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Key roads in Bow to close during eight-day Liveable Streets trial

Road closures and vehicle restrictions on Coborn Road, Antill Road, and Tredegar Road will be trialled from Saturday 13 July to Sunday 21 July. 

A bus gate will be in operation on the stretch of Tredegar Road between Fairfield Road and Parnell Road, meaning only buses will be able to pass through between 7am and 8pm every day. During this time traffic coming off the A12 into Bow will only be able to travel down Fairfield Road towards Bow Road.

The stretch of Coborn Road running between Malmesbury Road and Tredegar Road will be closed to motor vehicles 24/7. Cyclists and pedestrians will not be affected.

These are two of several road layout changes being trialled by the Liveable Streets programme, a £3.3 million fund intended to transform the transport infrastructure and public spaces of Bow.

The trial will be used to assess the impact of vehicle movements and rat-runs in Bow and the surrounding area.

Reducing traffic on Coborn Road and St Stephen’s Road have been some of the most common suggestions on the programme’s interactive map since phase one of the scheme began in April.

The following road layout changes will be trialled in Bow between Saturday 13 July and Sunday 21 July:

  • Coborn Road will be closed to motor vehicles between Tredegar Road and Malmesbury Road
  • A bus gate, which allows only buses to pass through, will be in place on Tredegar Road between Fairfield Road and Parnell Road operating from 7am to 8pm every day
  • Antill Road will be closed east of the junction with Lyal Road
  • Anill Road will be made two-way between Selwyn Road and Lyal Road
  • Tregedar Road banned right turn into Coborn Road will be removed

Drivers have been encouraged to make journeys on the A road network during the trial period. Traffic management signs will be placed around Bow to minimise disruption.

A survey will run concurrently with the trial so locals can provide feedback. This can be found at the official trial page.

Visit the Liveable Streets: Bow project page to add your suggestions to the interactive map. Although the window for initial feedback has closed you can still email liveablestreets@towerhamlets.gov.uk or call 020 3092 0401.

The Liveable Streets: Bow project map has received hundreds of suggestions from local residents

If you liked this piece you may enjoy reading about Tower Hamlets declaring a climate emergency


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Frederick O'Brien

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20 thoughts on “Key roads in Bow to close during eight-day Liveable Streets trial

  • THANK YOU ABOUT THE ROAD CLOSURE SECTION
    As usual We have not been informed from the council again.
    It is vital to keep informed about the road closures so we can inform our deliveries in advance.

    Reply
  • Agree. No consultation. Residents only find out on facebook!!!!

    Reply
  • If this is going to be implemented permanently it will seriously inconvenience those of us who live on Old Ford Road and it’s feeder roads who wish regular and frequent access to the A12.

    Reply
    • and also increase the level of traffic for those us who live on Old Ford Road which is already traffic central with horrid pollution

      Reply
  • From the proposal I noticed that, expensive side of Bow becomes traffic free and old ford, the cheap property side ends up with all. I also noticed that all business on the other side of a12 will be blocked in from easy access to central London. Further more tradesmen using the shops like screwfix, and are working in tower Hamlets, they will spend hours going round this important road connection. Opinion from resident that lives in Bow for over 38 years.

    Reply
  • The “expensive side” of Bow will have loads of extra traffic including all the delivery lorries for Tesco, Iceland and Poundland. The liveable streets team haven’t even talked to the store managers about what delivery lorries they have and the route they take. The cars coming north up Burdett Road who have been obediently using Roman Road/Old Ford Road as prescribed by TfL will be turning around on the Grove Road garage forecourt so that they can travel east along Bow Road or will work out that using Harford Street is a good way to approach Mile End junction from the west.

    “During this time traffic coming off the A12 into Bow will only be able to travel down Fairfield Road towards Bow Road.” … and when they get to the bottom of Fairfield Road they are forced to turn left back towards the A12 and go round Bow roundabout which will come to a standstill.

    It will be chaos and won’t achieve liveable streets.

    Reply
  • What consideration has been given to the disabled or older residents? All this scheme is doing is isolating them in order to push the cycling agenda again!!! When will it be realised the huge majority of people have no intention of cycling & are sick to death of the amount of money wasted for a tiny minority that choose to!!!

    Reply
  • While I do sympathise with the residents of the area they are actually a very small part of the total that need to use these roads. For example, I work at Bromley-by-Bow and my partner works in central London. Every morning we approach along the A12 and I drop her at the bus stop in Parnell Road for her to catch the only bus route that now serves her journey. Having dropped her off I then turn around and return to the A12. This absurd scheme will cut off all access between the A12 and the bus stops, and I, and no doubt hundreds of other vehicles, will have to make a major detour morning and evening in order to link with the No. 8 bus. I get the impression it is all a ploy so that the council can point and say “Look at all the traffic congestion. We must put a charge on it.” when they are the root cause of the congestion in the first place.

    Reply
  • I support the trial road closures for Bow. It’s a trial. We can all have our say when the trial comes to an end. Let’s give it a chance. This is an opportunity to improve air quality and give our streets back to the people of Bow, rather than the commuters speeding through our neighbourhood and clogging up our streets. Our children and grandchildren depend on us making changes to the way we live now to build a better, more sustainable and greener environment for the future. We can’t duck our responsibilities. I want to be part of the solution. This trial in Bow is a positive step towards giving Bow back to its residents and making our neighbourhood a better place to live.

    Reply
    • Do you live in bow please

      Reply
  • The council obviously are going to go ahead with this stupid plan to inconvenience all those bad people who drive cars. This is an idiotic idea thought up by people who haven’t a clue on how this affects people who need their cars to get around such as people with disabilities. Why didn’t they just shut off the Old Ford Junction of the A12. You wouldn’t be able to get where you need to go if you are to used that junction anyway. Also what about the Money we pay in road tax to use and maintain the roads. Once again the cyclist getting priority treatment over everyone else. What do they pay in road tax? Tower hamlets have declared a climate crisis. What difference is this really going to make on the climate. Someone looking for the green vote? Make you wonder doesn’t it

    Reply
  • My last comment wasn’t added so here I go again
    This is an idiotic idea thought up by people who have a clue on the real affect this will have on the bad people who own a car. They also haven’t given a thought about the people with disabilities who need their car to able to get around. Discrimination possible not but you can see why I’m thinking it. Why not just shut off the old ford junction of the A12? Most people won’t be able to access it now anyway. This would be less of an inconvenience to local people than these silly road closures. Like I said in my last comment it looks like someone on Tower Hamlets Council are looking for the Green vote. The council have declared a climate crisis that term makes me laugh. What difference to the climate is this really going to make? All they are doing is moving the traffic away from the roads that are closed. The pollution will only move into Hackney and surrounding roads. How is that helping the environment? Closing off some road around the borough is like p@*sing in the wind. I like the thought but let’s be real it’s not going the help the environment one bit. Now what about the road tax we pay as car owners to maintain and use the roads? Once again the bad people who have the audacity to own a car are being punished. How much do these cyclists pay in road tax. I know some of the cyclists own cars and pay road tax but a lot don’t. This really stinks of someone trying to jump the green bandwagon.

    Reply
  • Although I agree with the need to reduce rat run traffic the plan to force vehicles to turn left into Fairfield Rd is insane
    As only a left turn is allowed into Bow Rd with the lights there set on such a short duration that only perhaps half a dozen cars will get through it’s likely that queues will build up right back to the Old Ford turnoff the A12
    Unless a right turn into Bow Rd is going to be allowed this all the traffic trying to head west will eventually end up where it started – back on the A12

    Reply
  • How about allowing residents that live between the bus gate and coborn road get through the bus gate?

    Reply
    • We asked they said no at the meeting

      Reply
  • I am furious about this idiotic plan. The road closure on Coborn road and the bus gate is going to restrict us because we live in the middle of them, on Tredegar road. There is already SO much traffic going along Parnell road. I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like now! We had no idea this was happening. Surely there should be different rules applied for residents?! How on earth is it a good idea to fence people in and lead them through 1 exit?!

    This is bad. I already feel claustrophobic in this traffic, now they’ll be shutting off more options?

    Reply
    • I agree I live on tredegar road one way in and out for 8 days and no consultation

      Reply
  • What a stupid I idea! This act of selfishness has inconvenienced more residents of bow than people who it’s benefited. As a local business owner and also a resident I think this idea should be abolished immediately!

    Reply
  • I am PRO change! You need to change habits of drivers. Tradegar road is used as a shortcut to central london for all traffic coming from A12. find another way. simple. Traffic will not be pushed under your nose – it will find other more convenient route. as for notifications – l saw posts for a week before. open your eyes people

    Reply
  • Looks like it’s all be scrapped!

    Was about to use this survey form to leave feedback (not in favour) – seems like it’s been cancelled following a rather negative response!

    See this link for the full response!

    https://www.pclconsult.co.uk/bowtrial

    Reply

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