‘Local shops will suffer’: Traders speak out over Stamford Hill cycle lane plans

Cllr Simche Steinberger (R) with Dunsmure Road traders. Photograph: Hackney Citizen.

Shopkeepers in Stamford Hill are up in arms about a proposed cycle lane which they say will result in a loss of parking spaces for their customers.

The Town Hall has proposed a protected cycle track along West Bank’s east side by removing parking bays along that side of the road.

The council’s stated intention is to “reduce the dominance of the private vehicle” in order to tackle the city’s poor air quality.

However, traders on nearby Dunsmure Road maintain that the majority of their customers drive to do their shopping, and fear the loss of parking could harm their businesses.

Abraham Getters of Getters Superstore said: “If there is no parking, local shops will suffer.

“The Dunsmure Road shopping parade is part of the local community, not just the Jewish community.

“We are suffering terribly with problems of parking, so taking away even more parking will be awful.”

Cllr Simche Steinberger (Con, Springfield) added: “The people in the road don’t want it. They [at Hackney Council] are not listening to the locals.”

The traders maintain that a council consultation approving the plans was flawed, citing a 61 per cent showing of opposition to the schemes from responses to 923 leaflets distributed in the West Bank area.

Returns for both online and postal returns show an overall support of 68 per cent for the scheme, with 23 per cent of the responses coming in from outside the borough.

Cllr Feryal Demirci, deputy mayor and cabinet member for health, social care, transport and parks, said: “The proposals for West Bank are part of our commitment to making our roads safer, our air cleaner and our journeys healthier.

“They aim to make this congested and often dangerous route accessible for all road users.

“These plans do not affect the parking spaces outside the shops on Dunsmure Road.

“We have undertaken a full consultation with all road users and local shops and businesses and will be taking account of all feedback received before deciding how to proceed.”