| Topic: | Re:New Traffic Measures are Harming Your Town | |
| Posted by: | Tom Pike | |
| Date/Time: | 03/08/20 12:07:00 |
| Simon, Overall, footfall in general is down 50% compared to pre COVID. What you are seeing might not be out of alignment with that. Of course the effect will depend on the type of retail, but to see any meaningful change due to traffic restrictions you'd need to compare retail on the High Road with Devonshire Rd and Turnham Green Terrace. There was an unplanned experiment on the effect of traffic restrictions on retail in one of our nearest neighbours, Barnes, due to the closure of Hammersmith Bridge. The Barnes Community Association did a survey on the change in turnover in Barnes, SW13, and Hammersmith, W6. They found that comparing the year after closure with the year before, sales rose by 21% in Barnes compared to 9% in Hammersmith. Certainly the overwhelming evidence is that traffic restrictions overall improve retail turnover, with Barnes just the most recent and nearest example. Details are here: https://www.barnes-ca.org/community-blog/theimpactoftheclosureofhammersmithbridge |