Forum topic: Revised A105 cycle lane proposals to go to Cabinet next month

Following last week's meeting of the Enfield West Partnership Board, the revised proposals for cycle lanes along the A105 will be considered by Enfield Council's Cabinet on 10th February.  If, as seems likely, the proposals are approved, they will then be sent to Transport for London (TfL) for its approval.  If given the green light by TfL, the proposals will then be subject to a period of statutory public consultation.

Following the consultation, the engineers would move on to detailed design work, including co-design workshops involving the community. Implementation would be expected during 2016

"Significant revisions"

In response to comments received during last year's consultation, some "significant" revisions have been made to the proposals.  Though the detailed drawings have not yet been published, they are known to include the following:

• keeping Vicars Moor Lane and Hazelwood Lane two-way at their junctions with Green Lanes and retaining the left turn from Green Lanes into Station Road;
• improving parking provision for shoppers in Winchmore Hill and Palmers Green - to include 30 minutes free parking in some locations;
• adding a raised pavement to nearly all of the proposed bus boarders so passengers don’t step straight on to the cycle path when getting off the bus;
• allowing blue badge holders and dial-a-ride vehicles to set down and pick up passengers at any point along the route;
• moving parking bays to the outside of the cycle lanes to give extra protection to cyclists;
• introducing additional zebra crossing by Regency Court on Park Avenue and by St Monica’s Church; and
• adjusting some bus stop proposals in response to views from the community - for instance, the northbound Lodge Drive bus stop would be moved further north and merged with the Fox Lane stop.

Economic and other assessments

Last week's Enfield West Partnership Board was presented with the results of various assessments of the potential impact of the A105 cycle lane, carried out by independent consultants following rigorous guidelines.  We expect these to be published ahead of the Cabinet meeting in the normal way, but in the meantime feedback from participants in the meeting includes the following summarised information:

• Air pollution: : much of Enfield is currently well over legal limits, particularly around main roads. Depending on the reduction in car journeys, there should be a slight reduction in the level of particulates and poisonous emissions.
• Traffic flow: There will be a very slight increase in journey times from Palmers Green to Enfield Town.  The worst case scenario at some peak times might add close to two minutes over the whole route.
• Local economy: The expectation is for a neutral impact to annual turnover in A105 town centres, but a possible outcome if planned changes to the shopping areas prove attractive to visitors is an increase in business - up as much as 10-15 per cent – in line with experiences seen elsewhere.

Full Council and Cabinet meetings

The Cabinet will be discussing the A105 scheme at their meeting on 10th February (7pm at the Civic Centre in Silver Street, Enfield Town).  Before that the full Council will be debating a paper brought forward by the Conservative Group on 28th January (also 7pm at the Civic Centre).  Both meetings are open to the public, but seating is limited, so if you are planning to go it is recommended to arrive by 6.30pm.

Links

• Agenda pack for the full Council meeting (the Conservative paper starts on p.33)
• Enthusiastic public response to help adapt Cycle Enfield proposals - news item on Council website re the Enfield Town and Southbury Road consultations