New plans for Fox Lane quieter neighbourhood revealed

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Written by Basil Clarke    Category: Quieter Neighbourhoods

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Enfield Council's revised plans for the Fox Lane quieter neighbourhood, which were published today, will dramatically reduce traffic and associated pollution, noise and road danger over a large area of residential streets stretching from Palmers Green to Southgate. Subject to approval by the deputy council leader, the proposals will be implemented on a trial basis for six months starting this summer.

The trial will also serve as a 6-month formal consultation period, during which the council will also carry out monitoring of the effect on roads outside the area. Depending on the results of both, the scheme will either be discontinued, modified or made permanent.

Leaflets showing the new scheme were today distributed to homes in the neighbourhood, and more detailed information has been uploaded to the Let's Talk Enfield website, along with an explanatory video.

fox lane qn redesign july 2020The revised Fox Lane quieter neighbourhood scheme - click on the image to enlarge

Compared with the controversial proposals that were published last year, the new scheme has far fewer "modal filters" (ie obstacles to prevent cars driving through) and they will be mostly located at the Fox Lane end of roads coming off Aldermans Hill. Many drivers will thus have more direct routes to their destinations in the area. Gates near the railway bridge in Fox Lane and near the junction of Meadway and Bourne Avenue will allow through emergency services and waste collection vehicles, while preventing access by other vehicles..

Dramatically reduced traffic in the area

By preventing drivers from cutting through the area, the scheme will lead to falls in traffic of 75 per cent or more in the busiest streets, such as Meadway, Amberley Road, Greenway and Old Park Road, while Fox Lane itself could experience a reduction of 90 per cent or more.

Table: Estimated effect of scheme on traffic flows*

(If the table is not displaying properly, click here)

  Existing (2019 survey) Estimated post-scheme % reduction
  7AM-7PM AM Peak Hour PM Peak Hour 7AM-7PM AM Peak Hour PM Peak Hour 7AM-7PM AM Peak Hour PM Peak Hour
Bourne Avenue (N) 1600-1700 200-300 100-200 500-600 0-50 0-50 65-75% 85-95% 80-90%
Parkway 200-300 0-50 0-50 100-200 0-50 0-50 35-45% No change No change
The Ridgeway 100-200 0-50 0-50 100-200 0-50 0-50 0-10% No change No change
Greenway 2000-3000 200-300 200-300 500-600 50-100 50-100 75-85% 85-95% 85-95%
Fox Lane (W) 5000-6000 500-600 500-600 700-800 200-300 200-300 80-90% 55-65% 50-60%
Amberley Read 3000-4000 300-400 300-400 600-700 100-200 50-100 75-85% 50-60% 75-85%
St George's Road 1100-1200  100-200 100-200 300-400 100-200 100-200 65-75% No change No change
Craniey Gardens 500-600 50-100 50-100 400-500 0-50 0-50 15-25% 60-70% 60-70%
Burford Gardens 600-700 50-100 50-100 500-600 0-50 0-50 10-20% 60-70% 60-70%
Caversham Avenue 800-900 100-200 50-100 400-500 50-100 0-50 45-55% 45-55% 60-70%
Fox Lane (E) 5000-6000 600-700 500-600 500-600 100-200 100-200 85-95% 85-95% 85-95%
Devonshire Road 600-700 50-100 50-100 300-400 0-50 0-50 40-50% 60-70% 60-70%
Old Park Road 1700-1800 200-300 50-100 400-500 100-200 0-50 70-80% 35-55% 60-70%
Groveland Road 1100-1200 100-200 100-200 400-500 0-50 0-50 55-65% 45-55% 80-90%
Lakeside Road 500-600 50-100 50-100 400-500 0-50 0-50 15-25% 60-70% 60-70%
Denvent Road 600-700 50-100 50-100 400-500 50-100 50-100 25-35% No change No change
Ulleswater Road 600-700 50-100 50-100 500-600 0-50 0-50 10-20% 60-70% 60-70%
Conway Road 600-700 100-200 0-50 400-500 0-50 0-50 25-35% 80-90% No change
Selborne Road 1600-1700 100-200 100-200 500-600 100-200 50-100 65-75% No change 45-55%
The Mall 2000-3000 300-400 300-400 600-700 100-200 0-50 70-80% 50-60% 85-95%
Oakfield Road 400-500 0-50 0-50 400-500 0-50 0-50 0-10% No change No change
Meadway (S) 3000-4000  500-600 400-500 300-400 50-100 100-200 85-75% 65-75% 35-45%

 *The numbers shown in the table indicate the total number of vehicles on the road - both with a local origin or destination, and traffic cutting through the area

Impact on surrounding roads

While estimating the effect on traffic volumes within the area is relatively easy, forecasting what will happen on surrounding roads is much less straightforward. There is ample evidence of "traffic evaporation" following the introduction of low-traffic neighbourhoods elsewhere. This reflects the fact that traffic is not an uncontrollable elemental force of nature, it is the result of human behaviour, and schemes such as this are designed to change behaviour, to encourage less driving and more active travel - walking, riding bikes, using public transport - and to move longer distance travel back to the strategic roads where it belongs and which it would have used before satnav made it easy for drivers to navigate complex routes designed to shave a small amount of time off their journeys, to the detriment of people living along the routes.

With streets inside the area being quieter and safer, and with cleaner air, some residents will walk to destinations outside the area when they previously would have driven, thus removing traffic. Some of the drivers that currently cut through the area will use completely different routes that may not go anywhere near Palmers Green or Southgate. Given time, new patterns of travel will emerge. There's no reliable way of forecasting what they will be - a sufficiently long trial is the most effective way to find out.

Next steps

Council officers are currently drafting a formal report that sets out the details of the design, including all the previous engagement and feedback received. This report will then be submitted to the deputy council leader, Ian Barnes, who is the primary decision maker for this neighbourhood project.

Subject to formal approval a trial of this design will commence over the summer. Any trial would take place using a process of experimental traffic orders. It is at the point of the start of a trial where formal consultation opens for a period of six months, with residents able to provide comments once they have had the opportunity to experience the trial working in practice. At the end of the 6-month review period, a decision will be made on whether to remove the trial, make changes or make the project permanent. This decision will be informed by the community feedback collected throughout the consultation during the trial period.

Once the formal report has been approved, it will be published on the project page. The council will then send a letter to all properties within the area to inform people of the decision.

If the trial is going ahead, this letter will provide more information on specific timelines and further detail on how additional feedback can be provided as part of the formal consultation process.

To find out more visit: letstalk.enfeld.gov.uk/foxlaneQN

Links

Let's Talk Enfield: Fox Lane quieter neighbourhood

Fox Lane quieter neighbourhood leaflet - July 2020

Slides with data visualisations

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Posts in discussion: New plans for Fox Lane quieter neighbourhood revealed

Darren McCarthy's Avatar
Darren McCarthy posted a reply #5418 09 Jul 2020 19:58
I live on Aldermans Hill and this scheme is a disaster for the residents on the surrounding roads. It is pushing all the traffic onto the outer roads and there is no mention of improving the safety of these roads. The junction of Aldermans Hill and Cannon Hill is a notorious blackspot yet nothing has been done to it in 10 years. This whole scheme is a snobbish attempt to push unwanted traffic into other areas. It has to go somewhere. You are going to have countless delivery vans doing U-turns on the blocked up roads and the roads are not wide enough if cars are parked everywhere. The consultation shows most residents are against this. Is there some sort of protest group acting against this scheme or a judicial review in progress?
Adrian Day's Avatar
Adrian Day posted a reply #5419 09 Jul 2020 20:48
I agree there will need to be measures on surrounding roads - and that junction is dangerous. Experience with similar LTNs shows there is traffic evaporation as people within the area walk and cycle rather than drive short journeys whilst others replan their journeys. There was both opposition and support for the previous scheme, but this is a new design which takes into account feedback - the consultation will be during the trial. If we are to address societal issues of pollution, safety, obesity, noise then there needs to be action to support active travel and reduce unnecessary car use. I can assure you there's nothing 'snobbish' behind the plans - I understand Enfield Council have plans for LTNs throughout the Borough.
Alex Lyness's Avatar
Alex Lyness posted a reply #5420 10 Jul 2020 20:26

Darren McCarthy wrote: I live on Aldermans Hill and this scheme is a disaster for the residents on the surrounding roads. It is pushing all the traffic onto the outer roads and there is no mention of improving the safety of these roads. The junction of Aldermans Hill and Cannon Hill is a notorious blackspot yet nothing has been done to it in 10 years. This whole scheme is a snobbish attempt to push unwanted traffic into other areas. It has to go somewhere. You are going to have countless delivery vans doing U-turns on the blocked up roads and the roads are not wide enough if cars are parked everywhere. The consultation shows most residents are against this. Is there some sort of protest group acting against this scheme or a judicial review in progress?


Agreed the surrounding roads need measures as well but the council have to start somewhere.

On the u-turn point. Thames water recently closed our road at one end for a few days. All the delivery vans and trucks managed fine with u-turns and there was no traffic apocalypse on our street that I could see. Given lockdown has increased delivery vans/trucks this suggests they’ll manage just fine. A trial will help surface any issues.
Adrian Day's Avatar
Adrian Day posted a reply #5421 11 Jul 2020 10:08
And of course roads such as Cannon Broad and Broomfield Avenue seem to manage very well, along with the hundreds of other cul-de-sacs and filtered roads in Enfield. Indeed most new developments are planned almost entirely with cul de sacs and one or two entry/exit points.
Karl Brown's Avatar
Karl Brown posted a reply #5423 12 Jul 2020 11:30
I would agree that the Aldermans Hill / Cannon Hill junction should see close scrutiny for active as well as motor travel. The same, long running, argument applies to the Green Lanes / Hedge Lane / Bourne Hill junction, which is also dreadful to cross. I would add to focus on an increasing prevalence of zebra-blind drivers on Aldermans Hill; always an issue but seemingly deteriorating.

I don’t buy the argument that the traffic, “has to go somewhere”. The same is often used regarding waste. Both start from the premise that it’s there to begin with; that is where the real aspect of choice lies.
Neil Littman's Avatar
Neil Littman posted a reply #5430 16 Jul 2020 08:54
Be interested to know what the results of a traffic flow survey in the Fox Lane area would be if it were repeated now since Covid-19. I have been through the area several times doing medical deliveries and things have quietened down considerably.
Simon Broughton's Avatar
Simon Broughton posted a reply #5431 16 Jul 2020 09:13
I still see no reason why residents in these streets cannot have exclusive access to all their streets by the use of RFID on the barriers. It's cheap and simple yet the idea has been repeatedly ignored. There is no valid reason why those of us who live in these streets should be penalised unfairly by being forced to travel in only one direction into the inconvenience of a traffic jam. I don't think any of us are going to make avoidable and unnecessary journeys. I regard this as a form of bullying.
Richard Carlowe's Avatar
Richard Carlowe posted a reply #5432 16 Jul 2020 09:24
Before I start, letstalk.enfeld.gov.uk/foxlaneQN doesn't work

The closure at the end of Fox Lane totally ignores the large amount of elderly people who live on Pellipar Close, opposite the Fox Pub car park (now a development site!). They, and their nurses, carers and family, will now have to use the extremely dangerous and poorly planned, Fox Lane/Green Lanes junction for every journey/visit as there is no other access.

My mother, who lives there, has a carer visit twice a day from East Barnet who will now have to make two unnecessary right turns, one from Bourne Hill on to Green Lanes, and then one on to Fox Lane on each visit. This will add time to her journey as well as increasing pollution, which seems to be a major factor in this model.

I would ask that the Fox Lane gate be moved or, better still, removed altogether and the roads left to work as they always have, and did long before 90%+ of the residents moved in to the area.
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