Campaigners urge council to ramp up progress on LTNs

An LTN in Haggerston. Photograph: Hackney Council

Activists grilled the council on Monday over when residents can expect the completion of three promised low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) in the borough.

At the Town Hall cabinet meeting on 30 September, campaigners from Low Traffic Hackney quizzed Mayor Caroline Woodley on when a timeline would be published for the rollout of LTNs in Dalston, Chatsworth Road and Hoxton East.

These plans were announced in January 2023, but activists said residents have “lost trust” in the the council because of its “non-committal” stance, delays to implementation, poor communications with residents, and several instances of cancelled meetings with cabinet members.

“This group is here today because of the continuous delays, and unfulfilled promises are unacceptable, as is the lack of transparency regarding the reasons for the delay.

“We feel that we deserve more. We ask the council to clarify the timelines for implementing Dalston LTNs and ask that the council publishes updated timelines for LTNs across the borough,” the spokesperson said.

Cllr Zoë Garbett (Green) also reminded the Mayor of her election campaign committment in November 2023 to deliver the three LTNs by the end of financial year 2023/24.

“In the past, Hackney was celebrated for the action it took on its low-traffic neighbourhoods.

“Now we have LTNs not joined up to sufficiently impact through traffic, and no mains roads strategy, which means there is no borough-wide approach so that everyone can benefit.

“A consultation was undertaken, but no results have been published. Processes have started and stopped, and timescales have been missed. 

“Residents are not getting you to do anything you haven’t already agreed to. Residents want to be a part of the vision for the borough and want a realistic timeline and action,” she said.

Mayor Woodley acknowledged the “stress experienced” and “frustrations”, but stressed that delays were not a symptom of the council’s complacency.

“In January 2023, the cabinet agreed to the council’s three-year local implementation plan, which included committing to investigate additional LTNs.

“The commitment remains on the record, and that work is ongoing.”

The Mayor said communications to the areas for planned LTNs will move ahead now that a new cabinet member for transport has been announced and plans will advance.

This includes the council publishing new analysis and next steps for public consultation with residents.

“I am keen to progress as fast as possible. We’ve not been idle—we’re working to understand traffic patterns in the area through conducting these traffic count, undertaking these traffic surveys.

“Although those take longer, it does mean that there’ll be, hopefully less need to adjust them once they’re implemented,” she said.

The mayor confirmed that the council aims to consult on Chatsworth Road by early next year, with implementation by the summer.

She also stated the council’s target was to finish consultation on LTNs in Dalston and Hoxton by early 2025, with implementation “well before” the end of that year.

Peter Cox, another representative of Low Traffic Hackney, pressed the Mayor to publish “a timeline of the timeline”

“The council’s timelines always seem to be somewhere in a certain sort of season of the year, which then sort of enables it to slide.

“I wondered if we could just be tighter with these, to regain the trust in residents, as well as hold council officers to account for getting the work done,” he said.

Mayor Woodley said the timelines would be published between now and the 14 October, when the council’s new cabinet member for Climate, Environment and Transport will start proper.

The Mayor is the current interim lead on transport until Cllr Sarah Young takes up the post, formally announced via a council press release.

Cllr Young is stepping up after Cllr Mete Coban vacated his post to serve as Sadiq Khan’s Deputy Mayor for Environment and Transport.

The latest pressure from residents comes as the council faces criticisms over its implementation of LTNs from diiferent sides of the debate.

At the last full council meeting, Mayor Woodley made a staunch defence of the council’s LTN rollout after residents condemned the impact of the policy on school streets, children’s welfare and pollution.

Another campaign from Hackney Cycling Campaign (HCC), who work closely with Low Traffic Hackney, has also entered the fray.

HCC are lobbying the council to adopt alternative designs for the planned Pembury Circus junction revamp amid safety fears.