Forum topic: Plans for Fox Lane low-traffic neighbourhood published

I must say that I wholeheartedly agree with David Eden about feather-bedded motorists. For untold years roads have been modified to meet the growing demand to drive about. Cars are wonderfully flexible/adaptable, but this has misled society into using them when other alternatives such as trains and walking would, overall, be a better choice. And to pick up on another direction the Council is going, cycling has enormous benefits for local journeys. At 82 I can cycle to Enfield Town or Wood Green and far beyond with positive benefits for my health and everyone else's on the route. Further, with suitable panniers, I can carry quite a lot too. Pop across the Channel to the Netherlands and other countries to the North of that and you'll find babies asleep in devices on the bikes and in towed in trucks behind. London has a lot to learn.

Yes, people will be able to travel down the roads in the area, but they won't be able to exit the blocked ends of most of them, so there will be lots of vehicles doing three point turns in order to get out of them; add in the complication of delivery vans, refuse collection, buses etc. and you have a recipe for chaos on an everyday basis.
A twenty mph speed limit throughout the area and speed bumps in some critical spots would be a simpler
and better solution.

My suggestions for further modifications.
I do not agree with the current proposition but understand that rat running is an issue especially on Old Park Road.
If we are to keep the current plan then why not have a TAG system or an ANPR system at the end of just a couple of Aldermans Hill Roads that allows ONLY residents living within the closure zone into and/or out of them. For example you could only enter Aldermans Hill via Grovelands Road and then re- enter the Lakes Estate only via Ulleswater Road.This would cut out the long drive via Southgate Circus and reduce frustration and pollution as well as eliminating the rat runs. Residents would not need to clog up already struggling main roads .

I do believe it wouldn't be a massive expense for only 2 bollard barriers on the Aldermans Hill end of the estate,TAGS could be purchased by residents who would like to use the access points much as some areas require the residents to purchase parking permits . Alternatively an ANPR system where residents have to log their cars on a central system( this is already being done in Southgate Leisure centre) could be run by an external company and even generate extra income for the council.

This eliminates rat running and reduces the traffic on the surrounding arterial roads,makes the area more pleasant for residents by reducing traffic whilst mitigating the impact on those of us needing to access Aldermans Hill. Surely this is a good compromise and one that all of us could get behind if we don't believe that more speed bumps and a 20mph camera zone would work.

I just love the pundit term “traffic evaporation.” I can only assume that it does what the label on the bottle says. If it works in Walthamstow village, why won’t it work in Fox Lane and the Lake District? And if evaporation works for traffic, maybe it will work for other disagreeable features of urban living - burglary, for example?

The drawings are clear with pretty visuals to show us the appearance but they are a farce.

If any road is closed off at one end it will be out of bounds for all commercial vehicles (On-line shopping, refuse carts, delivery of building materials, pantechnicons for house-movers etc) unless adequate provision is made for them to turn round and drive out the way they came in. Whilst special access gates can be provided for emergency services (and don't they look lovely) I doubt Enfield have plans to compulsorily purchase sufficient properties in each road to build the necessary turning spaces for commercial vehicles?

All residents will have to drag their sundry wheely bins back and forth to and from Fox lane/Aldermans hill on the appropriate collection days, and all delivery and collection drivers would have to park up in Fox lane/Aldermans Hill and man-handle their goods (or skips) a few hundred yards down the road.

It is patently obvious that Richard Eason and Cycle Enfield have not consulted with either the Fire Brigade, Refuse or Highways before drawing up and presenting this ridiculous scheme to the public yesterday.

Who in Enfield is responsible for this, and what is it costing the Enfield Tax payers?

Does anyone have info on what happened to the Haringey's similar idea when they closed off Middle lane for a couple of weeks?

I'm fascinated by the angry and apparently well-thought-through responses by the contributors who are against the scheme. Clearly there are likely to be potential practical problems in any proposed change like this, but I have a great deal of difficulty in imagining that trained, and often very experienced staff, haven't given much thought to the issues before sharing their ideas with the public.

Time will tell, but meanwhile perhaps knowledgeable critics could spend some time thinking about what can be done to relieve traffic stress on families which have to bring up their families against a constant stream of cars passing their homes. The air quality must be dreadful, whilst for my street speed is a big issue - 70mph plus has been measured.

Whatever is done must be in keeping with family life not the needs of traffic

Some hilarious doomsday soothsaying on this thread....

Worth noting that measures like this are all over LB Hackney, which has Victorian/Edwardian streets as narrow if not narrower than hours, and the entire borough hasn't collapsed into the firey pits of hell....