Council closes more Hackney Streets to protect residents from traffic
Ashenden Road, Meeson Street, Gore Road and Ufton Road are due to be closed by the council under Experimental Traffic Orders. Picture: Hackney Council - Credit: Hackney Council
Four more Hackney streets are set to close to through-traffic to make it safer for residents walking and cycling around the borough.
The Town Hall expects more cars, pedestrians and cyclists on the borough’s roads since the government urged people to avoid public transport unless absolutely necessary.
The council says the closure of Ashenden Road, Meeson Street, Gore Road and Ufton Road will help protect those walking and cycling from increasing levels of motor traffic - which have been found to be travelling at high speeds.
Environment chief Cllr Jon Burke said: “Hackney’s high cycling rate and low levels of car ownership present both challenges and opportunities at a time in which fewer people will use public transport.
“That’s why we’re determined to reimagine our streets so people can safely walk and cycle.”
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The roads will all be closed at junctions to reduce rat-running, air polluting congestion and to support social distancing and safer cycling options.
Ashenden Road in Homerton will be closed at its junction with Glyn Road, Gore Road will be shut by Victoria Park at its junction with Lauriston Road, Ufton Road in De Beauvoir will be stopped at its junction with Downham Road, and Meeson Street at its junction with Downham Road.
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The council will be delivering further measures to protect pedestrians and cyclists from traffic, adding to 120-plus road closures in Hackney as part of Transport for London’s recently announced Streetspace plan.
The closures will be delivered under Experimental Traffic Orders which allow residents to give their feedback throughout their operation.
Cllr Burke said: “Reallocating road space to achieve better environmental, public health, and social outcomes is enshrined in the Hackney Transport Strategy.
“These latest proposals will not only improve road safety and opportunities for social distancing, but also deliver reduced planet-heating vehicle emissions and air quality improvements in a borough with one of the highest rates of premature deaths from air pollution in the country.”
The council has also recently implemented temporary road closures at Broadway Market and pavement widening at seven key locations. A closure at Barnabas Road is set to be introduced on May 28.