Fact check: Low-traffic neighborhood initiative no longer in place in England
The claim: Video shows ambulance being diverted by new low-traffic neighborhood in London
A Feb. 11 Facebook video shows an ambulance trying to drive down a street with roadblocks before turning and driving another way.
"An ambulance on an emergency call is unable to get to its destination due to one of London's new 'Low Traffic Neighbourhoods,'" reads the post's caption.
The Facebook video, originally posted on TikTok, garnered more than 900 views in six days. Similar posts have accumulated hundreds of shares on Facebook.
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Our rating: False
The video is not "new" as the post asserts. It was filmed in Ealing, England, in 2021 when the city tried a low-traffic neighborhood initiative, according to a city council spokesperson. The initiative ended in May 2021 because of upcoming construction and dissatisfaction among residents.
Video filmed in 2021 during trial run
The original TikTok, uploaded in February 2021, shows an Ealing street where the low-traffic neighborhood plan was introduced. The initiative was implemented on a trial basis in response to COVID-19 to help battle climate change, improve air quality, reduce car traffic and promote walking and bicycling.
"This footage is of a low-traffic neighbourhood scheme that was removed in May 2021," Jonathan Kinsella, an Ealing Council spokesperson, told Paste BN in an email. "At the time we worked closely with the emergency services, replacing bollards and planters with cameras."
The plan ended because of upcoming construction and a majority vote among residents, according to a council press release and local reporting.
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At the time, the same user shared a TikTok video showing several of the roadblocks being removed by workers.
A September 2022 Google street view of the intersection from the video shows the roadblocks are no longer present, as first noted by Reuters.
Paste BN reached out to the user who shared the post for comment.
Our fact-check sources:
- Ealing Council, May 21, 2021, LTN 21 trial to be ended and local people to vote on LTNs in Ealing
- Ealing LTN, accessed Feb. 17, About the project
- Oneealing, Feb. 12, 2021, TikTok
- Oneealing, May 28, 2021, TikTok
- Jonathan Kinsella, Feb. 20, Email exchange with Paste BN
- Evening Standard, Aug. 19, 2021, London borough of Ealing to rip out Low Traffic Neighbourhoods after resident ‘referendum’
- Reuters, Feb. 15, Fact Check-Video of London Ambulance blocked by ‘low traffic neighbourhood’ filters is from 2021
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Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.