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Forum topic: Connaught Gardens low-traffic neighbourhood - why is it needed?

Connaught Gardens low-traffic neighbourhood - why is it needed?

Basil Clarke

25 Nov 2020 23:32 #5760

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[Original article]

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Enfield's Council's announcement of its plans for a low-traffic neighbourhood in the Connaught Gardens area comes in response to complaints over many years from long suffering residents of streets in the area that have increasingly been used as cut throughs between Hedge Lane, Green Lanes, the North Circular Road and the Cambridge Roundabout.

When assessing whether there was a need for a scheme that would block through traffic, the council commissioned an "origin and destination survey", using cameras to record the number plates of vehicles entering and leaving at the ends of 13 streets leading into or out of the area. The survey recorded the number of vehicles that entered the area and left within five minutes, counting these as instances of drivers using the area as a cut-through, rather than visiting an address in the area.

The survey reveals a complex network of routes used by through traffic. It will come as no surprise to find that the worst affected streets are Connaught Gardens, Hazelwood Lane, Oakthorpe Road, Chimes Avenue, Arnold Gardens and Callard Avenue - the last three in particular are completely unsuitable for through traffic, as they are narrow with right-hand corners. Residents are subjected to danger, noise and fumes and have had their parked cars wrecked by drivers who have gone round corners too fast. In Arnold Gardens and Callard Avenue cars queuing in the morning to await a gap in traffic on the A406 completely block the street.

The last map shows another through-traffic problem afflicting the north-west corner of the area - Windsor Road, Osborne Road, Lightcliffe Road and New River Crescent. Here the traffic flows were not quite high enough to register as among the worst, but they nevertheless were creating problems for these narrow streets. They have in fact had some relief from these problems because of the temporary one-way system that has been in operation since April. The council will be bringing in a slightly different one-way system for these streets before the end of 2020, using proper signage, rather than the temporary signs that have been there since April, some of which have been removed by persons unknown who object to the scheme. Like the rest of the scheme, for which there is unfortunately no date as yet, there will be a six-month consultation with the changes in situ.

The survey was carried out between 7am and 7pm on Wednesday 6th November 2019.

The map at the start of this article and those below are extracted from the report on the findings of the survey - you can download the complete findings here.

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Connaught Gardens low-traffic neighbourhood - why is it needed?

Neil Littman

26 Nov 2020 10:42 #5761

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Regardless of the survey results I would be interested to know what residents of the Connaught Gardens area think of the scheme. I live just outside that area and apart from some medical deliveries have little reason to drive through there and from N21 there are other ways to reach the A406. However, I wonder if the LTN will make life more difficult for anybody living in the zone trying to get to the North Circular or will it put extra traffic onto Green Lanes and Hedge Lane causing exactly the same issues as the Fox Lane LTN has had on Bourne Hill and Aldermans Hill. The rush hour traffic has increased considerably and been this way for over 6 weeks with pollution simply displaced from one area to another. Never mind the issues being caused for business owners on Aldermans Hill which I hardly see reported on this forum.

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Connaught Gardens low-traffic neighbourhood - why is it needed?

Adrian Day

01 Dec 2020 13:58 #5775

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Low traffic neighbourhoods are designed to reduce through traffic and encourage the use of sustainable modes and public transport. If vehicle volumes continue at the present level I guarantee the resulting climate change that driving contributes to will make life very, very difficult.

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Connaught Gardens low-traffic neighbourhood - why is it needed?

Alan Thomas

02 Dec 2020 12:19 #5776

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I'm always nonplussed to see 'climate change' being cited as a key factor in the pro-LTN argument. It is likely that every single house within the LTNs has one or more gas-fired central heating and hot water boilers, gas or electric cookers, any number of electronic goods and even home furnishings which contribute far more negatively to the issue of climate change than any single private car will.
I'm an LTN pragmatist, seeing both merits and demerits and I'm willing to listen to both sides, but when the wider issue of climate change is being put forward in support of LTNs it just makes me more sceptical about the real motivations behind some of this.
The elephant in the room for climate change is overpopulation, but we don't go there do we?

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Connaught Gardens low-traffic neighbourhood - why is it needed?

Adrian Day

03 Dec 2020 17:46 #5781

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Vehicle transport is a major contributor to global warming - initiatives such as ltns that discourage use of vehicles and encourage use of sustainable transport will help the goal towards zero carbon. Perhaps an easier route than reducing the population worldwide (of course quite a few predictions have Europe's population falling).

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Connaught Gardens low-traffic neighbourhood - why is it needed?

Alan Thomas

03 Dec 2020 19:34 #5782

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Adrian Day wrote:

Vehicle transport is a major contributor to global warming - initiatives such as ltns that discourage use of vehicles and encourage use of sustainable transport will help the goal towards zero carbon. Perhaps an easier route than reducing the population worldwide (of course quite a few predictions have Europe's population falling).


These local LTNs will have no measurable effect in the fight against global warming or the aim of 'zero carbon', and linking the LTNs to such causes seems faintly ridiculous when we consider that the prevailing winds for our area are generally West to East. I've seen people writing about 'noticeably cleaner air' inside the Fox Lane LTN since initiation (maybe they had their windows closed on November 5th...?) but I haven't noticed any day-to-day difference and would not expect to, since private cars are becoming cleaner and cleaner anyway. Soon their emissions will be negligible in the LTN scenario, and we are already well on the way to seeing the end of the private ICE-powered car anyway. Meanwhile, just living in an LTN area property creates its own poisonous miasma (heating, hot water, cooking, watching TV etc etc). You're in a metropolis!
Citing global warming/climate change as a reason for the proposed Connaught Gardens LTN is just another McGuffin. Why not be honest about its true - and main - aims? They are good enough, surely?

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Connaught Gardens low-traffic neighbourhood - why is it needed?

Karl Brown

04 Dec 2020 10:06 #5784

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At the margin I can see the case made by Alan Thomas but I imagine things will prove more fundamental: long since understanding the direction of travel I worked to cut from 6000 car miles pa to currently close to nil; earlier this year in a similar vein a neighbour sold a car and now cycles to work, shops et al; another kept the car but bikes extensively, including central London work. Id be surprised if there were not others. Multiply that across many streets in Fox Lane LTN, and then again over 100+ London LTN’s, project further similar behaviour change forward as things embed, and we would see non-trivial impact.
With fresh CO2 limiting initiatives and possibly legislation being strongly mooted by HMG, and the head of the National Audit Office only this week commenting on the requirement to reduce CO2 emissions as “an enormously challenging long-term project, which will require well-thought-out cross-government coordination to drive unprecedented changes across society and the economy”, I suspect unfettered driving, as has been the case and remains the goal of many, is unlikely to remain.
But i think it’s a much simpler message: cars and the wishes of car divers have dominated for years, that position has been reversed at policy level and now we’re seeing the implementation.
As the transport strategy we all live under starts off with:
“London’s streets should be for active travel and social interaction, but too often they are places for cars, not people. Most of the main causes of early death in London are linked to inactivity, including the two biggest killers – heart disease and cancer. This inactivity is in part due to an overdependence on cars, even for very short trips.”
And just for good measure, given the theme of the post, adds:
“Motorised traffic is also overwhelmingly responsible for the greatest environmental challenges we face as a city.”
The future is written down, yes debates at the margin over exactly how, but the yes / no is now behind us and I suspect that's the mentality change needed in all.
The following user(s) said Thank You: Adrian Day

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Connaught Gardens low-traffic neighbourhood - why is it needed?

Adrian Day

05 Dec 2020 19:33 #5785

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There's many good reasons for introducing LTNs - I've stated them many times on this platform (and they can be found on the link) below. One of those very good reasons is that they encourage people to cycle and walk instead of using vehicles, especially for shorter journeys. Will a single LTN make a lot of difference to climate change on its own? Perhaps not, but if every high traffic neighbourhood in the country was addressed then it would make a huge difference. I campaign for LTNs throughout Enfield and support others' efforts throughout London and further field.

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