A cleaner, greener and safer Stoke Newington - your questions answered
Stoke Newington’s new low traffic neighbourhood, aimed at reducing traffic, improving air quality and supporting people to walk, shop and cycle locally, was introduced on 20 September.
A new 7am-7pm bus gate on Church Street is helping to reduce through-traffic on the street. Only cyclists, buses and Blue Badge holders who have registered for an exemption can pass through during this time.
This is supported by five further traffic filters, which stop new short-cuts opening on surrounding residential streets. These operate at all times in line with the Council’s aim to reduce traffic on residential streets.
The new low traffic neighbourhood has been implemented as an 18 month trial, with residents and businesses encouraged to have their say online or by writing to ‘Freepost Streetscene’ in the first six months. The Council will then consider comments, alongside traffic and air quality data, before deciding whether or not to make the scheme permanent.
Council officers have been on site every day this week to monitor the new scheme and speak to residents about the changes. A number of responses to common questions have been compiled below.
Parking
There are a number of designated exit routes in the area so vehicles that need to avoid the bus gate can exit the area without turning in the road. The Council expects traffic to reduce on these roads as drivers get used to the changes and avoid the area.
A number of parking spaces have been temporarily removed from these routes to ensure there are adequate passing places on these roads. The Council is monitoring traffic on exit routes and will reinstate these parking spaces if they are no longer needed. It is expected that some of the parking suspensions will be removed over the weekend. A decision on the other parking changes will be made by the end of October, to allow time to adequately assess changes in traffic movements.
A small number of properties in the Edward’s Lane area and on Nevill Road are experiencing issues in finding parking spaces. The Council is looking at potential solutions to address this if these problems persist.
Monitoring
The Council has completed comprehensive pre-implementation monitoring at 45 sites across the area. When the scheme has settled down, it will repeat this monitoring, which it will share with residents and businesses.
Westminster University is also conducting an independent study into the impacts of the scheme using four continuous traffic counters.
Roadworks
Emergency roadworks are currently taking place near the Stoke Newington High Street/Church Street junction, which is impacting on traffic levels there. This is scheduled to be completed by 6 October.
Electric vehicles
Some residents have been asking about electric vehicle exemptions from the low traffic neighbourhood. Permitting electric vehicles to pass through filters would be contrary to the scheme’s aims as it would reduce road safety improvements for pedestrians and cyclists. It is also important to note that tyres and brake wear on all vehicles are still a significant contributor to particulate matter pollution.
Sat nav apps
The new low traffic neighbourhood is currently shown on sat nav apps. This can change if drivers using sat navs ignore restrictions - but the Council will continue to do everything it can to ensure apps are notified and all restrictions are shown.
Already, we’re seeing a transformed Stoke Newington, with quieter, safer and cleaner streets supporting residents to walk, cycle and shop locally.
We’re continuing to monitor the scheme closely to ensure it’s working as well as possible, and we’ll continue to speak to residents and businesses so we can tackle any issues as they arise.
We’re monitoring traffic across the area - including on boundary roads - which we’ll publish for residents and businesses to review.
To find out more, read more frequently asked questions and have your say, visit: hackney.gov.uk/stoke-newington-ltn