income in an already difficult climate financially.” (T.p43)

“I work in Lambeth I have to pass through Streatham daily my journey has doubled .. my work colleagues.. ones that drive and the ones that take transport are late daily.” (T. p.97)

“I work full time as a HGV driver for an event company Based in Mitcham, with our main venues based in Central London and around. Now driving I have to try to avoid Streatham and Brixton which is making my working day difficult. And if I have no choice but to use them routes, I'm finding it very dangerous”. (T.p102)

“The LTN is inconvenient for me as it limits ways that I can drive out of my neighbourhood. If I want to go to the nearest petrol station on Leigham Court Road, my journey time and distance has doubled. Presumably my petrol usage has doubled as well when I go to fill up. For me there's no upside and plenty of downside.” (T. p76)

“I cannot do my weekly shop on a bike or by walking. A family of 5 and a dog require more than 2 shopping bags. Online shopping is unreliable and I choose to shop in person, to ensure I get what I want, get the best deals and get food that is not going out of date. I use my car. Often to Sainsburys or Lidl on Leigham Vale. I won't use them anymore. It's easier to shop in Clapham/Balham en route to my school pick up or drop off - in fact, I'll use all the shops there (Boots, WHSmith etc etc) rather than go to SHR and walk around in a sea of pollution. Sad for Streatham.” (T.p94)

“I go to gym in Streatham I cannot face to go on my days off because of the journey.” (T.p97)

“It is now comparatively easier for me to drive to and park the car in Balham, Tooting or Clapham to use local shops and restaurants, where previously my girlfriend and I would shop and dine out in Streatham. Undoubtedly others will feel similarly, meaning the LTN will likely be negatively impactful on small local businesses.” (T.p100)

“We're generally spending much more time idling on the road whenever we have to use the car, including doing our weekly shop at Sainsbury's Streatham Common.” (T. p125)

“Getting to our two closest supermarkets has become harder and we will need to start visiting those further afield instead.” (T.p128)

“I take my mum shopping regularly. We normally stop at the newsagents in Sunnyhill Road to pick up her newspaper. If they've run out, we used to drive to Leigham Vale to the newsagents there. We don't do that now due to the traffic. A trip there last week took us an hour, compared with 10 minutes before the LTN was activated.” (T. p135)

“We used to shop and go to the cinema and restaurants in Streatham before, but not anymore so certainly it is not good for business”. (T. p137)

“The attractiveness of Streatham High Road as a place to eat or shop continues to deteriorate and my expectation is that the remaining cafes, restaurants and shops will see customer numbers falling further as a result of SHR now being more or less permanently grid locked.” (T.p144)