The dates have been announced for the first public consultations about the planned Cycle Enfield/Mini Holland cycle routes. These will be "exhibitions" running from the afternoon to mid-evening. Members of the public will be able to call in, examine the plans, ask questions and feed back their initial views about the schemes. Later in the year there will be a "full and extensive public consultation".
The Palmers Green/Winchmore Hill consultation will be held at the Fox from 3pm to 8pm on Wednesday 11th February. There will also be similar events at the Dugdale Centre on 17th February, at Community House in Edmonton on 2nd March and at the Ordnance Unity Centre on 2nd April.
The complete text of the announcement can be found at the end of this report.
In addition, the Council have stated that they will upload consultation documents to the Cycle Enfield website.
Following the 8th January first meeting of the West Enfield Cycle Enfield Partnership Board, there have been complaints about the exclusion from the Board of some prominent opponents of cycle lanes along Green Lanes, notably the Green Lanes Business Association (GLBA). At the Palmers Green Ward Forum on Tuesday these opponents again voiced their concerns about the possible impact on businesses and repeated their claims that cycling was confined mostly to men and it was mainly women who visited shops. In response councillors pointed out that, while there would probably be a reduction in parking spaces, there had never been a plan to completely ban parking in Green Lanes (see our earlier article for information about the amount of parking envisaged in the initial Mini-Holland concept drawings).
Councillors also pointed out that the two candidates standing on an anti-Cycle Holland ticket at the most recent council elections had been defeated. However, Councillor Bambos Charalambous did undertake to seek to have GLBA Chairman Costas Georgiou invited to join the Partnership Board.
Complete text of the announcement on the Enfield Council website, dated 23 January 2015
Local residents and businesses will be able to have their first look at Enfield Council's ambitious plans to revolutionise cycling in Enfield at a series of exhibitions due to start in February.
Enfield Council was awarded £30 million to transform cycling across the borough by the Mayor of London, and these exhibitions will give residents a chance to find out more about the proposed projects in their area, ahead of a full and extensive public consultation on the project later in the year.
The first event will take place at the Fox Public House in Green Lanes, Palmers Green on Wednesday 11 February. Other events will be held at the Dugdale Centre in Enfield on Tuesday 17 February, Community House in Fore Street, Edmonton on Monday 2 March and the Ordnance Unity Centre in Hertford Road, Enfield on 2 April. For the convenience of local residents, these exhibitions will all run from 3-8pm.
Enfield Council's Cabinet Member for Environment and Community Safety, Cllr Chris Bond, said: "This is an opportunity for residents to see our exciting proposals for Cycle Enfield, ask questions about them and provide their own early views on challenges and opportunities."
"We have attracted significant investment into our borough and this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for us to revolutionise cycling in our borough."
"Enfield Council is absolutely committed to improving our cycling network, transforming our borough for residents and getting more people on their bikes therefore improving air quality and their health, and Cycle Enfield will be integral to that process."
The project aims to transform cycling in Enfield by providing a network of cycle routes including protected cycle lanes on some main roads and routes through parks and quieter streets.
Town centres will be rejuvenated with improvements to paving, pedestrian facilities and street furniture as well as provision for safer and easier cycling.
Secure on-street cycle parking and cycle 'hubs' will be provided to enable cyclists to park their bikes, get their bikes fixed, buy a recycled bike and make it easier for them to travel around the borough.
The project has its own website here Facebook page here and Twitter @Cycleenfield where you can keep up with all the cycling activities Enfield already provides.
