A segregated cycle lane will then be created — protected by small anti-car lane dividers known as “armadillos” – and a section of existing pavement will be cut away.
“If you take away footfall, you will hit turnover,” observed Isaac Kornbluh, a former long-serving local councillor.
“If there’s no parking, they will go to other grocery stores. There will be a big impact on both shoppers and business.
“These people are entrepreneurs. It’s not just about their income. They are providing a service and jobs for people in the community.”
Shop owners told the JC that the high number of children in Charedi families left parents more reliant on cars. And their strict kosher requirements and dislike of online shopping made them more likely to frequent neighbourhood stores.
Abraham Getter, whose family has owned Getter’s Superstore for 40 years, warned that the reduced parking would “threaten” the shopping parade, predicting “shoppers will go to the big [mainstream] supermarkets on the high road”, which have kosher sections.
“Hackney’s always busy shouting about ‘support your local businesses’. What are they doing? What are we paying taxes for?
“In general society, how many kids do families have? One, two, three. Here, you’re talking about families of six kids. How many shopping bags are you going to fill up? You’re telling me someone with ten bags is going to jump on a bike?
“It’s critical. If there’s no parking, there’s no business.”
Carla Nanet, manager of Grodzinski’s bakery, said people had preferred to shop there — rather than at Grodzinski’s sister branch less than a mile away — because of the availability of parking.
The Breuer and Spitzer grocery, which is still “in the family” after opening its doors in 1960, is currently undergoing a £2 million refurbishment, which its manager said was approved before he learned of CS1.
“Of course it’s going to affect us,” he said. “I am very worried.”
Data collected over a randomly-selected 24-hour period in February 2017 showed that 118 cyclists travelled northbound and 117 southbound, with “usage spikes” in morning and evening rush hours.
Hackney Council, which is administering the scheme, conducted a four-week consultation in January 2018 which returned an overall approval rate of 59 per cent — deemed a “sufficient mandate for implementation”.
But of the 923 postal addresses in the consultation zone — a rectangle bordered by Amhurst Park, Dunsmure Road, Bethune Road and East Bank — only 11 per cent responded. Of those whose occupiers did, 61 per cent were opposed.
Councillor Jon Burke, Hackney’s cabinet member for transport, said he was “very disappointed” that since notices of parking restrictions were put up, “motorists have failed to comply… and have taken to vandalising them and throwing cones into the neighbouring nature reserve”.
Speaking on Monday, Mr Kornbluh predicted that local residents would continue to park on the cycle lane.
“Most Jewish people park on double lines — I’m sure they will. And then they’ll get fined — £120, £130. Cars might get clamped. It will provoke a lot of anxiety in the community.”
Andrew Boff, a senior Conservative member of the Greater London Assembly, accused Hackney Council of implementing the scheme “without taking into account the particular requirements of this community”, meaning its greater reliance on cars.
“In order for London to work, you have to understand how London works. This is about favouring the diversity London is famous for and proud of.”
Charlotte Edney, lead sponsor for cycling at TfL, said: “High quality cycle routes greatly increase the number of people who feel confident cycling on our streets and also provide benefits to people walking.
“This is why we’ve worked with Hackney Council on proposals to install protected cycle lanes along the eastern side of West Bank in Hackney.”
