Forum topic: Fox Lane quieter neighbourhood scheme to go ahead

Have to say that I don't think there are any winners with schemes like this as reducing traffic flows in one part of the area simply moves the traffic to another part instead of being evenly distributed and it is very unlikely that the overall level of traffic in the area will reduce at all unless you go for the drastic solution that happened in Walthamstow where all side roads are basically for entry and exit only and the only through routes are the main roads on the boundary of the area. The same thing as Fox Lane QN will probably happen to the Fernleigh Road QN and everyone will be complaining that they didn't expect it. I think they should have put platforms on all the road entrances and left the rest as is.

Hi Richard

Can you let me know where you issued a call for comment? I’m not sure where to look.

Also what address should we use to copy you in on responses? I am aware of a good number of people with concerns that. Grovelands and Lakeside are being left out, so before FLDRA respond to the council, how should these people be in touch with you?

Many thanks

Responding to Neil Littman’s posting regarding a net nil outcome, to the contrary there is a well-established phenomenon called traffic evaporation which seems to result in a broadly 15% average reduction in traffic after certain traffic management schemes are installed. Why? Varies, but covers such things as people discovering they have legs, that there is public transport, that they didn’t need to make a particular journey in the first place, and more. Let’s now see what happens with the Fox Lane QN for after all the consultation and analysis over many years that seems to be an entirely reasonable next step. its long past the time something needs to be off the drawing board and tested "live".

I've just read the Council's current proposals for the Fox Lane Quieter Neighbourhood - and learned a key lesson: it's just as important to respond when you like/support proposed changes as when you object. Why? Because otherwise the Council could get the impression that the scheme is unpopular and vote-threatening when it's not, and therefore become more cautious about implementing a scheme as first envisaged.

I shall mend my ways.

Going back even further to the time when the Council made its bid for cash to build cycle lanes on through roads, and to improve residential areas for residents and cycling, I remember reading the document describing comparable schemes already existing in Germany. In a sense we've done something on similar lines, but the Germans made much more of using their equivalent of QNs to foster cycling, especially among the young not yet cycling because they need to learn and practice. You need speed limits well below 20mph for that, and frankly I am charmed by the German picture which is similar to the scene in which I grew up; my friends and I played all sorts of games on our bikes, it was wonderful training for a life of cycling.

I know that most readers will think/say that it's too late now, and ask how the Germans managed it; is it and illusion? Possibly, but we've reached a maximum in car ownership, air quality is a key issue and vehicle tyres are a significant contributor to that (beyond battery powered cars). Further health and fitness is a big worry, and lack of it is a very big worry for the NHS.

Often I ask myself if personal car ownership is necessary in a big city. I'm not suggesting that we go that far, but surely we don't have to quibble about speeds of 20mph or lower in a purely residential area.

I understand there has been a drafting error on the maps (now being corrected and reissued asap) and that there will be planters at the Fox lane junctions of Grovelends and Lakeside Roads. At the Aldermans Hill end the continuous footway is expected to slow traffic but if monitoring shows that more planters are needed then there seems a view that they can be considered for addition.

so as i said earlier in a posting, a good time to get it "live" and see what emerges.

Agree wholeheartedly