This article was kindly sent in by Councillor Marc Francis (Bow East)
The “Liveable Streets” proposals to restrict access to some roads in Bow through is proving as polarising as the EU referendum. And like Brexit it divides friends, neighbours and even families! We have another petition against them at the Full Council meeting coming up on Wednesday and so I think it is important to let Bow residents know where I stand on it as one of your local councillors.
Like most people, I want to reduce the amount of pollution in our air – for our own sake, for the sake of future generations and for the sake of the whole planet. Reducing the number of car journeys is one of the most effective ways to do that. Tower Hamlets’ location means it is inevitable many vehicles needing to access central London will drive through. However, for nearly half a century now tens of thousands of drivers each day have used our residential neighbourhoods as a short-cut instead of using Transport for London’s main thoroughfares – the A12 and A13. North Bow is one of those neighbourhoods that suffers the brunt of this, with commuters coming off at the Old Ford junction and rat-running either along Tredegar Road, St Stephen’s Road and Roman Road, or Parnell Road and Old Ford Road every morning. And they head back that way in the evening too.
So I fully support decisive action to stop this rat-running. That’s why, as Labour Party candidates at the last local elections, we stood on this manifesto promise:
“Tower Hamlets has many main arterial roads going through it, serving the strategic Transport for London road network. Through-traffic should by and large stick to these main roads but many of our residential neighbourhoods have seen huge increases in rat-running traffic, making them more dangerous, noisy and polluted. We will create low traffic neighbourhoods, keeping through-traffic to main roads, in any residential area where residents want them, with an ambition to have started on at least half by 2022.”
Somehow or other though, this laudable and unifying proposal has morphed into something much more extreme and divisive. As well as stopping that rat-running commuter traffic, our Mayor and Cabinet have agreed to the implementation of a timed “bus gate” at the junction of Roman Road and St Stephen’s Road and the closure of the “skew bridge” section of Old Ford Road. Anyone driving through the gate in the morning or late-afternoon and early-evening will be fined, including our own residents too.
Bizarrely this will force my own constituents who need to go west to start by driving east before joining traffic jams on Bow Road or Victoria Park Road – adding 20-30 minutes to each journey and increasing pollution. And the skew bridge closure will force more traffic on to Roman Road when the bus gate isn’t in operation. Most Roman Road business seem to be opposed too. There’s nothing in that manifesto statement above about introducing bus gates to block our own residents’ movements. In fact, given how live an issue this was in the run-up to the 2018 local elections, you could go further and say we were implying we wouldn’t go that far.
I’ve been listening over several months now to residents’ descriptions of the car journeys they make now that they wouldn’t be able to do if the bus gate comes into effect. Journeys to work. Journeys to drop kids at school on the other side of the Borough. Journeys to take elderly relatives to healthcare appointments. Almost all of them seem to have much more difficult public transport alternatives. I really don’t think it is right for the council to impose convoluted detours around east London to make these journeys unless we have an electoral mandate to do so.
Supporters of these restrictions and the physical barriers on Coborn Road and Old Ford Road claim there is public support for it. And the consultation last summer certainly resulted in a significant majority of respondents supporting the proposals. But a significant minority did not. And this was never billed as a referendum. If it was, it should have been conducted independently. Worryingly, we also saw significant under-representation from some parts of our diverse local community in the responses. A “Town Hall-style meeting” the Mayor promised us last November to remedy this democratic deficit proved to be nothing of the sort when it finally took place last week.
Despite this the Mayor seems intent on pressing ahead. We have seen similar situations with restrictions elsewhere in the Borough. This has provoked real anger amongst many residents. And the uncomfortable truth is that our community seems to be split on socio-demographic lines. From the dozens of emails, phone calls and conversations I’ve had so far, those in favour are generally middle-class. And those opposed are generally working-class and long-standing residents. This polarisation should worry all of us who call Tower Hamlets our home.
Given this I think it is time for the Mayor and Cabinet to compromise and allow a resident exemption from the bus gate restriction. That’s what has been done successfully in Hammersmith & Fulham. They don’t need to block Old Ford Road either. Other measures can reduce speeds and improve safety there. I know this won’t be enough for some people, but it will still ensure thousands of rat-running commuter cars and vans are stopped from driving through North Bow each day. And that will significantly reduce air pollution locally. If it doesn’t, let’s see the evidence and look at more radical solutions. But let’s take this a step at a time and carry the whole community along with us.
Councillor Marc Francis (Bow East)
The most frustrating thing is that this is not about residents or the needs for people in our community. It is all about control and that has led to residents being so resentful of these proposals. The people of the East End are fed up of sympathy and workers being seen as collateral damage who have lived here for all there lives. We are angry that a couple of campaigners masquerading as residents believe that it is there duty to control what working class residents can and shouldn’t do. When we start to normalise gentrification policies that have huge implications on residents who work and need to support families that is when the people become resentful.
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John White
Drive along Bow/Mile End road from The Bombay Flyover to Stepney Green Stn and do the Math, Its simple, Very simple not just the little road where you reside.
So a camera on the junction of Tredegar and Fairfeild and one by the Roundabout on Wick lane would stop commuter traffic comeing through Bow both ways, this would make the traffic use Mile end rd, Could also put cameras on Old ford by The Roundabout between the parks and one at the Aberdeen Junction stick a third on Antill and boom your done, let the residents have a pass and problem solved quieter less polluted St’s. As well as this give residents 3 yrs free council tax if they invest in electric vehicle and match fund this by doing a deal with a car manufacturer. Start putting in the real infrastructure needed to charge cars not lamp post trickle chargers. Start putting in roof top solar panels, start removing Gas boilers from homes and replacing with heat pumps. Start building real zero carbon homes. Get cycle proficiency tests back into the school education system teaching people how to share rds safely. Start to Build the consensus locally to move together to a brighter greener future for all not just for some.
Skew bridge closure (introduced under false and dishonest pretences of covid safety measures) has proven beyond any doubt the damage this project can cause to the local community.
Despite limited lockdown traffic at the time and reduced bus services the traffic jams along Grove Rd and Roman Rd were unbearable.
The longer and much slower journeys not only increased pollution and frustrated drivers but led to almost a total collapse of public transport’s reliability. Timetables of 277, 425, 339 and D6 got invalidated with several runs terminating short due to delays. Emergency services got regularly delayed, cyclists ended up riding on the pavement, constant honking could be heard for hours.
This was during a significantly reduced traffic period.
Is it really fair, reasonable and wise to suffocate part of the community to enhance the quality of life for a few?
I took part in the consultation process with some pro-closure residents. It was really refreshing to see them acknowledging that they have not really considered how changes they advocate would impact other residents. As soon as they learned about the experience of Skew Bridge closure among people living in Roman Rd/Grove Rd they voiced their concerns and demanded more balanced and holistic approach.
There are clearly a lot of middle class people who want to increase the value of their properties or just want to have fewer cars passing by their gardens. Majority though do not realise or have not been made aware of the wider impact of this scheme.
From my experience, a lot of them are not religiously anti-working class or obsessively environmental, they just see things through their personal gains and very localised advantages. When educated, presented with balanced and honest view, they tend to prioritise community cohesion over liveable streets blue sky thinking. Cllr Francis’s intervention is therefore very welcomed.
What he said!
Carl, do you think all 325,000 residents of the borough should be except or just the 28,000 in Bow? It would cost quite a bit in admin – not just the cost of a couple of cameras that’s for sure.
As usual I have to challenge your persistent statement about the low paid living on the main roads in social housing. If the scheme goes ahead as suggested then extra traffic will go along Grove and Mile End Roads. The houses along these roads cost the earth – typically £1.3 million And the skyscrapers are on estates which are cul de sacs and so not rat runs – they are the original Low Traffic Neighbourhoods 🙂
I think Marc is correct in saying there is a divide and more importantly this doesnt represents the views of many BAME and other groups within the borough. The ability to have your say if you work in Tower Hamlets also plays a big part in the foolishness of this consultation, people who will not be impacted day to day have a say on something which they don’t need to live with. Nobody is against reducing pollution or making it safer and healthier, however why should residents have to pay the price of rat runners?.
I have suggested an ANPR system however the people doing the consultation were not interested in hearing this view, so much so they muted my mic when I was on an online consultation.
I do feel that if other councillors had the courage that Marc is showing we would have a better more balanced approach and ultimately a more united borough.
Thank you Marc for taking a sensible approach.
Thank you Marc for listening to residents’ views that don’t conform to the consultants agenda. Of course there are other ways – and sensible alternatives have been put forward and ignored.
Having just looked through some of the data that is shared on the Bow Liveable Streets web page, it notes that along Old Ford Road (between Grove Road & St Stephen’s), there was 16,452 motor vehicles travelling daily along this residential road. If as Cllr Marc Francis proposes that Old Ford Road be left open, this number of 16,452 would likely increase as the 11,202 that was recorded as travelling along Roman Road would highly likely use Old Ford Road when the bus gateway is in operation.
How is that compatible improving the safety and making it easier, safer and more coinvent to get around by foot or bike along that stretch of Old Ford Road?
A simple couple of cameras On St Stephens rd and wick lane stopping commuter traffic giving residents a pass is all it would take to stop commuters you could even stick another on Skew Bridge if that would make you feel a bit more secure.
I would be interested if Cllr Marc Francis could share what other measures can be implemented along Old Ford Road to reduce speeds and improve the safety there and what he would do about the motor traffic using it as a cut-through when the bus gateway is in operation on Roman Road? By leaving Old Ford Road open that would still leave an east/west rat run open along residential streets and thus not be compatible with the aims of the Liveable Streets program of removing through motor vehicles.
On the topic of a residents exemption, what would the cost be to administer such an ever changing database? In addition, by allowing a residents exemption, this could in fact actually increase locals using their car for short journeys as the roads would have the traffic cutting through removed. This would seem to be counter-intuitive to some of the aims of the Liveable Streets scheme such as making it easier, safer and more convenient to get around by foot, bike and public transport and to encourage more sustainable journeys and to improve air quality and road safety.
Iain, Bow West resident
Let’s call it for what it is – politicking.
‘If everyone thinks they’re special, no one is.’
Yes but they can afford cars… hmm. Also can’t afford to shop local? Why on earth was there a ludicrous ‘shop local’ campaign pushing for car access and parking on the Roman?
Evidence the comments you make you are just guessing that will happen!
Mark hits the nail on the Head, Low paid people have less time and money to afford these luxuries of road closures, we cant stagger our start times or work from home, we work long hrs and cant afford to shop local, we have less leisure time. We also are more likely to live in social housing on the main roads whereby the displaced traffic goes, we are more likely to live in one of Bow Easts 8 Skyscrapers and now we have no local fire stn would be more at risk with less access for Emergency vehicles. This proposal would be a fair compromise and would give us all time to take stock, if it does not work we then can relook and tighten the screw and hopefully other measures such as E Vehicles have become more affordable and widespread. Remember no one in London drives for pleasure, Every Journey is a pain lets not Put a system in that Affects the most vulnerable hardest. Lets all take a breath, come together and move forward with one goal.
Thank you Marc. As you know there are grave doubts as to the Consultation having not been legal in many of its aspects, something which requires investigation. As for this article, thank you for opening up the debate. We need an open and honest one. Imho, we need to go back and start again with local input from all constituencies. The polarisation we see should not have happened. This was due to imposition rather than ownership of a process the true majority could buy into and own.
A couple of questions for Marc:
If , as you suggest, the Old Ford Road bridge is kept open, how will you stop it being used as a rat run? Won’t all the non-Bow commuters just use Old Ford instead of the Roam Road?
Are you proposing ALL residents of the borough are exempt or just Bow East/West residents?
John
Unfortunately if you put in a residents’ exemption, the initially quieter streets soon get clogged up with more ‘induced’ car journeys from one corner of Bow to another – a recipe to keep pollution, congestion and collision rates where they are, and deny residents the quieter, safer streets they deserve.
Cllr Francis mentions a socio-demographic split, but we also need to consider an often-ignored demographic group: Bow’s children. Currently their lungs aren’t developing as they should due to pollution. And a simple solo walk or bike ride to school or the park that their grandparents would have undertaken is now too dangerous, because we prioritise motor traffic.
A large number of journeys in London are short, and are absolutely walkable, cyclable, or can be undertaken using what must be the UK’s most comprehensive public transport network. The more pleasant we can make these modes of getting around, the more we can keep the roads clear for trips that genuinely need to be driven, such as for longer distances, carrying large loads or because of seniority or disability.
I think councillor Marc Francis’ proposal is a much fairer proposal. It also seems that he is listening to residents across the board and not just one cohort of residents (the middle class).