Residents fear foregone conclusion over London Fields cycling ‘quietway’
Mapped out: residents fear council is ‘working backwards’ to confirm a decision already made. Image: Hackney Council
A consultation over plans to block roads surrounding London Fields to through-traffic is a “box ticking exercise” that will “retrospectively confirm” a decision already made by the council, residents have alleged.
Hackney Council had planned to launch in January a live trial of a traffic-filtering scheme that would block off roads to the west of London Fields to through-traffic, allowing cyclists and pedestrians to travel freely down a cycling ‘quietway’.
However, after an outcry from residents over the lack of a formal prior consultation, the council announced in December it would delay the trial and first run a consultation.
With just days until the consultation closes, residents have expressed fears the council is seeking to reaffirm a decision that has already been made.
“We are concerned that Hackney Council’s objective for this consultation process was simply a retrospective confirmation exercise for a course of action decided already decided upon”, said Robert Kelsey, Committee Member of Albion Square Residents’ Association.
The council had claimed the live trial would act as a consultation, but some residents feared that once the road blocks were in place, the council would be unlikely to backtrack on its plans.
‘Smoke and mirrors’
The council has engaged market research firm BDRC Continental to analyse the data collected from the consultation, which closes on 27 March.
On its website, BDRC Continental states: “When you appoint us we want to know where you plan to end up – your goal. We will shape our research recommendations around that, so even if the components we suggest are ‘off the shelf’ the solution will be tailor made for you.”
Mr Kelsey is worried Hackney Council is “gaming the system”, trying to “work backwards to confirm a decision that has already been made”.
“We’re concerned the company they’ve employed are just a private company there to meet the objectives of their clients,” said Mr Kelsey. “We want to make sure this consultation is a genuine backtrack and not all smoke and mirrors.”
Hackney Council has agreed to demands to admit a representative from the concerned residents’ associations to all further meetings with BDRC Continental.
A council spokesperson said: “A resident representative was present at the last meeting between us and BDRC. We gave assurances then that they could be present, if they choose, at all further meetings.”
Albion Drive, Mapledene Area and Moreland Estate & Blanchard Way Residents’ Associations have also expressed concerns over the consultation, questioning why the council included no ‘status quo’ option, and claiming the council has no effective method to discern local from non-local responses in its online survey.
The council spokesperson denied accusations that the council was seeking to manipulate the consultation, saying: “The results of the consultation, including how and from where the information was gathered, will be analysed by an independent research company.”
The spokesperson added: “BDRC Continental abides by the Market Research Society’s code of conduct and is bound under the code to provide analysis and interpretation based on facts.”
But Mr Kelsey remains unconvinced the research company will act independently.
He said: “They’re not independent – they’re employed by Hackney Council. They are being paid and mandated by council. Hackney showed very early on they had a bias towards ‘option one’.”
“If Hackney wanted to win our trust back – they have some way to go I’m afraid.”
Fume Free Streets (a coalition of residents, Hackney Cycling Campaign, Sustainable Hackney, Hackney Play Streets and Hackney Living Streets) said in a statement that the council has provided a wide range of options in the consultation, one of which gives residents the opportunity to submit their own ideas – which would include maintaining the status quo.
It added that those taking part in the consultation are required to provide names and addresses, including postcodes and an email address – which should ensure no duplication.
The consultation runs until 27 March 2016.
This story was updated at 11:35 on 24 March 2016 to include the view of Fume Free Streets and the objections to the consultation of Albion Drive, Mapledene Area and Moreland Estate & Blanchard Way Residents’ Associations.
If only this were true. Actually, I suspect the process will actually lead to the status quote being maintained. A situation where the richest 34% of the residents who own cars, inherit the weird 20th century phenomenon where their hegemony over the streets- despite their use effectively excluding all others- is maintained. It is like we all are pulling our forlocks as the lairds of the manor ride by spraying us with filth and having no regard for ours or children’s safety. Wake up and smell the exhaust fumes London Fields..it doesn’t need to be this way.
Albion Rd already benefits from being blocked to through-traffic. Why are the Albion Rd Residents Association so keen that other streets around them shouldn’t have the same benefits? Does Mr Kelsey drive everywhere by any chance? Driving is so last century!!
diddums
My view is that if this trial scheme goes ahead, it will cause undesirable knock on effects to other streets in the neighbourhood to an extent that may require serious adjustments or indeed the scheme’s abandonment at the end of the 3 month trial. I freely admit my views are not backed up by any modelling nor do I make claims to be a traffic management expert.
However, that being said, I trust that the professionals involved in the scheme’s design believe it necessary to trial and monitor the effects, and based on this I am supportive of the 3 month trial. It is merely a trial after all and find the fuss and bother this has generated rather a sad state of affairs.
Doing a trial was always the best way to find out what the effects are – so of course it should go ahead. If major problems arise then it can be changed! However, I would suggest this scheme can make things much nicer in the area for most people by reducing rat running, while allowing local car access. Over time it should be spread as London continues to move beyond the car. I think many of the antis don’t want a trial because it will work.
This article could just as easily have been written from exactly the opposite point of view, e.g.:
“Residents fear that a vocal minority of campaigners will derail the London Fields cycling ‘quietway’”.
Many local people are in favour of the scheme:
we’ll find out how many when the results of the consultation are published.
As an aside, I find it sadly ironic that residents in the Albion Square area,
which has already benefited from a previous scheme removing through traffic,
don’t want other people to benefit from a similar scheme.
I can only think that they must want to continue to rat-run through other peoples’ residential streets while preventing other people from rat-running through theirs.
Yes, definitely.
If the “anti”s were truly convinced that the scheme is in fail,
they would have allowed it to go ahead so they could show it failing.
Actually I cycle almost everywhere. I object to a tiny group of ideologically-driven activists hijacking the Quietway scheme and forcing their narrow agenda on the entire community. Ultimately this is about one cycle path – yet Option One involves 13 road closures and the increase in pollution on roads such as Lansdowne, Richmond and Queensbridge that happen to be where local schools are located. So much for being environmental! So much for being democratic! Sensible planners would have put the Quietway along Albion Drive/Square. Only eco-loonies pushing an extreme agenda would think Middleton Road the best solution.
Also, Albion Road is in Stoke Newington. If you are referring to Albion Square then please note it was built with four exits – two to the east and two to the west. It now has two – one to the east and one to the west. There is NO blockage to through-traffic, so you are 100% incorrect.
Albion Square is a through-route east-west. It is totally false to say it has benefited from a similar scheme. Option One prevents ANY east-west through route from Whiston to Richmond which is a ridiculously extreme solution to generate one cycleway. Put the cycleway on a quieter road – say Albion Drive – and you’ve solved the problem and not turned people’s lives upside down.
Albion Square cannot be classed as a through route. It only has one narrow, windy and inconvenient passage which exits westwards and has clearly been altered to completely discourage traffic flow through. This east passage has clearly been allowed to remain so that the Albion Square residents have the convenience of accessing Middleton Road without having to add 2 minutes to their journeys whilst being happy to create noise and pollution to other adjacent residents. In addition we know that the passage which leads northwards was blocked off- not only to prevent rat-running but also to force the auto mechanic to only have access via Middleton Road, again- the intention to offload traffic onto adjacent streets and away from their own environment. All the alterations which have been carried out to the square have been to force traffic onto the adjacent residential roads.
This scheme will also be beneficial to local schools. They are already positioned on or adjacent to busy roads which the scheme will improve in terms of overall traffic reduction- especially Landsdowne Drive which will have a bus-only filter. Schemes such as this will pave the way for future enlarged traffic calming schemes.
The schemes proposed have been designed to calm traffic in the entire area to the benefit of everyone, not just the select vocal few as was done for Albion Square. This benefit will extend to less pollution, safer and cleaner streets, quieter roads. A minor increase in vehicular travel distance is surely a small price to pay for the general wellbeing of the entire area. To retain the status quo- as Mr Kaisley suggests is not a viable approach at all. In addition to turn Albion Drive into a cycle way would involve removing parking places from one entire side of the road. That might be viable but would not solve rat running and pollution elsewhere, nor safe areas for children to access the schools or play.
I suggest Tatjana should look at the recently exposed, suppressed (by Boris Johnson) report regarding unsafe pollution levels to many schools in Hackney- including Queensbridge Primary & Gayhurst schools. The ill thought out filter scheme which Tatjana (of Middleton Road fame) is championing will cut traffic to a few privileged & relatively quiet roads, whilst pushing traffic on to the busiest Roads with schools and council housing. Sustrans and (LBH- Feryal Demirci) only thought to consult with a few Middleton Road residents in their ‘community engagement’ whilst keeping the rest of the community in the dark. No consideration was ever given to the impact of displaced traffic on schools & children in the design of this scheme & LBH tried to trial the scheme without informimg the community- it’s completely scandalous.
It’s well known that there is no money in place to reverse the trial- significant work would take place which could not be easily reversed such as new cycle paths through London Fields. The council tried to trial this with no public consultation & there’s a long history of so called ‘trials’ going in place which are never changed. No impact assessment re: displaced traffic to schools & to Roads which are already by far the busiest in the area I.E. Queensbridge & Richmond. You have more faith in the council & ‘professionals’ than me- there record so far on this has been abysmal – they have alienated & excluded much of the community on this one.
The trial is actually proposed in order to assess any displacement to nearby roads so this is one more reason to have it. Otherwise we can form our opinions about this scheme only by relying on our preconceptions – not a very scientific way to decide about the outcome of this very important issue and the future of improvements to our area. In regards to an expense, it does not look like a large effort or expense is required to remove a few road works like barriers.
To add – don’t you think that past trials might have been successful therefore that was the reason why they stayed in place, otherwise this sounds like conspiracy theory.
No scheme is perfect until it is trialed in practice , therefore the Council rightly proposed the scheme trial in order to understand the best way forward in conjunction with available data and residents input. To either take forward or to scrap the scheme would have been dependent on real facts . Unfortunately some activists who championed the status quo, for various reasons did not want this trial to go ahead and do not want any form of traffic filtering in the area. The question is why ? Is this because when they see the evidence that traffic is a problem in the area they tend to see only what they expect to see and conclude what they expect to conclude? Are they concerned that the scheme might work? Having the real trial data it would be more difficult to defend preconceptions on both sides.
You do not need to travel far to find council properties as you say in underprivileged areas, are part of this scheme.
The fact that the majority of Inner London schools are on very polluted roads is well known and very worrying. Boris’s suppressed report in addition, provides accurate N02 measurements. This report is one more reason to champion the traffic calming schemes which provide the safe, car free walk or bicycle ride for the children going to school and reduces the traffic and pollution around the schools. Do you think that Living Streets , The Play Streets, Sustainable Hackney and many others would support such a scheme if they do not perceive it as beneficial?
You are well aware that Ward Forums are open to all residents. Council plans involving this proposed traffic scheme were openly discussed there. Anybody, if interested could have participated . There is no reason to come up with fictional stories about residents being kept in the dark or suggestions that the scheme was going to be trialed without informing the community. Nonsense! There were always representatives of the wider community there , including the ones who were skeptical and against the scheme from the start without even trying to understand its benefits.
In addition please let me know what did ASRA do in regards to improving the environment around the schools or around unprivileged areas apart from closing the through traffic only in Albion Square. Was this an ill-conceived scheme and are you planning on asking the Council to revert this scheme to its original layout in order not to push the traffic to your underprivileged neighbors and the schools?
Who are ASRA? I live on Brownlow Road. You know very well that many cyclists & non- drivers such as myself (unlike you) object to this scheme because of the lack of consideration of the risks of displaced traffic to the areas busiest Roads with schools & nurseries. Pollution to schools on Queensbridge & Richmond Roads are already well over safe levels & pose an increasing Asthma risk to local children. Conservative estimates are that this scheme will increase traffic/pollution to these schools by at least 20%. Mike Hood (local pensioner) was actively excluded from involvement in planning around this scheme. There is no doubt that a group of privileged people with close council links & fore-knowledge of the availability of TFL funds cooked up a scheme to create a car free enclave in the area of Hackney with the most exclusive housing- the original scheme literally stopped where the less desirable roads with predominantly council housing began- what’s the explanation for this? Your very naive about trials- it is a well known way of introducing schemes by the back door which then do not have a hope in hell of being reversed. The crucial point is that this scheme was initiated & voted in by a tiny group of well connected people without the slightest consideration of the wider needs of the community which they wished to impose it on.
Tatjana. Albion Square is a through route. It is open at the west and at the east, allowing traffic from Queensbridge Rd to Kingsland Rd. To assert otherwise is, frankly, a lie and harms your cause.
Moorgatepd . Read my text above carefully for mo info on the passage which remains open and why is left open.