While some boroughs such as Tower Hamlets are rapidly turning car-free to decrease road danger and boost air quality, others seem to not be doing so well.

According to the national environmental charity Campaign to Protect Rural England, Hackney has high scores for residents traveling in sustainable ways but the borough ranks the lowest for road safety.

“In Hackney we found that they’re doing extremely well at promoting walking and cycling compared to other boroughs but they still have a problem with road danger” said Alice Roberts, Head of Green Space Campaign at CPRE London.

According to the Healthy Streets Scorecard, 85% of Hackney residents travel in sustainable modes such as walking, cycling and using public transport. A very high score for the borough, which seems to perform not so well when it comes to road safety. 

For serious or fatal casualties Hackney is in fact the fourth most dangerous borough with 125 pedestrians killed as well as 90 cyclists from 2015 to 2017. 

“We’re working with TfL and the Mayor of London on key projects like the Crossway to Lea Bridge Road cycle route, removing the Stoke Newington gyratory and improving Hackney Central and Stoke Newington for pedestrians and cyclists”, said Cllr Jon Burke, Hackney Council Cabinet Member for Energy, Waste, Transport and Public Realm. 

Meanwhile, the borough put a great effort in educating children on road safety, with road safety officers involving kids in interactive talks on how to behave while on roads. 

“We have been talking to children at the Junior Citizens Safety Day. Another way we do it is with a fantastic scheme called Junior Safety Officers which has been running in Hackney for many years” said Su Guy, road safety officer for Hackney Council. 

So the challenge for Hackney is to continue to encourage people to walk or cycle while improving safety. Improving road safety education – especially for children- is one of their main aims.