Clapton Terrace, Hackney
Introducing the street
Clapton Terrace is north-east of central London, situated in the borough of Hackney. It is a short street running parallel to the busy A107 adjacent to Clapton Common. The street faces onto a small area of communal land.
The street was heavily used as a 'rat run' in order to cut time spent in traffic queues. Though no accidents had been recorded, the street was described as ‘an accident waiting to happen' by many residents. The volume of traffic and perimeter fencing meant residents felt cut off from the central green space. There were also concerns about high levels of parking by non-residents in the daytime. In addition, because there are a lot of flats, there was a proliferation of rubbish bins which littered the pavements and blocked the pavement for pedestrians.
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Facts and background:
- Capital (build and materials) cost: £50,000
- Type: Terraced Georgian housing mainly consisting of flats
- No. of dwellings: 80 properties
- Length of street: 165 Metres
- Project partnership between: Sustrans, London Borough of Hackney and the residents of Clapton Terrace
- Funded by: Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, Hackney Borough Council and Transport for London (TfL)
Timeline:
Project kick off: September 2007
Design process: November 2007 - April 2009
Construction: October 2009 - November 2009
Project end date: March 2010
Street issues:
- Speeding traffic
- Heavily used as a cut through (rat run) by drivers avoiding the traffic on Upper Clapton road
- Proliferation of rubbish bins littering the street
- High noise levels
Solutions found:
- Entrance surface treatment - Either end of Clapton Terrace has had a surface treatment to signal to drivers that they are entering a new environment, with the intention that they will drive accordingly.
- Raised speed table and pedestrian area - A large speed table has been placed in the middle of the street. This slows down traffic and also acts as an informal pedestrian crossing to the communal bins and common land opposite their houses.
- Trees have been planted in between the bins and the entrance to the common land these add greenery and a focal point for the houses opposite.
- Communal rubbish and recycling bins - There are now 7 communal bins (5 rubbish and 2 for recycling) which means the pavements now have space for pedestrians, including those with prams or wheelchairs.
- Median strip - This is still to be built once funding has been confirmed by TfL (most likely in 2010). The strip will be placed on Clapton Common to block traffic from turning right into Clapton Terrace and therefore stop it being used as a rat run by drivers.
Watch a short clip of the Clapton Terrace re-design proposals on YouTube.