Healthy Streets

This is the reply which I got from Paul Rogers, the Programme Manager for Cycle Enfield to a question about the Fox Lane junction.

"The existing situation at the Fox Lane roundabout is the provision of refuge islands on all three arms of the junction, to allow pedestrians to cross informally. These take the form of islands in the centre of the road that protect pedestrians, so that they can cross in two movements, without having to cross the entire road in one go.

"The proposed junction that was consulted on provided signalised crossings on the southern arm of Green Lanes and Fox Lane. However, this resulted in queueing along the high street, which was raised as a concern as it would potentially detract from the public realm/pedestrian environment, which would have a negative impact on the high street.

"The proposed revised arrangement, which is a priority controlled T-junction retains a refuge island on the Fox Lane arm of the junction, as existing. On the southern arm, to mitigate the removal of the proposed signalised crossing in the design that was consulted, a further amendment has been made to the layout which relocates the existing signalised crossing, south of Devonshire Road to north of Hazelwood Lane, approximately 20m south of the Fox Lane junction.

"The changes to the proposed design are not to further improve cycle provision but to improve the public realm environment for pedestrians in the town centre, by reducing the queueing traffic on the high street. The mini-roundabout was indeed removed because it was felt that it could not safely provide for cyclists. Zebra crossings were considered, however, these would need to be offset a safe distance from the Fox Lane junction to provide sufficient sight lines to the crossing, for vehicles turning at the junction. It is felt that the relocation of the Devonshire Road signalised crossing, described above, provides a suitable provision, in close proximity to the Fox Lane junction."

This raises a number of questions, particularly about how the junction will work and the effect on pedestrians, I have therefore gone back to ask about them, but perhaps more will be explained as the consultation progresses

To apply to participate in the co-design workshops, first go to http://cycleenfield.co.uk/have-your-say/a105-scheme-consultation, then scroll down to "APPLY FOR CO-DESIGN WORKSHOPS", then click on the downward pointing arrow. An application form will then appear.

The workshops will be held at 7pm on 25th May.

The accompanying text reads as follows:

"This is an opportunity for a small group of local representatives to work with scheme designers, Council Officers and the organisation Living Streets, to help co-design the look and feel of some of the public spaces for this scheme. Two workshops will run concurrently to consider the 'Triangle' in Palmers Green and the new public spaces by Crompton Road in Winchmore Hill. If you would like to be considered as one of the workshop attendees, please fill out the form below.
Fill out our short form below to be considered...

As regards pedestrians coming from for example Park Avenue and heading for the western side of Green Lanes, this will be an improvement.

Currently, to access northbound buses or to walk to Palmers Green station we have to use the "courtesy crossing", which generally involves making an assessment of which drivers will slow down enough for us to cross. We will now be able to use a light-controlled crossing without first having to negotiate the hazardous crossing of Hazelwood Lane (which hopefully will be less hazardous anyway, though that's not really clear).

Crossing Green Lanes on the north arm of the Fox Lane junction or Park Avenue junction will become more difficult, but it's not really safe at the moment, so is better discouraged. But if I remember rightly the plan is to put a proper pedestrian crossing somewhere along the Fox Lane - Bourne Hill stretch of Green Lanes anyway - which will be a huge improvement on the current situation.

Don't you just love theses images produced that show no people , cars , buses , delivery vehicles .

Richard Eason, Cycle Enfield Consultation Manager, has let me know that the outcome of the co-design workshop for the Triangle has been delayed because of issues with the positioning of the CCTV to ensure proper coverage. He hopes that meetings to be held at the end of the month will resolve this and allow designs to be issued.

Colin Younger

It appears that it has been decided that the CCTV camera can be mounted on a building in the Triangle area, so easing a decision on the siting of the feature tree, which is still a key part of the design for the area. Hopefully, the final design for the Triangle at least will be issued within the next few weeks.