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Emergency road safety measures in Hackney

Coronavirus: Road closed to through-traffic using experimental traffic order

Mark Moran
19 May 2020
Pavement widening on Lower Clapton Road
Pavement widening on Lower Clapton Road

 

Hackney Council is looking to reduce an expected increase in vehicle movements by closing a key road to through-traffic. The restriction on Barnabas Road is the next phase of emergency road safety measures being implemented by the east London council provide people with more space for social distancing and improve road safety as they walk and cycle.

Barnabas Road is a key route for residents using Homerton Station, workers at Homerton University Hospital and cyclists using protected lanes on Wick Road. It will be closed under an experimental traffic order, with planters installed to prevent through-traffic.

The closure follows Government advice that people should continue to avoid using public transport unless absolutely necessary, and updated guidance on walking and cycling.

The Government’s advice on returning to work means that Hackney Council expects through-borough motor vehicle traffic will continue to increase. In normal times, through-traffic accounts for approximately 40% of all road traffic in Hackney.

The council is also looking to identify sites for the introduction of other additional measures to protect people walking and cycling, and has also begun adapting its borough-wide traffic survey to investigate the potential impact of easing restrictions on traffic levels.

Hackney has already closed Broadway Market to through-traffic, widened pavements at seven locations to help maintain social distancing and produced online road safety resources for schools.

After the Government’s advice recommended that local authorities investigate introducing School Streets, the council is also re-sharing its School Streets toolkit – which is currently being used by Transport for London to encourage best practice – and launching a hotline for London boroughs looking for advice on implementing them, which is funded by Healthy Streets Everyday.

Cllr Jon Burke, Cabinet Member for Energy, Waste, Transport and Public Realm, said: “While we are well-known for our existing measures to reclaim the streets of Hackney for people who walk and cycle, including our pioneering work on School Streets and the 120 road closures we already have in place, coronavirus is showing that we need to redouble these efforts to protect people and help them get around.

“Following the recent letter that the Mayor and I sent to the Transport Secretary calling for the powers to transform our streets in order to improve road safety and social distancing, it was refreshing to read Department for Transport guidance released on 9 May advising local authorities that 'measures should be taken as swiftly as possible, and in any event within weeks, given the urgent need to change travel habits before the restart takes full effect'.

“As a result of the pandemic, people are walking and cycling more, but there is a clear danger that traffic will increase as people continue to avoid public transport. We’ve widened pavements and closed Broadway Market to through-traffic to help people maintain social distancing, but we’re now launching the first of what will be a series of new road closures to protect the public from additional motor vehicle traffic and reclaim more public space to address what could be a radical long-term shift in levels of walking and cycling.”

Specialist Transport Services Manager
Warrington Borough Council
Warrington
GRADE 13 (£58,797 - £63,735)
Specialist Transport Services Manager
Warrington Borough Council
Warrington
GRADE 13 (£58,797 - £63,735)
Specialist Transport Services Manager
Warrington Borough Council
Warrington
GRADE 13 (£58,797 - £63,735)
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