The problem of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) funnelling traffic into Islington’s residential streets, combined with the redesign of Highbury Corner roundabout in 2019, has resulted in “off the scale” congestion on Liverpool Road in Barnsbury, according to locals.
A campaign group, Save Lungs on Liverpool Road, said the current proposal by Islington Council to create a new “Liveable Neighbourhood” for the area would worsen the level of traffic on the road.
Jo Michaelides, who has lived on the street for 20 years and set up the campaign group in 2023, said that despite being a B-road, her street carries more traffic than the nearby A1 (Upper Street).
“The noise pollution is terrible,” Ms Michaelides said. “You can’t watch TV… [or] sleep with the windows open, because there is 24/7 traffic. People with asthma and health conditions can no longer open their windows.”
After Islington Council released its proposals for the Barnsbury and Laycock Liveable Neighbourhood in September 2023, locals raised concerns that the plans risked redirecting yet more traffic onto the road.
Only 30% of Islington households own a vehicle, and residents believe that the majority of the traffic on Liverpool Road does not come from the local area. They say motorists travelling from outside of London use it as a through-road to avoid LTN restrictions.
A formal public consultation on the Liveable Neighbourhood plans is set to take place this year.
While the group insists it would accept the proposals if substantial improvements were made, Ms Michaelides said she felt that the plans in their current form have been influenced by “ideology” rather than “strategic priorities and plans based on solid data”.
Following the redesign of Highbury Corner and the removal of the roundabout there, completed in 2019, residents say they noticed that traffic volumes had worsened.
The group said three-quarters of vehicles on Liverpool Road now use it as a cut-through, according to GPS navigation data.
“We’ve been writing to the council since the Highbury Corner works and saying that they need to do something, but they kept putting us off,” Ms Michaelides said.
“We hoped they would tackle the issue as part of the Liveable Neighbourhood proposals… [but] nothing in those proposals is giving us any faith that traffic will be reduced.”
She said locals are experiencing a negative impact on their health and wellbeing as a result of the increased traffic, adding that there has been an increased number of “near misses and accidents” due to the installation of new cycleways and floating parking bays that block cyclists from view – especially when vehicles are turning left.
In January, the group launched formal complaints against Islington Council and TfL for failing to monitor traffic conditions on the road, which the organisations pledged to do after the Highbury Corner redesign.
Ms Michaelides is waiting for an official response from the Leader of Islington Council, and she said residents want more than “PR soundbites”.
“All we want is a reduction in traffic… and for the neighbourhood to be liveable again,” she said.
Islington Council was contacted for comment.
- Cally revamp underway
- Local grocery shop provides a greener way to shop
- “My brand is who I am”: In conversation with Tiana Esparon
- Domestic abuse rises by 20 per cent in Islington
- Hundreds of households in Islington saved from homelessness this year
I am a Newspaper Journalism student at City, University of London, and a graduate in Politics and French from the University of Bristol. With six years of experience in media and a commitment to solutions-based, impactful storytelling, I have previously written for publications such as Marlborough News, Freshered, Her Campus, Epigram and Empoword. My interests are varied, but I mainly specialise in stories related to politics and culture.