De Beauvoir

After considering traffic and air quality data, alongside responses provided by residents to this Commonplace page, the Council has made a decision to make the Ufton Road traffic filter permanent. See hackney.gov.uk/ufton-road-ltn for the full decision report, including the engagement report which includes the results from this Commonplace page.

We will continue to monitor the effects of the filter and listen to feedback about the scheme. You can email comments to: streetscene.enquiries@hackney.gov.uk.

We are committed in our Transport Strategy to make Hackney’s roads safer for everyone living, working and visiting the borough. We aim to create an environment that will encourage more walking and cycling, improve air quality and reduce emissions in the borough. For further background to these measures, see the About the project page. To find out more about how we're maintaining access to properties, why we're acting so quickly and more, visit our Frequently Asked Questions page.

A type of road closure, known as a traffic filter (planters or bollards on the road, which prevent motor vehicles from passing through) to through-vehicular traffic in Ufton Road junction with Downham Road, as shown on the drawing below, has been been installed. This filter eliminates through-traffic, including rat-running traffic trying to avoid the traffic lights at the Downham Road / Southgate Road junction, improving road safety and opportunities for social distancing for residents, pedestrians and cyclists on Ufton Road.

Local residents are still able to access their homes from either side of the closure, however they are not able to drive through. The filter still continues to allow pedestrian, cyclist, emergency service and refuse vehicle access.

Closing Ufton Road at this location also links the two green spaces at the junction with Downham Road and allow more space for pedestrian and cycle movements.

The filter has been achieved using solid planters on either side of the road to reduce the width of the road, but allowing enough space for cyclists and emergency and refuse vehicles to go through. Signs and road markings also make it clear that regular vehicles cannot pass through. The filter is enforced by cameras in order to deter vehicles driving through the closure.

Ufton Road

The filter has been introduced using an experimental traffic order for a maximum period of 18 months, which means you can see how the filter works in practice before having your say.

The views of residents and businesses, including any suggested changes to how schemes operate, will be taken into account before any decision on whether or not to make the measures permanent. This process is in line with specific guidance from Transport for London, and the Department for Transport, whose guidance states that: 'authorities should monitor and evaluate any temporary measures they install, with a view to making them permanent, and embedding a long-term shift to active travel as we move from restart to recovery’.

The initial engagement period on this scheme ran until 11 December 2020, however we are extending this until 31 May 2021 so residents have the opportunity to see how it operates as we emerge from lockdown and to allow as many people as possible to have their say.

To have your say, please complete the survey below or email streetscene.consultations@hackney.gov.uk. You can also write to us by sending your comments to ‘Freepost Streetscene’.