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12/11/2025 Mildmay traffic filters turned on The long awaited Mildmay Liveable Neighbourhood took a big step forward in early November with three new traffic filters going live. These filters are aimed at stopping drivers cutting through these small local roads to avoid main roads (aka rat-running), to make the area safer for local people, pedestrians, children, and cyclists, and to reduce air pollution. The Mildmay scheme is run by Islington Council, but will obviously impact many people who live in Hackney as the border between the two boroughs runs along Boleyn Road and Matthias Road, and includes a section of the very popular Cycleway 1 route. The new traffic filters are:
All three filters are, or will be, monitored by cameras (ANPR) meaning drivers who don't have exemption, including local Blue Badge holders, will receive a fine (Penalty Charge Notice, or PCN). Local residents who own cars will still be able to access their property, but possibly via a different route. Worth remembering that 65% of Hackney households do not have access to a car. Emergency services, as with all filters in Hackney, can pass through easily and quickly. This is a significant development for the local area and will make walking and cycling in the area safer and more pleasant. The planned 4th bus gate on Boleyn Road, making it northbound only (i.e. vehicles won't be able to drive south from Matthias Road to Crossway), and the reversal of direction to the short one-way section of Boleyn Road where it meets the A10, are due to be implemented in 2026. Combined with the new segregated north bound cycle lane on Boleyn Road which is very nearly complete, and the improved crossing at the junction with Wordsworth Road, these changes are likely to make walking and cycling in the area a lot safer, which is critical given the number of people using Cycleway 1 here. Read more on the Mildmay Liveable Neighbourhood on Islington's website CategoriesAll Air Pollution Bus Gate Chatsworth Road Church Street Clissold Park Filter Hackney Mildmay Parallel Crossing 4/11/2025 Church Street parallel crossing plannedThe council are proposing some quite significant changes to the Church Street crossing from Clissold Road into Clissold Park. This is a very busy crossing as its used by school children heading to/from the park to both Stoke Newington secondary school and also Betty Layward primary on Clissold Road, and additionally people using the large Leisure Centre on the road. It's one of the key entrances to the extremely popular Clissold Park. Up to now there's a been an uncomfortable sharing of the pedestrian crossing between cyclists and pedestrians, made worse by frequently speeding vehicles along that section of Church Street. So we welcome the proposal to introduce a new parallel crossing, for pedestrians and cyclists, with extended pavements and raised tables, colour coded paving and a new rain garden. See the detailed image below for all the improvements. Visibility for people using the crossing should be improved due to the raised tables and pavement extension, and moving a bus stop "cage" further from the crossing. Importantly, we hope the extended raised road table across Church Street will reduce vehicle speeds which has long been an issue in this location. The consultation is open now and closes on the 28th November. Please review the designs and complete the consultation: https://consultation.hackney.gov.uk/public-realm/sncs-clissold/  1st October: A new one-way traffic filter is being installed this week on Chatsworth Road E5. As the photos show, the filter is nearing completion at the junction of Chatsworth and Clifden Road. The filter will be operational from 7am - 7pm every day. Whilst this is good news, the bad news is that Hackney Council decided to make it a one-way filter only, stopping through traffic travelling south from Lea Bridge Road towards Homerton High St, but will allow traffic going north from Homerton to the A104 Lea Bridge Road.      
Council data shows that 40% of the traffic passing through the area does not stop, meaning there is no benefit to local businesses but significant air and noise pollution, and road danger, from this traffic. See more on our Chatsworth Livable Neighbourhood page Categories23/9/2025 Boleyn Road cycle lane due in NovemberConstruction of the new cycle lane on Boleyn Road is making great progress. You can see photos taken today (23rd September) and the on-site crew confirmed that it is due to be completed in November. The lane now extends from the junction with Crossway almost to Pellerin Road, where many cyclists will turn onto Wordsworth Road. As noted in our previous update, Boleyn Road is at the boundary of Hackney and Islington, and this cycle track is part of Islington's Mildmay Livable Neighbourhood scheme. The cycle track is on part of Cycleway 1, and creates a traffic free cycle lane with raised kerbs to protect people from cycling with traffic, running from Crossway up to Wordsworth Road. Work on the important traffic filter on Boleyn Road which will stop southbound traffic hasn't started yet, but we'll post an update as soon as we see work starting. Full details of the Mildmay scheme available here:
https://www.letstalk.islington.gov.uk/mildmay-liveable-neighbourhood Families from Hackney are meeting at Stonebridge Gardens ('Snakepark') in Haggerston on Saturday 20th September to set off together at 10am for Kidical Mass London. The main ride will leave from outside the National Theatre and ride to Lambeth Council's 'Car-Free Day' celebration. Kidical Mass supports cycling infrastructure such as cycle lanes and low traffic neighbourhoods in order to enable safe and independent travel for children. The basic principle is that streets safe for children are safe for all. We hope to see you there! Get your free tickets here You can read more about the international Kidical Mass movement here  The consultation on Hoxton East LTN has one week left to run, closing on 14th September. The proposal includes some real improvements for the area but still allows too much through traffic between Kingsland Road, Old Street and New North Road. Please have a look at our suggested comments and follow the link to respond here
15/8/2025 Amhurst Road work in progressThe work on the Amhurst Road and Pembury Circus transformation is well under way now, in particular on Amhurst Road which is closed to through traffic at the junction with Mare Street. The closure of Amhurst is for 4 months, after which there will be a 7am-7pm bus gate, alongside more public space, planting, seating, pedestrian crossings and rain gardens. Unfortunately there aren't any new segregated cycle lanes, despite protests from local groups, as apparently there isn't room alongside the new wider pavements and pedestrian spaces. The work on Pembury Junction, controversial because it ignores a number of cycle safety proposals put forward by Hackey Cycling Campaign, appears not to have started fully yet. As you can see from the photos taken on 15th August, there's plenty of work happening and things are, even at this stage, beginning to take shape. Its possible to now imagine an Amhurst Road that isn't clogged with polluting traffic at least. The Council website has more details and drawings of the work:
https://hackney.gov.uk/amhurst-road-pembury-circus And the council have an FAQ here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1n2-TNd1ZAZVm9HMqIruU_m0HORUIIUq9ZZkRyuIVdnM/edit?usp=sharingdocs.google.com/document/d/1n2-TNd1ZAZVm9HMqIruU_m0HORUIIUq9ZZkRyuIVdnM/edit?usp=sharing 13/8/2025 Whiston Road bus gate now operational The much anticipated bus-gate on Whiston Road is now up and running, which we hope will reduce traffic in the area, make walking and cycling safer, and reduce air pollution for local residents. The road was infamous for a minority of drivers travelling at excessive speeds, and for serious accidents including one fatality. Between 2019 and 2023 there have been 30 casualties on the road. The casualties resulted in 24 slight injuries, five serious injuries and one fatality. The council have introduced 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, and a 24/7 bus gate for westbound traffic at the Pritchard’s Road / Whiston Road junction. There are additional traffic calming mesasures such as raised tables and kerb build-outs, and a road closure using bollards at the Dove Row / Goldsmith’s Row junction. So far we've heard positive feedback about reduced traffic levels, but when we visited today (13th Aug) there were still a number of vehicles passing through the bus-gate. Enforcement cameras will reduce this significantly, we hope. Work on the western part of Whiston Road, between the A10 and Queensbridge, is due to start in the very near future. The council's proposal can be found here: https://consultation.hackney.gov.uk/streetscene/whiston-road/ 11/8/2025 Boleyn Road cycle track progressThe new cycle track on Boleyn Road is now under construction. Boleyn Road is at the boundary of Hackney and Islington, and this cycle track is part of Islington's Mildmay Livable Neighbourhood scheme. The cycle track is on part of Cycleway 1, and creates a traffic free cycle lane with raised kerbs to protect people from cycling with traffic, running from Crossway up to Wordsworth Road. A huge number of cyclists use Cycleway 1, and this stretch of road has long been an exception to the normal high standard of the route. You can see the cycle track in light blue on this map from Islington Council:  Full details of the Mildmay scheme available here:
https://www.letstalk.islington.gov.uk/mildmay-liveable-neighbourhood |
