Leaders of the Jewish community in Stamford Hill, London are concerned that new local “low traffic” regulations are making life difficult for its large Orthodox families for whom cars are essential, reported the Jewish Chronicle.
Stamford Hill is located within the inner London borough of Hackney. The area is home to 15,000 Orthodox Jews and has the largest Hasidic community in Europe.
In the spring of 2020, Hackney Council began closing off streets to vehicular traffic as part of a move to decrease air pollution and encourage walking and bicycling, implementing a “Low Traffic Neighborhood” (LTN) plan.
However, one of Hackney Council’s five Jewish councillors said that for Orthodox Jews with big families, a car is a necessity. Councillor Simche Steinberger added that area residents were not consulted prior to the plan being put in place.
“Being Jewish means having a big family. For them a car is a necessity not a luxury. Children going to different schools, you have to get them there. The father has to daven in the morning. He doesn’t have time to go around on a bike,” he told the Chronicle.
With most of the side streets closed off, traffic has been rerouted to a few main roads that traverse Stamford Hill, leading to chronic gridlock.
Worse, essential community volunteer aid and emergency services such as Hatzalah and Caverim reportedly are having to cut back on services because of a lack of drivers who refuse to drive during busy hours where they find themselves stuck in traffic jams on the remaining open main roads.
The first post-lockdown council meeting on June 30 saw a large number of community members and other residents against the “low traffic” plan protesting outside Hackney Town Hall. There are also two lawsuits in the works to have the scheme suspended until public consultation can take place.
The council is carrying out public consultations but began to do so only after implementing the plan.