Hackney has been affected by regular vandalism to its ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ), and School Streets monitoring cameras.
This is despite the recent news that London air has become significantly cleaner since the expansion of ULEZ.
ULEZ was introduced by Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, in 2019 to improve air quality in inner London. This initiative continues into 2025 following an expansion into Greater London two years ago.
Residents have highlighted recent instances of vandalism against monitoring infrastructure and warned that there is still underlying anger about ULEZ and other traffic monitoring schemes operating in the borough, such as School Streets.
The School Streets programme aims to tackle congestion and improve air quality near schools by controlling traffic and turning nearby roads into pedestrian-only zones at set times of the day.
Ruth Shrier, a Stoke Newington local, told the Hackney Post: “So much money is wasted, as the council is endlessly replacing vandalised cameras and cut wires.”
A report on ULEZ’s impact, published by the Greater London Authority this month, found the scheme had had a positive impact, and that London’s air quality had improved across the board at a faster rate than the rest of the country since ULEZ’s expansion from central London to all London boroughs.
Clare Mann, a Hackney Central resident, recently found cables cut from a traffic counter lying in the street on Wilton Way in Hackney Central.
“I understand people have very strong opinions about the LTN in Hackney, but vandalism is not the answer,” she said.
Monitoring cameras involved in Hackney Council’s School Streets programme have also been targeted.
A Freedom of Information request by the Hackney Citizen revealed that since June last year there have been 22 reported instances of criminal damage to School Streets infrastructure.
One camera post on Castlewood Road, where Springfield Community School is located, was recently toppled after being cut through the middle with what one parent said “looked like an angle grinder”.
Ruth Shier, who lives near the toppled camera post on Castlewood Road, said that the vandalism made her feel “unsettled”.
“It almost feels like an epidemic of vandalism now,” she added.
According to figures obtained by LBC, Hackney paid the highest of the most of any London borough for repairs to vandalised ULEZ cameras in 2023.
The Metropolitan Police were contacted for comment about the incidents on Castlewood Road and Wilton Way but did not respond.
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