Bristol’s low traffic bullies have gone too far

At 3am last Thursday morning, council contractors and police descended on a Bristol neighbourhood to install roadblocks under the cover of darkness. Fadumo Farah was one of the residents who got up that night to see what was going on. She was shocked to see dozens of police officers and security guards with drones. It ‘felt like a movie scene,’ Farah said. In a last-ditch attempt to prevent the work proceeding, she – and a group of other residents – lay down in the road.

The operation was the latest episode in a long-running battle over Bristol’s first Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN) – known in the local lingo as ‘East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood’ – in the areas of St George, Redfield and Barton Hill.

Almost two years ago, following a packed public meeting in which people voiced their concerns about longer journey times and the effect on local businesses, the council suspended its plans for the LTN.