Can we reduce congestion

Hackney sufferes badly from congestion, particularly around the Narrow Way. With Carbon Emissions on everone's mind we asked why this one area suffered so badly from congestion and what could be done to relieve it?

The Narrow Way in Hackney is very narrow indeed. But it is one-way street which serves as a bus station for nearly 20 bus routes. During rush hour buses queue along the whole length of the Narrow Way and, on particularly bad days, traffic jams stretch almost as far away as Clapton Pond on the Lower Clapton Road, all of these vehicles stationary with their engines running.

If the congestion charging zone was extended to include this area then it may be possible people to be less reliant on their cars. Even without the cars the narrow street is a bottleneck and it doesn't seem to be a suitable place for a bus station. But what else can be done. Cars which park in the bus lanes make the congestion even worse. What can be done to stop people doing this? And should taxis be allowed to use bus lanes. Should taxis have any more right to use bus lanes than dirvers of ordinary cars? We asked the public what they though about some of these things.

But what else can be done? Cars which park in the bus lanes make the congestion even worse. What can be done to stop people doing this? And should taxis be allowed to use bus lanes. Should taxis have any more right to use bus lanes than dirvers of ordinary cars? We asked the public what they though about some of these things.

We asked a Hackney bus driver what he thought about drivers parking in bus lanes.

When they do that the buses doesn't get through to take passengers or workers to their destinations. It just disrupts everything.

Hackney Bus Driver