Whiston Road - Proposed traffic calming measures

Overview

In our Transport Strategy, we have committed to making Hackney’s roads safer for everyone living in, working in and visiting the borough. We aim to create an environment that will promote and encourage more walking and cycling as these are clean, healthy and efficient ways to travel, to help improve air quality and reduce emissions within the local area.

Whiston Road is a busy residential road with an average of 9500 vehicles, 740 pedal cycles and buses using the road per day. Although traffic speeds at Whiston Road are generally within the 20mph speed limit, there are concerns that some vehicles sometimes exceed the speed limit in the area.

The Council is committed to reducing the speed and traffic levels at Whiston Road as part of our aim to create a greener, healthier Hackney, improve road safety and support people to walk and cycle locally.

What we know

• Whiston Road is a residential road 7.2 metres wide between Queensbridge Road and Pritchard’s Road and 9.7 metres wide between Kingsland Road and Queensbridge Road
• It is a bus route for the R394 with on-street parking and flat top road humps for traffic calming
• On average, 9500 vehicles / day use the road including buses and pedal cyclists
• Average traffic speeds are generally below the 20mph speed limit, however some vehicles are known to exceed the average speed limit
• Between 2019 and 2023 there have been 30 casualties. The casualties resulted in 24 slight injuries, five serious injuries and one fatality.

Collision statistics

What is the proposed scheme?

Whiston Road (between Queensbridge Road and Pritchard’s Road)

As part of the improvements we propose to:

• Install raised entry tables at the Pritchard’s Road / Whiston Road and Dove Row / Goldsmith’s Row junctions
• Install kerb build-outs on the existing zebra crossings to reduce the road width and help with traffic calming
• Introduce a 24/7 bus gate for eastbound traffic at the Whiston Road / Hay Street junction with exemptions for emergency service vehicles on duty, the police, pedal cyclists, HAC01 permit holders and Council refuse collection vehicles. More information on HAC01 permits can be found on: hackney.gov.uk/blue-badge/#ltn
• Introduce a 24/7 bus gate for westbound traffic at the Pritchard’s Road / Whiston Road junction with exemptions for emergency service vehicles on duty, the police, pedal cyclists, HAC01 permit holders and Council refuse collection vehicles, subject to junction capacity
• Install a road closure using bollards at the Dove Row / Goldsmith’s Row junction. The school street at Dove Row would not be affected by this closure.

For the drawing of the above proposals, please click here.

Whiston Road (between the A10 and Queensbridge Road)

As part of the improvements and subject to the Council receiving further funding for this purpose, we propose to:

• Install raised junction tables at the Boat Lane and Hebden Street junctions to help with traffic calming
• Replace the existing speed cushions with a flat top road hump near the A10 in line with the traffic calming on the rest of the road
• The resultant reduction in traffic flows at Whiston Road would enable further investigations to take place for the reinstatement of the cycle taper for southbound cyclists at the Queensbridge Road / Whiston Road junction.

If approved, the above proposals would be subject to availability of further funding.

For the drawing of the above proposals, please click here.

What happens next?

Your views will be taken into account as part of the detailed design process. We will publish the consultation results as well as the decisions made at consultation.hackney.gov.uk

Subject to statutory processes, the Council would aim to begin implementation of Phase I of the traffic calming measures before the end of March 2025. Phase II measures would be implemented after March 2025 subject to availability of further funding.

Information

For further information on these proposals, please contact the Hackney Contact Centre by calling 020 8356 2897 or by emailing streetscene.consultations@hackney.gov.uk

If you need any information on this consultation in a different format please email consultation@hackney.gov.uk. We’ll consider your request and get back to you in five working days.