The initial consultation stage has now begun for two "Quieter Neighbourhood" schemes covering a large swathe of residential streets extending from the Cambridge Roundabout in the south east almost as far as Southgate Circus in the north west (though excluding Green Lanes, which runs between the two areas).
Consultation began last month for the Wolves Lanes Quieter Neighbourhood, which lies south of the Connaught Gardens QN, separated from it by the North Circular Road.
Click on the map to enlargeIf you live in the areas shown on the map you may already have received a questionnaire through your letterbox. If not, it should arrive imminently. However, you can also respond online. In fact, if there is more than one person in your household, online is recommended, as Enfield Council are keen for each household member - including children - to respond separately. This is because traffic impacts differently on every person, depending on their circumstances and their preferences.
In contrast to the "Mini-Holland" schemes for main roads such as Green Lanes, where the Council drew up some relatively detailed (and in places highly controversial) initial plans at the end of last year, for the Quieter Neighbourhoods Enfield is seeking to begin the process with a blank page and is inviting residents to fill it in - to tell them what, if any, problems they have with traffic in their areas and to suggest ways of resolving them.
No preconceived ideas
David Cowan, the council officer heading up work on Quieter Neighbourhoods (there will be 34 in all across the Borough), has said that the Council will be "taking a back seat" and has no preconceived ideas. 20mph zones, speed cushions, closing off ends of roads, Sustrans-type "DIY Streets" are all possible approaches, but only if that is what residents want. Different parts of a zone could be handled in completely different ways - there is no one size fits all. If it turns out that residents are happy with things as they are, then nothing will be done. It may even be possible to trial particular measures at very short notice and, if necessary, terminate the trials equally quickly.
Mr Cowan's team will be organising a series of meetings to work up ideas, using an iterative approach. The participants will be selected from volunteers in such a way as to create a balance in terms of geography (street), types of person, known preferences etc.
Timetable
There is no deadline for submitting questionnaire responses - even after later phases of the project are under way, people's views about problems and solutions will still be of value.
Mr Cowan hopes to run the consultation workshops during January and February and to have a scheme to issue for full consultation in March.
The timetable for implementing the schemes will largely depend on the scale of the changes decided on.
Useful links
- Connaught Gardens Quieter Neighbourhood
- Consultation home page
- Official map
- Explanatory leaflet
- Online Survey (preferably one per household member, including children aged 5 and above)
- Fox Lane Quieter Neighbourhood
- Wolves Lane Quieter Neighbourhood
- Traffic Choices BS1 - this website is intended for residents of Bristol, but the information it contains is valid for most UK localities. It allows residents to assess various methods of solving problems (eg speeding, rat-running), showing the pros and cons of each method, as well the likely cost. Enfield Council will eventually be creating a similar website.
