‘Majority’ support Broadway Market car-free scheme

Hundreds of people enjoy a stroll in the sunshine on Car Free Day. Photograph: Brenda Puech
An overwhelming number of people support plans to make a canal bridge and market street free from cars on Saturdays, a cycling lobby group claims.
The Hackney branch of the London Cycling Campaign said a survey carried out by pro-pedestrian group Hackney Living Streets showed an overwhelming proportion of people, 91 per cent, supported plans to make Cat and Mutton bridge south of Broadway Market car-free on Saturdays. Eighty-eight per cent of those polled said extending the Saturday market down to Andrews Road was a good idea.
The car-free scheme was the subject of controversy after some traders in the area voiced disgruntlement last month.
Before a day-long pilot was launched as part of Car-Free Day, several shopkeepers in Broadway Market said the one-day experiment (22 September) could harm their takings and turn the area into a “race track” for wannabe Bradley Wiggenses.
Andrew Veitch of Broadway Market Projects said signs and barriers barring vehicles from roads adjoining Broadway Market might make the area appear off limits to shoppers.
Mr Veitch said: “We have already had extensive road works, the Olympics and the recession. We can’t afford to have barriers discouraging people coming to the market.”
He said there had not been adequate consultation about the move, adding: “They’ve done this without coming along to businesses and saying, this is what we want to do, what do you think about it, guv? They’ve just done it, which I think is immoral.”
But those in favour of the scheme said the day-long experiment had been a success. Brenda Puech, co-ordinator of Hackney Living Streets, said: “We selected Cat and Mutton Bridge as a good place to mark European Car Free Day partly because of the potential to extend and enhance the Saturday market, and partly to draw attention to the problem of the estimated 3,000 cars and vans that use this bridge daily as part of a short-cut between the A10 and the A107.”
Trevor Parsons, chair of the London Cycling Campaign in Hackney, said: “This through-traffic could be redirected onto surrounding main roads by reserving the bridge for walking, cycling and buses only.”
“Access by car or van would still be available to every address. Filtering an area in this way is the single most effective way to enhance the quality of life and make our streets safer for walking and cycling.”
Related:
Broadway Market traders fear ‘race track’ cycling event
Politician plays cheeky stunt in Broadway Market ‘closed road’ row
fuk cars
But think of all the pop up galleries!
Why do traders always assume shoppers arrive by car? There is so much evidence against this that it’s laughable. They should be supporting measures to make their market a place where people choose to hang around on foot (or bicycle) because they’ll make stacks of cash from it…
I’m still waiting to here how the takings of traders were affected. That should be a major decider as to the success or otherwise of the scheme.
As a trader on Broadway Market on a Sat, I have to say that none of us ‘traders’ were consulted by the shopkeepers over their protests. If I was asked I would have welcomed the closure of the streets to cars. Frankly the cars that do travel through are cutting through to get to the motorway and have no interest in stopping and shopping. The cat a mutton bridge is a major cycling route already and I have often though it should be made pedestrian and cycling only.
The event had no negative affect on trading and in fact brought more people to the market. As long as traders could bring their vans in in the morning I don’t see where the problem is.
These traders,do they all come to the broadway by rickshaw?
I welcome this late debate about the future of Broadway and that all (and I mean all) opinions are now given a chance to come forward. I have heard from shop traders who are adamant that this will affect their trade just as I have heard from residents who think the cars should be banned completely. None of these opinions should be disregarded in reaching the decision about the traffic on Broadway. I would suggest that we also consider the option put to me that we should have a pedestrian only Broadway with cyclists and cars given alternate routes. Personally, I would find that a bit awkward but if it prevented the likes of the cyclist who I witnessed telling an elderly lady crossing the street to “fuck off out of my way” it would be worth it.
So Andrew Boff and Andrew Veitch complain again because what they consider to be their own personal fiefdom is changed without their explicit consent.
I note that Mr Boff (how’s the community council plan going?!) doesn’t mention the trader’s comment who completely disagrees with him and Veitch.
Same old Andrews – moaning about everyone and everything. It gives them something to say….
I see Andrew Boff has a particular dislike to cyclists. The plans were to close the roads to CARS not bicycles and was set up by a cycling campaign group to highlight a road that is often used by vans (a few of which have hit me on my bike while they were cutting through that bridge and Goldsmiths row before it was made bike only, thank goodness) I suggest shutting off the road to cars, however that road is a main route for cyclists and in fact has more riders going through it’s junction every day then any other junction in London.
Don’t you think you should be encouraging more people to get on their bikes rather then demonizing them are swearing, drag racing, rude people, Andrew?
correction: demonizing them *as swearing
Dear anons,
Do you disagree that all the views need to be taken into account?
It seems to me that the current climate of suspicion and tension regarding the car-free day and possible future changes is the result of the initial lack of consultation with those people who have an interest in the community of, and businesses on, the street that is called’ Broadway Market’.
The car-free day seems to have been proposed, then approved by the Council, then organised with very few people with an interest from the actual street knowing about it. Surely the wise thing to do would have been to get as wide a range of opinions as possible, consider them, then make a decision.
Nobody likes changes without consultation of those who might be affected beforehand. Isn’t it just good manners to do this?
Judging by the way in which Mayor Pipe and his merry men have handled consultations in the past, I wouldn’t count on good manners (or indeed, democracy) prevailing!
The cyclists’ claim of “majority support” for the closure of the Cat and Mutton bridge is based on questioning just 139 people – less than one percent of the 20,000 who shop at Broadway Market on Saturdays. The sample is statistically insignificant. It is meaningless.
The cyclists also say on their website that 91 percent of those questioned would favour closing the bridge to cars and trucks every Saturday. That represents a grand total of 126 people out of 20,000: an equally meaningless number.
It is regrettable that a group with acknowledged expertise in town planning – and so much influence at the Town Hall that they were able to force through the closure without consultation – can resort to such misleading claims.
They might, perhaps, begin to restore credibility by redirecting their efforts into educating cyclists to respect pedestrians by not riding on pavements.
Andrew,the same consultation was used to remove the roundabout at the end of Hoxton Street.Its resulted in a steep rise in accidents there but allows bikes to speed all the way down from Downham road to Old Street.