Walking and cycling rates have increased on Stoke Newington Church Street following a 13-month trial of its Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN) project, according to a report published by Hackney Council last week.
The trial aimed to reduce traffic, improve air quality and make it easier to walk, shop and cycle on Stoke Newington Church Street as part of the bigger initiative set up in 2020 by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.
In the period between September 6 to September 19 2022, walking was up by 16 percent and cycling by 38 percent, compared to the same period in 2021 (September 5 to September 18).
A bus gate was installed outside the Red Lion pub on Church Street, which only permits buses, cyclists, pedestrians, and emergency vehicles to use the road at certain times. The report showed that during the bus gate operating times (between 07:00 and 19:00) the number of pedestrians and bikes outnumbered that of cars with car use falling by 60 percent.
Motor traffic had fallen by 53 percent in Church Street over the whole day.
Stan Portus, a cyclist and content editor, told Eastlondonlines that projects like this help encourage people to walk and cycle by showing these modes of transport can be safe and enjoyable: “I don’t want to feel unsafe cycling or walking along Church Street or anywhere… and this scheme certainly helps me enjoy being out in the area more.”
“There has been a huge drop in traffic but you still have to be wary of crossing Church Street and stepping out into the road, which you often have to do due to the number of pedestrians. Wider pavements and more crossings would help make Church Street even better for pedestrians.” he added.
There have been 19 new LTNs since 2020 in Hackney, with 70% of eligible roads being covered by a low traffic zone, making it the first among all the London boroughs, according to the Council.
Controversy has been raised since the project was introduced, with residents complaining it pushed the traffic into non-LTN roads which brought inconvenience to their travel.
Lyn Rennick, a Stoke Newington resident told ELL: “Many elderly and disabled people cannot go out as they rely on cabs and either a cab won’t pick them up from their home as it’s hard for the cab to get to them due to closed roads or they have to travel door-to-door and the cab cannot go down the road they need to be dropped off at.”
Mete Coban MBE, cabinet member for Environment and Transport of Hackney Council, said in a statement: “The Stoke Newington Low Traffic Neighbourhood is helping more people to walk and cycle, and spend more time on their local high street – showing the incredible potential of low traffic neighbourhoods to transform an area, help people lead healthier lives and tackle the climate emergency.”
