Oldhill Street - Tyssen School - One-way system and School Streets proposal

This consultation seeks to gather your views on Hackney Council’s proposals for improving the environment for cycling and walking and controlling traffic flow on Oldhill Street between Stamford Grove East and Feldman Close, including:

• a one-way system on Oldhill Street from Stamford Grove East to Feldman Close

• a School Street to make it safer and easier for children to walk and cycle to school.

The one-way system will serve to stop people driving vehicles along the footway outside Tyssen School.

For the School Street, the same section of Oldhill Street will temporarily become a pedestrian- and cycle-only zone for 45 minutes at school opening and  closing times whilst maintaining access for residents, businesses, pedestrians and cyclists. This will tackle congestion at the school gates and improve the environment and safety for those travelling to school.

Residents and businesses who live and work on this section of Oldhill Street will be able to register for an exemption so they can still get to and from their  homes and businesses by vehicle.

Why are these changes being proposed?

The Council is committed in its Transport Strategy to making Hackney’s roads safer for everyone living, working and visiting the Borough. These changes are aimed at creating an environment that will encourage more walking and cycling, improving air quality and reducing emissions within the local area.

The Strategy includes a Liveable Neighbourhoods Plan, which recognises that streets, like Oldhill Street, are not just places to park vehicles or drive, walk and cycle on. They are also the places where we socialise, shop and live our lives. An aspiration is to reclaim Hackney’s neighbourhoods from parked vehicles and motor traffic congestion and transform them into the most attractive and liveable neighbourhoods in London.

This can only be achieved by reducing the dominance of the private vehicle. Poor air quality resulting from vehicle emissions is finally being recognised for the damage it inflicts upon the health of the city with nearly 10,000 Londoners dying early every year as a result (Kings College London, 2015). Even more disturbing is the direct impact it is having on our children’s health with evidence proving it is directly responsible for alarming rates of asthma and other respiratory illnesses in our schools (GLA, 2008). Children in schools that are situated on or are near to busy roads may be exposed to higher levels of air pollution and congestion. Car engines idling around schools, during drop-off and pick-up periods also contribute to poorer local air quality. The School Street proposal will have a direct impact on reducing emission levels of vehicles passing the school gates when children are entering or leaving Tyssen School.

The Transport Strategy includes a number of actions that are relevant to this scheme:

• LN3: Improving air quality – Tackles poor air quality, reducing NO2 and PM10 emissions.

• LN10: School Clean Air Zones – The Council aims to develop and secure funding for projects to improve air quality in and around the borough’s schools. School Streets is one such project, with the temporary closure of roads outside schools during certain hours.

• LN15: Filtered Streets – Reduces motor traffic on residential streets by use of temporary road closures or one-way systems to create safer walking and cycling conditions.

• LN20: School Streets – The Council is developing and trialling School Streets proposals where roads upon which schools are situated are closed during certain times of the day.

Oldhill Street is narrow outside the school entrance and vehicles using it in both directions can present a significant safety issue to pedestrians crossing to and from Tyssen School and the shops. The Council is therefore using this opportunity to put forward changes that will help control the movement of traffic on Oldhill Street.

Tyssen School responded positively to the Council’s School Streets invitation in September. There is a long history of recorded road safety concerns outside of the school gates on Oldhill Street caused by congestion and poor driver behaviour. These concerns include safety of children crossing Oldhill Street, traffic congestion and anti-social behaviour as a result of driver confrontations. The Council is committed to introducing a School Street to address these issues.

The extent of the problem is clearly illustrated by the photo below which shows vehicles driving along the footway outside the school.

The concerns about congestion were also raised by local businesses, telling us that the congestion created on the street by the narrowness of the carriageway causes issues when vehicles travelling in opposing directions meet. This encourages drivers to mount and drive on the footway to pass larger vehicles, significantly increasing the danger to pedestrians and cyclists on the school frontage and outside the shops.

Taking these concerns on board, a proposal is being put forward for consultation, including:

• permanently making the street one-way from Stamford Grove East to Feldman Close by banning vehicular traffic in a northerly direction towards Clapton Common

• implementing a School Street zone from Stamford Grove East to Feldman Close at school opening and closing times during term-time only.

A key objective is to create a safer, more pleasant environment for everyone using Oldhill Street whilst maintaining access for pedestrians and cyclists.

Reducing the volume of traffic on Oldhill Street should lead to:

• less road danger and accidents

• less anti-social behaviour from inconsiderate parking and dangerous manoeuvres

• less pollution around the school gates from vehicles stuck in queueing traffic, waiting to pass

• a successful balance between pedestrians and other modes of transport, in order to create a more attractive neighbourhood for shopping and accessing the school.

What is the proposed scheme?

Please refer to the attached drawing for details. Both measures will be needed for the scheme to be successful.

1. One-way system

• In order to reduce congestion and help traffic move more freely, the flow of traffic on Oldhill Street outside the school will be permanently made one-way at the Stamford Grove East junction.

• Motor vehicles will be banned in a northerly direction towards Clapton ommon at this point.

• ‘No-entry’ signs will be installed at the junction with Stamford Grove East to prevent vehicles travelling the wrong way along the road.

• Two-way movement will be maintained for cycles.

• The remaining sections of Oldhill Street will remain two-way to ensure access to the shops is maintained.

2. School Street

• A short section of Oldhill Street between Feldman Close and Stamford Grove East will be made a pedestrian- and cycle-only zone between 8.30am – 9.15am and 3.15pm – 4.00pm on school days.

• Access will be maintained for residents and businesses in this section to enter during the closure if their vehicles have been registered for a permit.

• Only vehicles registered at the following addresses within the closure will be eligible to apply for a permit: 43a-47b Oldhill St and 54-70a Oldhill St.

• Other vehicles driven by visitors, parents, delivery vehicles and school staff will not be permitted to enter the zone during the closure.

• All vehicles that are already in the zone during the operational times will be able to exit the zone.

• Signage will be erected at the entrance to the scheme on Oldhill Street, at its junction with Feldman Close, informing drivers of the restrictions.

• Alternative routes will be signed around the restriction.

• The zone will be enforced by camera and non-registered vehicles entering the zone during operating hours will be automatically issued a penalty charge notice.

• If approved, it is expected that the scheme would be in operation by February 2018.

Together, these two measures will remove all traffic from outside the school gates at school opening and closing times.

Your feedback will help us reach a decision on whether to proceed with these proposals.

The results will be available at www.hackney.gov.uk/school-streets

Should the Council agree to proceed with these proposals, residents and businesses within the closure will receive a letter to inform them about the start date for the scheme with details of how to register a vehicle or vehicles for exemption. Public notices advising the changes will be displayed in the street.