Forum topic: Hoppers Road / Bourne Hill

We have been waiting for a proposed zebra crossing on Bourne Hill opposite the car wash by the junction with Hoppers Road for over a year now. How can we get visibility on what is happening with this? There was a public consultation nearly a year ago and since then, nothing.

I have also spoken to the Council about the need for traffic lights or a mini roundabout at the junction of Bourne Hill and Hoppers Road to reduce congestion, traffic accidents and to calm the traffic that races around the corner from Green Lanes up towards Southgate but have been told there is no money and speed cameras will only be placed if four people die?

I would like to get some sort of petition or forceful lobbying in place but do not really know where to start.

Any thoughts?

Hi Andrew - great comment and I think you're totally right. Please see this link: ( www.pgweb.uk/index.php/mobileforum/pedestrian-safety/13-council-consults-over-pedestrian-crossing-arrangements ) to another discussion thread took place about a year ago when the Council was holding a consultation on the Bourne Hill - Hoppers Road junction. I made a comment on this PGC website, but then also wrote to the Council or their contractor - but never heard back. They did do some construction there in the last few months, but it hasn't made it safer - only more difficult to pull out. In my comment I suggested a mini-roundabout too - I think that would make a lot of sense at that junction. Good luck with the campaign.

I thought that as part of the planning process for the St John's Parish Centre which was built behind the church/in the garden of 509 Green Lanes, a zebra crossing was proposed for Bourne Hill. This was several years ago and I could be wrong but it rings bells.... Part of the planning obligation/developer contribution?

It appears that in autumn 2013 Enfield Council decided to go ahead with the zebra crossing and a notice was published in the London Gazette on 16th October last year.

The consultation on the new zebra crossing in Aldermans Hill came some time after the Bourne Hill consultation, but the Aldermans Hill zebra is now almost finished, while there's absolutely no sign of the Bourne Hill crossing. Unless the trench that was dug on the grass verge near the car wash a couple of months ago had anything to do with it. I assumed that they were installing a power supply for the zebra, but the hole has now been filled in and there's no zebra.

So what is happening?

Hi Basil,

The trench cut across the road a few months ago was for a water supply for the vacant land across the road. The owner of that land is hoping to build another car wash.

The council have assured me that it would not get planning permission, but who knows.

Thanks,

Andy

I've submitted a Freedom of Information Request to try to discover why the zebra crossing has not been installed. You can view the request and any response online.

Andy Barker of Fox Lane & District Residents' Association has found the answer to the question about the missing zebra crossing through the simple expedient of asking Enfield Council. I shall now withdraw my freedom of information request, as it appears to be overkill!

Anyway, the answer is in the two messages below:

Dear Mr Barker,

We have been ready to construct this zebra crossing for several months but have been unable to start due to a BT telegraph pole that needs relocating.

BT have finally erected a new post and now need to transfer the cables from the existing post before it can be removed. We are hoping that these works will take place within the next two weeks but BT have been very slow in organising these works.

I did however contact our contractor this morning and ask him to programme this work for construction as soon as possible so he will be ready to start as soon as the old pole has been removed.

This has been very difficult to progress as we are dependent on BT doing their work first.

Regards

Mick Pond

Principal Engineer – Highway Services, Enfield Council.


FURTHER UPDATE DATED – 17.04.2014:

Dear Mr Barker,

I have spoken to the contractor and the works has been programmed to start within the first two weeks of May.

Regards

Mick Pond

Hi Basil,

I got a similar answer when I spoke to highways last week. This will be interesting when the new hand car wash opens. I wonder if the council will get around to removing the second dropped kerb that the car wash owner has had installed.

Andrew Nix