Healthy Streets

Cycle Enfield - how the Triangle area might look

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cycle holland triangle visualisation smallOn the Cycle Enfield website the introductory page for the A105 consultation has been revised and now has a "visualisation" of how Palmers Green Triangle might look after implementation of the cycle lanes scheme.  The option that is illustrated is the one that retains the Triangle traffic island.

As the Council has emphasised from the outset, the proposals include improvements not just for cyclists, but also for other road users.  The Triangle proposals, for example, would provide safer and more convenient crossings for pedestrians.

cycle holland triangle visualisation

Key to artist's impression (source: cycleenfield.co.uk/have-your-say/a105-scheme-consultation)

  1. Palmers Green Triangle - a more people-friendly Triangle with less clutter. more greenery and easier access including a new crossing on Green Lanes
  2. If the scheme goes ahead. co-design workshops could be held for the community to influence the specific look and feel of be Triangle. including public art and interpretive signage celebrating the history of the Triangle
  3. Cycle lanes in both directions provide an attractive and safe environment
  4. Decluttered and reorganised pavements to improve the public realm
  5. New trees and greenery could be planted to improve the attractiveness of the Triangle area and create more of a 'place' function.
  6. Seating retained and enhanced in the Triangle.
  7. Advanced Stop Line (ASL) for cyclists at signalised junctions.
  8. Original features such as the old signpost retained in the new layout to celebrate the heritage of the Triangle
  9. New wide crossing provided across Green Lanes to enhance pedestrian movement in the area
  10. Raised table road treatment to visually highlight pedestrian priority in the area
  11. On-street parking incorporated along Green Lanes. Increased parking in a redesigned Lodge Drive car park.
  12. Right turn lane moved to south of the island to accommodate pedestrian crossing on Green Lanes

Further information about this option can be found on the same page in the "Improved Public Spaces" section:

The Palmers Green Triangle would be transformed into a more people-friendly space with wider pavements, better quality surface treatments, more seating and other public amenity. There would be more greenery included with new trees and flowerbeds. The space would be decluttered by removing guardrails and any redundant street furniture. All of these measures should result in the Triangle feeling more like an attractive ‘place’ rather than a busy junction. The old clock and signposts would be retained. Public art and interpretive signage would potentially be added to celebrate the history of the Triangle.

The "Dutch Roundabout" option

The same section also makes a brief reference to the second option for the Triangle:

An alternative layout has been proposed which would see the Triangle replaced with a roundabout type design. It would be a Dutch style ‘shared-space’ roundabout with priority crossings for pedestrians and cyclists acting in a similar way to Zebra crossings but without as many signs and road markings.

The lack of detail about the roundabout option suggests that it may no longer be a serious option.  It has been criticised not only by many people who regard the Triangle island as the sacrosanct heart of Palmers Green and by "Save Our Green Lanes" (who apparently wish to see no changes whatever to the A105), but also by some cycling campaigners, who say that the proposed design is not a true "Dutch roundabout" and would in fact be hazardous for cyclists.

Response to various criticisms of the proposals

The revised introductory page also has sections responding to some of the concerns that have been raised about the scheme, eg the effects on parking, pedestrians, bus passengers.  We will look at these in a separate article.

The consultation

Residents have until 9th October to respond to the consultation.  The online questionnaire includes detailed drawings for each section of the route.  Responding in detail could take some time, but it is possible to interrupt the form-filling and save your comments up to that point.  It is also possible to download a large PDF file containing all the drawings.

Large-scale paper versions of the drawings are on permanent display at the Civic Centre and can be viewed from 9am to 5pm each day. Cycle Enfield will be at the Enfield Town Show this weekend - Saturday 12th September and Sunday 13th September from 11am to 6pm.

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Posts in discussion: Cycle Enfield - how the Triangle area might look
Maggie Westhead posted a reply
#1562
10 Sep 2015 19:49
Looks fantastic. What an amazing opportunity for Palmers Green and Enfield as a whole to improve the environment and safety for all road users. Can't wait.
Garry Humphreys posted a reply
#1565
11 Sep 2015 23:08
I love the reference to 'the old clock' in the quotation from the Cycle Enfield website section for The Triangle. This can only mean the Costas Georgiou Memorial Clock which has of course been there for only a very short time, but perhaps is seen as 'old' as a result of its central role in uglifying The Triangle as it is at present.

On a general note, I'm all for encouraging cycling, but not at the expense of other members of the public, particularly shoppers who will be seriously inconvenienced by the removal of the Fox Lane bus stops, and have to plod up to Bourne Hill or down to Lodge Drive every time, perhaps with bags of shopping. (Strange, actually, that the road is significantly wider at this point than elsewhere, and ought perhaps more conveniently be able to accommodate both bus stop and cycle lane than the retained stops either side!)
Tom Mellor posted a reply
#1569
12 Sep 2015 08:05
Gary, if you look at the plans it's actually car parking that is the culprit in the removal of the bus stop. As you say, there is enough space to retain it. Fortunately, Enfield Council have admitted they were wrong in its removal so we should see it be re added in the plans.
Sue Younger posted a reply
#1574
14 Sep 2015 00:23
I welcome the tree and flowerbeds on the Triangle but I don't think that sitting on a flowerbed wall counts as satisfactory seating. We need benches with backs for comfortable seating and bins nearby otherwise the flowerbed will end up full of litter.
Further consultation with the local community over a new Triangle design is very important.

The main crossing from the Triangle to Green Lanes doesn't seem to be very pedestrian friendly as the cycle lanes have to be negotiated at the start and before the end of the crossing. Even if there is a raised area prior to the crossing cyclists may assume that they can keep riding and weave between the pedestrians? Without a refuge in the centre of the road it'll be difficult for the elderly, disabled and those with buggies or heavy shopping bags/trolleys to get across in time.

As regards the Fox Lane bus stop it is one of the busiest stops on Green Lanes and its removal will not only create a longer walk for bus users but also probems of overcrowding at the earlier and later stops. Heavily used bus stops next to shopping parades should not be removed.
The bus stop 'boarder' is still a safety hazard as bus users have to queue across the cycle lane when boarding or alighting from the bus.
As with other proposals the bus passengers are being disadvantaged to allow for continuous cycle lanes.

Sue Younger
Karl Brown posted a reply
#1579
15 Sep 2015 08:51
I guess it is the case that other modes, although not necessarily groups of individuals since many use many modes in their travelling mix, are being disadvantaged viz a viz cyclists. That will be a consequence of seeking to turbo charge cycling as a means of travel.


I wouldn’t want to see adverse impact to bus travel which is so important although in my experience any delay to bus times has inevitably been caused by congestion due to too much traffic. There is an underlying view in much of society that cars are simply with us, like rain clouds or sunshine, and so must be endured or enjoyed as the case may be. It’s not so, useful as they are.


But we are not alone in this small part of the world with our challenges. Last week’s Economist printed two articles highlighting many of the cycle-centric issues bouncing around worldwide, the trends and not least the, “females don’t (currently) cycle” issue often raised. “As rich cities are, at last, undoing their past planning mistakes” being unusually strong for this newspaper.


As I’ve said in several channels, the trends and benefits are clear; the challenge is to work with them, not attempting that old stopping-the-tide trick.


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