Residents slam ‘ill-considered’ council plans to close junction to cars
The junction between Queensbridge Road and Scriven Street. Photograph: Lizzie McAllister
Haggerston residents have expressed concern over proposed plans to close a junction to cars and other motorised vehicles in their neighbourhood.
More than 3,000 vehicles drive along Scriven Street every day, which Hackney Council says creates a high risk of collisions between turning traffic and cyclists.
To combat this, the council plans to close Scriven Street to motorised vehicles at the Queensbridge Road junction, limiting interactions between cars and cyclists.
But locals say the plans will simply redirect these cars elsewhere, which, they argue, will lead to an increase in air pollution and won’t make the area safer.
Lisa Keheller lives on nearby Middleton Road. She told the Citizen: “When I looked at the map and could see how they were reducing access to this area, [it appeared that] basically all the cars, by closing Scriven Street, were going to be pushed directly onto Middleton Road.
Keheller worries cars which would otherwise drive down Scriven Street will be redirected onto the surrounding roads. Photograph: Lizzie McAllister
“Hackney [Council] has said they’re doing it because they want to make roads safer, they want to improve air quality and emissions and promote walking and cycling, but in fact it seems like the complete opposite would be happening.
“It seems ill thought-out and ill-considered.”
Keheller was also concerned that traffic would be redirected around Queensbridge Primary School, which she feared may increase the amount of air pollution pupils are inhaling. The council has made Albion Drive a School Street meaning only exempt vehicles can enter this zone during school street hours.
“Effectively […] all the cars will be going around the school, all the pollution will be going around the school.
“We [live] in an area that’s a Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN), so from about 2020 everyone on our street and just in the local area, we were quite subjected to road changes and the traffic filters.
“We’ve been really impacted by that.”
The plans affect the area between Albion Drive and Richmond Road. Photograph: Lizzie McAllister
‘Exit only’ traffic lanes with short sections of contraflow cycle lanes are also earmarked for installation at Albion Drive, Mapledene Road, and Lenthall Road.
Further proposals to the area include installing raised cycle tracks, refurbishing pavements and roadway, and putting the existing zebra crossing near Mapledene Road on a raised table.
The council is also looking to install rain gardens at Mapledene Road, Albion Drive and Lenthall Road. You can read more about the plans on the council’s website.
The proposed changes would result in the loss of 33 parking spaces between Middleton Road and Richmond Road.
But the council said parking stress surveys conducted in May 2025 show side roads in the surrounding area have “sufficient capacity to accommodate the loss in car parking spaces at Queensbridge Road.”
The council adds: “If approved, the scheme would add more walking and cycling facilities between Hackney Road and Richmond Road.”
Officials added the proposed changes are expected to make people walk and cycle more and thereby reduce safety risks and air pollution levels. Some 87 per cent of residents’ journeys are currently made by walking, cycling or public transport.
A consultation is ongoing until 30 November. You can have your say via the form here.
“One of the ways we want to do this is through encouraging walking and cycling as a healthy and safe way to get around the borough and to make it easier for those using buggies or wheelchairs.
“Our proposed changes on Queensbridge Road are designed to do this by introducing new features like raised cycle tracks, step-free pedestrian crossings, as well as new rain gardens and seating areas, extending current improvements from Hackney Road to Richmond Road.
“But we want to hear from local residents to understand how these changes might impact them through our consultation, which is open until 30 November. It’s important to note that no decision has been made – this is an open consultation.”
The Council’s “consultation* is a joke. Lower Clapton residents voted no to the Chatsworth Road bus gate, but the Council have done it anyway. The result- traffic chaos, increased pollution, slump in local business takings, longer car journeys for residents but £1000s in the form of fines for the cash strapped but spendthrift town hall.
Please replace the staff at this council ruining the borough for families trying to get by and do normal things in their cars. Motorists are not the enemy
The Consultation is now officially closed but they confirmed at a meeting last week they are still accepting feedback until December 10th – tomorrow. They also admitted they are considering removing the width restriction in Middleton road C27 Cycleway, the only way to get deliveries into the Scriven Street area, opening up a busy Cycleway to HGVs. this was not in the documents.
They are Sarah Young (Cllr) Maryann Allen (Streetscene officer in charge)
What is their game, these Councillors? Under the pretence of creating more cycling and greenes around the Mapledene area, they are creating more pollution and traffic starvation. Their latest initiative along with other councils is to fine drivers of stationary cars whose engines are running. Why would anyone sit in a car with a running engine if the Council hadn’t caused the congestion? Some newer cars switch off automatically, but it isn’t always working. And how about returning to the true pirposeof LTNs which was to stop rat-running. Is it unconceivable to the Council to permit registered, Council Tax paying motorists to have access to their own street? Or is that too “Motorist- friendly”? To gauge the true result of all this sanctimonious greenness, take a walk along Hackney Road any evening around 5pm. A return to London smog on the cards.
It is hard enough to get around with the extreme road closures in Hackney. Middleton Road is closed both ends and is now a cycle super highway created by the LTN.
Closing Scriven Street will force cars onto Middleton Road straight into cycles.
There have been four collisions at Scriven Street in seven years. None serious.
Better visibility for motorists at Scriven Street/Queensbridge Road and a sign for cyclists would be enough. All this money wasted on more cycle lanes, less parking spaces, badly looked after planting is not working. Please stop wasting money and creating more congestion.
This is supposed to be consultation. I hope residents are listened to.
P.S. This is not fair on the businesses in Scriven Street who are already badly affected by the road closures
Restricting access to such a large LTN area through only one road, Middleton Road, which is also a major cycle route with around 5,000 cyclists a day, goes against the council’s own policies on LTNs, cycling infrastructure and pollution reduction. In addition, the proposal would significantly increase traffic around Queensbridge School and Haggerston playground, and divert HGVs and more then 3000 motor vehicles onto a major cycling route. This is particularly concerning given that the existing narrowings were introduced to provide additional safety for cyclists. Without removing the existing road narrowing, the scheme simply cannot function as intended. In its current form, it is fundamentally flawed and should be withdrawn.
I’m seriously worried that these plans will have a detrimental effect on traffic along the proposed route causing more harm than good, contributing to pollution and creating more bottlenecks. Hackney LTNs have been draconian in places and residents and businesses still need to use cars in a considered manner.