Request ID: FOI-0333-2122 Date published: 16 June 2021
You asked
Under the freedom of information Act I am requesting details of traffic levels on the following streets with regard to whether Air quality has seen a reduction in emissions across the area, NO2 and particulate matter (PM10) and concentrations, have bus journeys time increased, have emergency service response time increased, what data have your traffic counts provided. Details of data request is required prior to lock down in March 2020 and the new data now LTN's are in place. Please take note of all relevant streets below where I'm requesting data.
A3 between junction of A203 and B224
A215 Norwood Road Between junctions of Herne hill and A205.
A204 Effra Road between The junctions of brixton Hill and brixton water lane.
In addition has any of the base line monitoring been pre-Covid and if not how can that provide a true reflection during a pandemic when we know people have been working remotely and children have been homeschooling.
Clarification 19 May 2021: My apologies for the lack of clarity, Yes I would like air quality data and the time scales if we can look at from 2018 to present day that would be most helpful. Im not sure how the data is represented in line with your reporting so if use financial years that may be useful18-19, 19-20 and 20-21. This is a key interest in the differences in air quality and the traffic on each of these routes to make a comparison.
We answered
TfL Ref: FOI-0333-2122
Thank you for your request of 12th May 2021 (further clarified on 19th May 2021) asking for information about traffic levels around Herne Hill and Brixton.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy.
I can confirm that we hold some of the information you require. Your questions are answered in turn below. As requested in your email of 19th May 2021, this covers the period 2018 to the present (where possible) and the following streets (where possible):
A3 between junction of A203 and B224
A215 Norwood Road Between junctions of Herne hill and A205.
A204 Effra Road between The junctions of Brixton Hill and Brixton water lane
Question 1: Air quality data Answer: TfL itself has not collected and does not hold any such air quality data. However, I would advise that you review the information that can be found in the following two websites, which provide historic air quality data across various sites in London:
Question 2: Traffic levels/counts on the these streets Answer: Please see the attached folder “FOI-0333-2122 Traffic Count Data” which provides the ad hoc counts and ATC (automatic traffic counters) data we have for the last 3 financial years across the roads specified. Please note that we do not hold any data on ‘A204 Effra Road between The junctions of Brixton Hill and Brixton Water Lane’. Question 3: Whether bus journeys time increased on these streets Please see the attached spreadsheet “FOI-0333-2122 Buses data”. Our system holds detailed data for two years only, and so the data starts from the end of May 2019. Please also note the following: Our data is only available between bus stops. Therefore we have located the nearest bus stops to the requested junctions as follows:
‘A3 between junction of A203 and B224’ has been converted to a corridor between Clapham Common Station and Stockwell Station.
‘A215 Norwood Road Between junctions of Herne hill and A205’ has been converted to a corridor between Tulse Hill Station and Herne Hill Station.
‘A204 Effra Road between The junctions of Brixton Hill and Brixton water lane’ has been converted to corridors between St Mathew’s Church and Brixton Water Lane (southbound) and between Brixton Water Lane and Lambeth Town Hall (northbound). Note that we intentionally did not pick Brixton Station due to risk of inconsistent data as there were multiple changes to stopping arrangements at Brixton Station to accommodate social distancing measures during 2020.
The data is presented by route/direction, date and time period, and is summarised by day type at the end. Each data table shows minimum, maximum and average scheduled and actual run times. Question 4: Whether emergency service response times increased on these streets TfL does not hold data in relation to emergency response times. It is possible that the emergency services themselves do, and so you may wish to-direct your request to those bodies. If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for any reason, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.
Yours sincerely,
David Wells FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
