FLDRA AGM to be asked to adopt position on Fox Lane low-traffic neighbourhood proposals

While Enfield Council continues to analyse more than 700 consultation responses and work on developing a revised scheme, the plans for a low-traffic neighbourhood (LTN) in the Fox Lane area are likely to be the dominant topic of discussion at next week's Annual General Meeting of the Fox Lane and District Residents' Association (FLDRA). At the meeting, on Thursday 20th February, the FLDRA Committee will be proposing that the Association adopt a formal position calling for a revised plan which, while incorporating traffic calming, would keep as many roads "open" as possible.

Until now, the FLDRA has avoided adopting an agreed position on the LTN proposals, which reflects the absence of consensus not only within the wider membership, but also between members of the FLDRA committee, some of whom support the idea of excluding through traffic, while others are opposed.

The text of the proposed FLDRA position on the LTN was published in a newsletter distributed to members this week (see below). The newsletter also includes a brief report on a meeting with deputy council leader Ian Barnes and Richard Eason, the council officer who heads up work on quieter neighbourhood schemes. As well as a representative from FLDRA, the meeting was attended by Paul Mandel, who, following the meeting he arranged in January, has set up a "Fox Lane Area Traffic Working Group", and David Bird, the traffic engineer who gave a presentation at the January meeting outlining possible alternative options.

One of the options suggested by David Bird and reportedly regarded as a possible solution by Paul Mandel's Traffic Working Group involves using automatic numberplate recognition (ANPR), with cameras placed at strategic points mid-way along streets in the area. Only cars registered as belonging to the scheme would be able to drive the full length of the street without incurring a fine. Residents would thus be able to drive freely throughout the area, as now, whereas visitors would be able to access all addresses but would would be constrained in their arrival and departure routes. This solution would prevent outsiders cutting through the area without lengthening driving routes in and out of the area for residents. However, it would not reduce overall traffic in the area to the same degree as using physical barriers - one of the objectives of LTNs is to make it slightly less convenient to drive and thus encourage residents to switch to walking for shorter journeys.

The FLDRA newsletter confirms that the council have definitively abandoned their original "Starbucks" plan for the LTN, which would have allowed vehicles to enter and leave the area via Fox Lane only - which end of Fox Lane depending on where in the area they were driving to or from. But the council are playing their cards very close to their chests and not giving away clues about what alternatives they are working on.

Fox Lane LTN Group's "Green Flyer" proposes many more entry points than the original "Starbucks" plan proposed by the council. Opponents of the LTN circulated a "Red Flyer"

The "Green Flyer" alternative being promoted by the Fox Lane LTN Group  (not to be confused with the Fox Lane Area Traffic Working Group, which evolved from the earlier "Red Flyer" group!) would provide many more entry and exit points than the "Starbucks" plan. Might the council be considering this option or something similar? Hopefully, we won't have to wait too much longer to find out. Residents of other areas plagued by through traffic are growing impatient for a solution for their streets.