Transport bosses are planning another round of road closures to beef up Hackney’s CS1 cycle route.
They are also going to make permanent a series of “trial” measures implemented along the route last year.
Road closures along Wordsworth and Boleyn Road sparked controversy in October 2016 because neighbours said they had simply sent cars into nearby roads such as Brighton Road and Walford Road instead.
Hackney Council said the closures wouldn’t be reversed – although they want to mitigate the new problems by, for instance, moving road blocks and introducing new ones.
“The council feels that the closures have succeeded in reducing traffic on the cycle route and improving air quality and road safety near the schools,” a statement from the town hall reads.
“This decision is consistent with the council’s transport strategy, which aims to improve air quality, create better neighbourhoods, promote cycling and stop rat running.”
But the council still feels there are too many cars on parts of the route.
Other measures to be introduced include extending the pavement at the crossing by St Matthias School.
A pedestrian and cycle crossing will be installed at the junction of Englefield Road and Culford Road; a wider island will be built on De Beauvoir Road; a zebra crossing will appear on Pitfield Street to slow traffic; and, in the spring, Stamford Road and Tottenham Road will be shut off at Kingsland Road, just south of Dalston Junction.
In November, the Gazette was contacted by a Stoke Newington mum whose 11-year-old son was knocked down by a cyclist on Wordsworth Road on his way to school.
Rooma Parmar called for more crossings on the road, saying the area was dangerous for pedestrians.
“There is no crossing in that area so I don’t know how children are supposed to cross safely,” she said.
As part of the latest improvements, TfL is to some extent planning to put cyclists and pedestrians in a room and leave them to thrash things out themselves: a “design workshop” will be held to “develop ideas to reduce conflicts” between the two groups.
Hackney transport chief Cllr Feryal Demirci said: “We are proud to be known as London’s cycling borough but want to get even better.
“London is facing a clean air crisis so it’s absolutely vital that we get even more people out of their cars and walking or cycling.
“That’s why we have closed over 100 residential streets to through traffic, with many more to come over the next few years. We also want to build protected cycle lanes on Wick Road and are looking at putting dedicated space for cycling on other key routes like Queensbridge Road.
“Most of the busiest main roads are managed by TfL, so we’re working with them to put protected space on Seven Sisters Road and exploring options for other roads they manage.”
Other plans include building a parallel pedestrian and cycle crossing at Englefield Road and Culford Road, and the possibility of moving the road closure in Culford Road as neighbours have asked.
For full details, view the council’s breakdown of plans here.
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