Forum topic: Fox Lane low-traffic neighbourhood

A truly unbelievablely bad concept
On a very basic level, closing these streets means a huge increase in traffic to the remaining routes, increased danger to those people living in the remaining routes.
An increase in emissions as traffic will increase and bottlenecks develop, a greater use of fuel for everyone as they wait in traffic, something that we are trying to avoid now and for the future.
There are already fall outs from these closures with residents of the closed roads now parking on Fox Lane leaving residents of Fox Lane with nowhere to park.
I hope that in six months after this experiment has finished the council will see the real problems this action has caused and which out weigh the benefits the few

The "other similar area that has been completed in the project", otherwise known as Bowes LTN is having as many problems and issues as Foxe Lane LTN, in case you are not aware. Huge numbers of residents have been fenced in with the only access to and from their homes via the very busy and dangerous North Circular Road which is just not acceptable from a health and safety aspect. Bowes school which sits on the A406 and already suffering from high levels of pollution is now much worse off. The displaced traffic forced on to this very busy stretch of the NCR is creating more pollution defeating the objective. Emergency vehicles are reversing down blocked roads in order to find their way to sick people increasing response times and putting lives at risk. The underpass planned for the A406 many years back and vetoed due to high costs should have gone ahead. These ill thought-out LTNs are a sticking plaster to a much wider problem and will come to fail. All under the guise of Covid 19 they are being rushed through. This is an ideology that will have casualties, it's just a matter of time, unfortunately.

I don't have a clear view of the issues in this thread because I don't know the territory well enough to make a really firm view, so tonight I'd like to ask for some clarification about a couple of points:

• one or two contributors apart most are a thinking about the issue purely from the view behind their steering wheel. Have they thought about the issues in terms of the needs of cyclists, pedestrians and children?
• the proposals for change by the Council will have been vetted or designed by staff trained to assess whether the feasibility of the proposals could work, and presumably the answer was 'Yes.'

As things stand the Council has my support. Our preoccupation with the needs of cars has gone too far, and children have lost too many of the freedoms I enjoyed in the mid 1950's.

Another aspect which hardly anyone has touched on is the effect of the QN scheme on emergency services and bin collections. I have seen footage of bin lorries reversing in the Lakes Area since last week. Legally they are only supposed to do this for a distance of 12 metres for obvious safety reasons. Now that is impossible. Sooner or later an accident will happen. Also in Bowes Park area ambulances also have to reverse adding time to their journeys. Nobody wants that to happen in an emergency. Also have seen footage on video of that. Is that a price worth paying?

My elderly parents have now lost their independence due to these projects that have been implemented and are no longer able to drive to their doctors or anywhere else. They have been forced on to the busy North Circular Road, where they fear for their lives, so now they are housebound. No, they cannot cycle; before I too get a smart reply from someone here. Some elderly folks have health issues and are vulnerable therefore cannot access the streets on foot or bikes to get to their destination and I think the lack of consultation has missed all this out. We can all want our streets to be closed off to traffic, to want a peaceful quiet life, but you have to think of others less able or fortunate within our community. I have a young mother on my street with two Autistic children and their car is their lifeline, she cannot take them on bikes to places or by walking as their medical condition does not warrant for this. These kids have severe/complex needs and it is imperative that their mother can drive them to their doctors/hospital/community Centre without being stuck in traffic for long periods of time.
A lot of traffic has been forced on to the main roads and half of our community have not yet returned back to work due to Covid. If the Council and LTN, wish to make changes than please look at other ways on improving quality of life, but include everyone!! Journeys have now tripled in time, and vulnerable and less able members of our community are having to miss out on the extra help/time they need, as care givers/relatives are finding it increasingly difficult to get to them due to road blocks and built up traffic.
A healthy community needs to be a fair community where everyone's needs are taken into consideration and from what has become apparent is that there is a conflict amongst our community members which will create long term issues if not resolved amicably and fairly. People are already down as we are living in unprecedented times, with job loses, losing our loved ones, not being able to mix or see our loved ones etc so we all need to work together to find a middle ground that will benefit us all and caging people into their streets does not seem to be the answer.

* Since 2008, rat-running has DOUBLED on London's residential roads (and vehicles numbers on A roads has fallen slightly).
* In 2007, there were 27m registered motor vehicles in the UK. There are now 38.3m.
Something has to be done to encourage the high percentage of people who drive short distances in London when they could walk or cycle. Of course not everyone can do this so every home in an LTN is accessible by car, and if those who can walk/cycle do so the road will be clearer for those who can't. If you feel there should be design changes then suggest you complete the Council consultation. Plenty of people have objections to LTNs and similar changes - but not many have solutions.

Plenty of room at the end of my road for bin lorries to do a 3 point turn (as they do every day in hundreds of streets in Enfield - for example for 15 years plus in Broomfield Avenue). And it's much safer for the operatives now they don't have rat runners trying to squeeze by. Emergency services have been consulted on - and have approved - the design of the LTNs. Interestingly fire service response times have improved since 2005 in Walthamstow - home of of large LTN.

The LTN looks beyond car drivers and considers the health and well being of all residents. The rate traffic everyhwere is increasing is unsustainable and it is time to reimagine our communities, our streets are not just strips of tarmac for cars. The LTN may mean that some journeys are slightly longer but it also means that many journeys are safer, such as those who finally feel confident to cycle and scoot, and pleasant enough to walk through and speak to neighbours. Crossing Fox Lane is far less hazardous to cross for the less nimble. There is much evidence to show that once LTNs bed in, traffic in the surrounding area dips, and local communities thrive. It is well worth giving the LTNs a chance then to feedback constructively.