Forum topic: Council consulting on new low-traffic neighbourhood proposals

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Leaflets have been dropping through letterboxes on streets in Palmers Green to the east of Green Lanes, as Enfield Council launches a consultation on proposals for the Connaught Gardens Area quieter neighbourhood. As with the Fox Lane and Bowes quieter neighbourhoods, the design uses "low-traffic neighbourhood" principles to stop drivers using the area's residential streets as a cut-through between Green Lanes, the North Circular Road and Hedge Lane, while still allowing access to all addresses by car. However, initially only a small part of the scheme will be implemented; because of uncertainty about funding, largely due to the Covid emergency, the council is unable to make any forecast about when the main work will be done.

Dangerous rat-running

Over the last few years there has been growing impatience and frustration expressed at the Palmers Green ward forum about failure to tackle persistent and often dangerous rat-running, particularly along Connaught Gardens, at the eastern end of Hazelwood Lane and in Callard Avenue, Chimes Avenue and Arnold Gardens. Residents in these streets have had their parked cars damaged by drivers turning corners at high speed, sometimes mounting the pavement, and people living in the short and narrow Callard Avenue often find their street blocked by cars waiting for a chance to join the A406.

While the proposals would fix these problems, the residents' impatience will not have been solved, because there is no date for implementation, even a vague one.

In the leaflet the council acknowledge this frustration, but point to "challenges with regard to funding during the current environment". This refers to the fact that because of the pandemic Transport for London has lost most of its income from fares and had to drastically reduce the amount it gives boroughs for Healthy Streets schemes. Currently it is only funding schemes that are linked to the Covid Streetspace programme, and even that depends on emergency money and approval from the Department for Transport.

According to analysis by Green assembly member Caroline Russell, Enfield was due to receive £11,609,429 of funding for Healthy Streets programmes in 2019/20. As a result of the pandemic, this was cancelled and replaced by Covid Streetspace funding (spent mainly on school streets and the Bowes LTN) amounting to £2,250,430 - a shortfall of more than £9 million.

Modal filters and point closures

Like the Fox Lane and Bowes schemes the Connaught Garden low-traffic neighbourhood is created using "modal filters" to block off one end of a road to cars, but not to pedestrians and bikes, in some cases using bollards, in others using cameras. Additionally, the scheme employs"point closures".

A point closure (sometimes also called "point no entry") is a restriction for motor traffic travelling in one direction at a specific point along a road. It still allows traffic to proceed in the opposite direction. With a point closure, two-way traffic remains on the sections of road either side of it. Unlike a more traditional one-way street, the point closure only restricts motor traffic travelling in one direction, and therefore crossing the point closure, at that precise location.

The benefit of a point closure is that it reduces through traffic while maintaining two-way traffic on both sides of the closure.

The proposed point closures will be marked with ‘No motor vehicle’ signs prohibiting motor traffic, except cycles and emergency services, from crossing them.

Find out more and comment on the proposals

Details of the scheme and an online form for submitting comments during this informal engagement period are on the Let's Talk Enfield website. Comments can also be sent by post. The deadline is 15 December. Formal statutory consultation will occur during the trial phase, after the infrastructure has been installed. If during the trial changes are made to the design, the trial period will be extended - the maximum allowed is 18 months. When the trial period has finished the council will decide whether to make the scheme permanent or to remove it.