THE Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN) saga has taken over Ealing's local politics since the start of the trial period in late July.

Certain streets throughout the borough have been closed off, not allowing cars or motorbikes to pass through.

According to Ealing Council, the reason the LTNs were brought in so that traffic is reduced on residential streets, as often cars use said streets to avoid congestion on the main roads.

A statement from the Council read: "Less traffic means less air pollution from vehicles, reduced CO2 emissions, less noise and can make the area much more pleasant and safer for walking and cycling, which is proven to be significantly beneficial for health, physical and mental wellbeing."

Since Monday, the LTNs that are in place across the borough have started being enforced; meaning that those who contravene said measures will have to pay a fine.

Since their first introduction in the summer, the LTNs have become a very contentious topic, with people both for and against them.

Nub News conducted a survey to find out how people in the area felt about the LTNs and 95% said they were against.

For those in favour, the LTNs do in fact reduce traffic on their streets and more importantly help protect the environment as they encourage people to cycle or walk more.

One of these people is a Culmington Road resident, who does not wish to be named, but told Nub News: "There is a place for LTNs, to reduce pollution, both noise and emissions and rat-running in residential streets."

This resident has chosen to remain anonymous because he believes that some people who are against the schemes can be quite abusive.

For those against, the LTNs cause gridlock on main roads and make the simplest journeys that would take only a few minutes by car, a lot longer due to roads being closed off.

One of the people firmly against them is Laura Begg, from South Ealing, who is one of the organisers behind One Ealing, a campaign to remove the LTNs, that has raised over £35,000 as part of its legal fight for their removal.

She told Nub News: "The schemes are undemocratic; they make life for the marginalised in our society even harder and in the biggest health crisis of our time, they (LTNs) are putting even more pressure on people who have to use their vehicles to get to work.

"There is enough stress and pressure in the world as it is without LTNs."

Another disgruntled resident in South Ealing, Pam Price outlined how the LTNs personally affect her in a negative way: "I have a father with dementia and the particular dementia he has, means he also has mobility issues but he also has other health issues too, for which he has hospital and doctor appointments.

"I also have a sister who has mental health issues, which means that her mental age is much lower and as a result, I too am her carer in part.

"I work full time and my car is important to me for running errands quickly, I don't have a lot of free time, so taking my father to appointments, I have to make up the working time missed.

"Our GP practice is on Mattock Lane, and it would ordinarily take approximately seven minutes to drive this but now I am sitting in traffic for up to 30 minutes, whichever way I go from South Ealing.

"I now have to go all around the houses just to get to Mattock Lane, and I am dreading having to go to Ealing Hospital due to the time it will take."

Sara Nathan from Acton is in a similar situation: "I am a carer for my 89-year-old disabled mother with dementia.

"I visit her daily on bike or foot, but if I need to deliver her groceries or pick her up, I have to use my hybrid car.

"It used to be a short journey due south, but now I have to drive north, east along Grafton Road, south down a congested Horn Lane and then west through the centre of Acton.

"I pick her up, bring her to my house so her carer gets some respite and then all in reverse to take her home.

"This is onerous and stressful but the Council doesn't care."

The Council argues that nearly all residents can use alternative roads and reach their destinations at similar times as before.

A spokesperson for the Council told Nub News: "The layout of the trial LTNs means that nearly every resident continues to have direct access to and from their nearest main road.

"This means that the majority of car journeys for most residents can still be made via their previous route or a very similar one of comparable length, though we do of course recognise that some destinations will see lengthened journeys.

"It is too early to say how LTNs affect traffic flow - we need to allow the trial periods to bed in and analyse a wide range of data before drawing conclusions.

"We have seen in a reduction in traffic over a longer period in Waltham Forest, where the schemes have also been introduced."

Images have also emerged of emergency services getting trapped behind barriers and having to take detours to get to the people in need.

The Council responded to this saying: "The Council has maintained an ongoing consultation with emergency services and made changes to LTNs based on feedback we received, including replacing some bollards with ANPR cameras.

"No formal objections have been raised by emergency services to LTNs and we have not been made aware of any response time targets being missed.

"The chief executive of the London Ambulance Service has confirmed publicly, including to the London Assembly, that LTNs are not causing concerns over response times.

"Our interim assessment on LTNs recommends replacing bollards with APNR cameras across all the trial LTNs in the borough and we will continue to work with all the emergency services to improve LTNs during the trial periods, before any final decisions on the future of the schemes are made.

"NHS trusts across London are strongly supporting the delivery of active travel schemes, including LTNs, both to improve public health outcomes and to provide safe routes to work for their staff."

The LTN scheme has become so contentious, that according to Begg, friends and families are falling out because of their opposing views on the matter.

She said: "I've heard of long standing friends falling out because of this and I think the community is very divided and that is sad.

"People are so entrenched on how they feel on the issue, there seems to be very little common ground."

Even London Mayor Sadiq Khan and his opponent, Conservative candidate, Shaun Bailey, in next year's election have gotten involved.

Khan has often voiced his support of the scheme, whereas Bailey has publicly stated he will ban any LTN that doesn't have local support.

With more LTNs scheduled to be rolled out across the borough in the coming weeks and months, one thing is for certain, this matter will continue to cause great divide in Ealing and could play a very significant role in both Ealing Council elections, but also the London Mayor one as well.