Low traffic plans for Fox Lane area to be unveiled on 12th November

Enfield Council will be unveiling its new plans for the Fox Lane Low Traffic Neighbourhood on 12th November, at a public exhibition in the former Starbucks building at Palmers Green Triangle. Visitors will be able to view the plans, question the design team and give feedback. The plans will also be available online, along with an online feedback facility.

Households in the area (see the map) will this week be receiving copies of an information leaflet, but the exhibition will be open to people more widely. In the leaflet, deputy council leader Ian Barnes explains that implementing low traffic neighbourhoods across the borough is one of the actions required after Enfield Council declared a climate emergency:

"We need to make changes to our streets to reduce pollution, combat rat-running and provide safer spaces for people of all ages. I want to encourage people out of their cars and enable more people to choose to walk, cycle or use public transport to enjoy our parks and high streets. Becoming more active will also help in our fight against obesity in Enfield and ensure our borough becomes healthier and happier.

"We must look to the future. We need to take action now to help continue to build strong and connected communities across Enfield. I believe this Fox Lane Low Traffic Neighbourhood proposal can help towards achieving this."

The council developed the new plans for the Fox Lane quieter neighbourhood after it became clear that the measures introduced earlier this year - consisting of planters partially blocking entrances to streets and a small number of speed humps - had proved ineffective and a more radical treatment was needed. The new measures will be introduced on a trial basis, as explained on the council website:

"At this stage, the intention is to implement the plan on an experimental basis. This means that once the measures are put in place, there will be at least a 6 month period where you can provide formal comments on the scheme. Once a minimum of 6 months has passed, we will then review these comments and formally respond to the issues raised in a report for the scheme. Based on this report, a further decision will then be taken on whether to implement the scheme as per the trial, to make some adjustments or to remove the scheme entirely."

The use of the phrase "low-traffic neighbourhood" in addition to the previously used term "quieter neighbourhood" suggests that the plans will take a more stringent line on excluding through traffic ("rat-runners") from these residential streets. Campaigners from Better Streets for Enfield are hopeful that they will fully conform to the design principles developed by the charity Living Streets.