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Thousands of people in Hackney will enjoy less traffic and pollution, healthier travel and new liveable neighbourhoods as a result of Council plans to make three-quarters of the borough low traffic. Hundreds of new bike hangars; better walking routes; new shared bikes and cars; tens of greened local streets; new School Streets at all Hackney primary schools and expanding the programme to secondaries; and, feasibility studies on reducing traffic through road user charging all form part of the plans approved by the Council’s Cabinet this week.The Council will also speak to local residents and businesses in Chatsworth Road, Dalston, Hoxton, Cazenove and Stamford Hill about introducing new low traffic neighbourhoods there in 2023, 2024 and 2025. This will bring the proportion of the borough’s roads that are low traffic up from half to three-quarters.All the proposals are set out in Hackney’s local implementation plan, outlining the transport projects the Council plans to introduce in the coming years and how these are funded. The Council’s latest funding agreement with Transport for London covers until March 2025. The plan encompasses the lifetime of that funding, though there are some proposals that are not yet funded. As part of the plans, the Council will develop designs to improve Cricketfield Road, Pembury Circus, Lordship Park, Graham Road, Manor Road, Dalston Lane, Pembury Circus, though implementation of some of these schemes is subject to the availability of funding from Transport for London and other sources. Following the Council’s successful bid to the Government’s Levelling Up Fund, a much-needed redesign of the Pembury Circus junction will take place, along with the transformation of five acres of public space in Hackney Central. All the work is aimed at making it easier to get around on foot, by bike or by public transport, cleaning up the borough’s air and building a greener, healthier borough.The Council’s plans are set out under three key ambitions, with core commitments under each: Reducing traffic and pollutionDeveloping proposals to introduce road-user charging, reducing traffic pollution in the boroughReducing school-run traffic Reducing goods traffic by 2.5% with a new freight action planPublishing data from our 30 live traffic monitors on a new web pageWorking to meet the Air Quality Objectives across the boroughImproving the availability of air quality monitoring data at hackney.gov.uk/air-quality Reducing emissions from the Council’s vehicles, with new EVs and alternative fuelsRepeating our borough through-traffic surveyHelping everyone to travel healthilyRolling out School Streets to all eligible Hackney schoolsNew safe cycle routes, including from Lea Bridge to DalstonInvestigating introducing segregated cycling on Well Street and Cassland RoadCycle training offered to 6,000 studentsRoad safety lessons offered to all schoolsExpanding dockless bike hire - to help more people try out cyclingExpanded car clubs - with 100 new car club vehicles, and more of them electrified Prioritising bus routes with new bus lanes and extended operating timesCreating liveable neighbourhoods, streets and estates ready for the switchWalking, cycling, road safety or greening improvements on tens of local streets600 new secure bike hangars by 2026, and more secure bike parking3,000 EV charging points by 2030 New low traffic neighbourhoods - we’ll engage with local people on introducing new low traffic neighbourhoods in Chatsworth Road, Hoxton, Cazenove and Stamford HillContinuing to expand the community parklets programmeContinue to integrate rain gardens into Hackney’s public spacesThe plans encompass the lifetime of the latest funding agreement with Transport for London: 2022/23: Proposals to reduce main road traffic publishedWork to install new electric vehicle charging points beginsFour new School StreetsOngoing work to replace the Council’s diesel fleet with EVs, bikes and e-bikesExpanding the dockless bike schemeCycle training offered to 6,000 primary and secondary school childrenRoad safety programme offered to all schoolsProposals for walking, cycling, road safety or greening improvements on: Leonard Street, Charles Square, Rufus Street, Murray Grove, and Phipp StreetOngoing community parklet programmeSupporting the rollout of a new 20mph speed limit on TfL roads in Hackney2023/24: Work starts to significantly expand the electric vehicle charging network, with over 500 chargers installedDeliver 100 additional car club vehiclesOngoing work to replace the Council’s diesel fleet with EVs, bikes and e-bikesCycle training offered to 6,000 primary and secondary school children (currently part funded)Road safety programme offered to all schoolsWorking with residents to improve London Fields and Hackney Downs low traffic neighbourhoodsSpeaking to residents in Dalston, Chatsworth Road and Hoxton East about introducing new low traffic neighbourhoods in 2023/24Proposals for walking, cycling, road safety or greening improvements on: Nile Street, Flanders Way, Wayland Avenue, Olive School, Albion Road and Downham Road. Improving routes into the Pembury Circus junction, including Pembury Road and Cricketfield Road, and redesigning the Pembury Circus junction so it is safer for everyone [Levelling Up Fund bid]Improving safety and greening public spaces in Hackney Central [Levelling Up Fund bid]Six new School StreetsImproving or extending bus lanes on Amhurst Park and Graham RoadComplete feasibility study on trialling road user charging (currently unfunded)Publish a freight action planImprove and expand the ZEN cargo bike share schemeSupporting more businesses to adopt zero emissions travelEnable freight consolidation hubs with logistics suppliers to reduce delivery milesHealthy streets programmes in Graham Road, Northwold Road, Dalston Lane, Lordship Park/Manor Road, Lordship Terrace [currently unfunded]Investigate introducing segregated cycling on Well Street and Cassland Road [currently unfunded]2024/25: Speaking to residents in Cazenove and Stamford Hill about introducing new low traffic neighbourhoodsSix new School StreetsOngoing work to replace the Council’s diesel fleet with EVs, bikes and e-bikesMore than 500 new electric vehicle chargers installed 2025/26: Ongoing work to replace the Council’s diesel fleet with EVs, bikes and e-bikesA refreshed transport strategyMore than 300 new electric vehicle chargers installed Read more about the plans: https://news.hackney.gov.uk/download/1309760/agreenerhealthierhackney-transport.pdf Read the full implementation plan, approved by the Council’s Cabinet at: https://hackney.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=111&MId=5470

Hackney’s East Asian communities and culture are being celebrated in a special event on Saturday 4 February to mark Lunar New Year 2023.The event at Hackney Bridge, hosted by Hackney-based East Asian carnival arts organisation Jun Mo Generations, commemorates the year of the rabbit, which began on 22 January. It will feature performances, a family craft workshop, food and drink, plus a special appearance by the Carnival Earth Dragon, an artwork made by over 470 local artists and residents. Event programme1pm - 1.45pm: Performances:- Carnival Earth Dragon procession led by Jun Mo Generations- Lion dances by Hackney Chinese Community Services- Flag rotating by Jun Mo Generations2pm - 4pm: Drop-in craft workshop, open to all ages11am - 4pm: Hackney Bridge Kitchen (food stalls)The Dragon, being showcased for the first time following the cancellation of last year’s Hackney Carnival, will also feature in an exhibition at Hackney Bridge running from 4 to 11 February.Notes to editorsThe Carnival Earth Dragon community engagement programme was generously supported by East Bank and was produced by Deb Mullins and Manuela Benini.Participants included: members of Hasret Community Arts and Hackney Chinese Community Services, Amwell Court residents, members of Hackney Caribbean Elderly Organisation, library users from Stamford Hill, Hackney Central Library, Stoke Newington and Dalston, and pupils of Springfield, Millfields, Betty Layward, Gainsborough and Mossbourne primary schools.Look out for a film featuring the Carnival Earth Dragon and other carnival community engagement projects on www.lovehackney.uk/carnival in the third week of February.

Cllr Caroline Woodley, Cabinet Member for Families, Parks and Leisure, responds to the school bus fire of Friday 20 January 2023.By now many of you will have seen the distressing images of a Hackney SEND school bus that caught fire in Hackney this morning. The safety of all those involved is our priority and we are offering support to the children and their families, passenger assistants and the driver. We will also reach out to anybody in the wider community who may have been impacted by the incident. The bus was carrying a small number of primary school children and was forced to stop after smoke was detected from the front of the vehicle. The bus was quickly evacuated and nobody was injured. The mum of one of the children took all those involved into her home where they were shielded from the sight of the blaze. I want to thank the mother and the Council staff whose swift actions today ensured the safety and wellbeing of the children. My thanks also goes to the London Fire Service who arrived quickly on the scene to extinguish the fire. The remains of the bus were removed by around 10.30 this morning. We are hugely relieved that nobody was harmed in this incident but we are obviously very concerned by what has happened. I would like to assure all users of Hackney Council transport and parents of children who travel on buses to schools in the borough that a thorough investigation is being launched by the Council and the Fire Brigade to establish the cause of the fire. We believe this to be an isolated incident. The fleet vehicles owned and operated by Hackney are maintained to a very high standard and rigorous safety inspections are conducted every 10 weeks. However, we will carry out comprehensive safety inspections on our entire bus fleet - these will take place on Monday and will be done by mid-week. In the meantime our bus services will carry on as normal with drivers undertaking safety checks before carrying out their journey. 

A greener, safer and more welcoming Hackney Central is one step closer after Hackney Council's successful application for £19m in Levelling Up funding.The award will see five acres of public space transformed, bringing new green space, trees and seating along Amhurst Road, investment in Hackney Central Library, a much-needed redesign of Pembury Circus junction, new creative workspace and a rejuvenated Hackney Town Hall Square.Hackney Central is the civic and cultural heart of Hackney, growing as a creative and retail destination, with huge opportunities for a more inclusive local economy alongside hundreds of new homes and jobs. The bid to transform this key area was informed by the views of thousands of local residents, which helped identify the concerns people have about community safety, public realm design, transport, greening and housing.Drawing from the issues identified by the community, the Council’s bid was centred on three key priorities: Developing a ‘Green and Resilient Hackney Central’ by addressing traffic congestion, reducing air pollution, improving walking and cycling routes and creating more green space.Creating a ‘Characterful Hackney Central’ with a stronger ‘civic heart’ by, improving heritage assets like the Town Hall Square, and improving cultural and library services to increase digital inclusion. Improving wellbeing and resilience in the Hackney Central area by supporting markets, bringing empty spaces and shops back into use, and increasing footfall to improve community safety.This funding coincides with the emerging Hackney Town Centre Strategy, which will offer a ten-year vision for Hackney Central and will go to Cabinet in the next few months signalling a new chapter for Hackney Central that we are excited to work with the local community to deliver.