New signage has been installed at camera-enforced filters in the Fox Lane LTN
As of last week, new exemptions have been in force to make it easier for disabled people and their carers to drive into and out of the Fox Lane Quieter Neighbourhood (QN).
A new traffic order relating to the QN was issued by Enfield Council on 14th December and took effect the following day. It amends an existing traffic order in order to allow two new categories of vehicle to drive past camera-enforced No Motor Vehicle traffic filters that are used to create the low-traffic neighbourhood (LTN) scheme.
The categories are Dial-a-Ride vehicles and vehicles with 'FOX' permits.
The council will issue 'FOX' permits on application to people living within the 'FOX' permit zone (see the map) who are Blue Badge holders.
Dial-a-Ride buses and vehicles with FOX permits are now able to drive past three existing camera-enforced traffic filters in the Fox Lane QN. Three more filters are due to be converted to camera enforcement, but bollards will stay in place at four other locations.
Eligibility criteria are set out in the following paragraph from the Statement of Reasons issued along with the traffic order:
"Blue Badge Holders residing within the 'FOX Permit Zone' will be eligible to apply to the Council for a permit under a category of the 'FOX' permit. This permit could either apply to their own vehicle or they could nominate someone else's vehicle where a user of that vehicle has a role in the care of a Blue Badge Holder within the Quieter Neighbourhood area. This caring role could include transportation of the Blue Badge Holder and/or regular visits to the Blue Badge Holder's home address."
New signs have been placed at the three camera-enforced traffic filters that exempt vehicles are allowed to drive past: at the Fox Lane railway bridge, the Fox Lane end of Conway Road, and in Meadway, just to the west of the junction with Bourne Avenue.
The exemptions will also apply to three further filters when they are converted from physical barriers (bollards) to camera enforcement: Oakfield Road at its junction with the Mall, the Mall at its junction with Fox Lane, and Selborne Road at its junction with Fox Lane. The date when these filters will be converted has not yet been announced.
With around 200 Blue Badge holders residing within it, the council expects only a small increase in motor vehicle movements within the QN, which they consider "a reasonable reponse to the the issues identified in the Equality Impact Assessment".