Enfield Council's Journeys & Places team have launched the initial engagement phase for a proposed "Bowes East" Quieter Neighbourhood in the southern part of Palmers Green, south of the A406 and east of Green Lanes. A second, much larger, quieter neighbourhood is proposed for Edmonton.
Map of the projected Bowes East Quieter Neighbourhood. The proposed QN covers all streets in the borough between Melville Gardens/Wolves Lane and Green Lanes. The map does not show any interventions that the council may have in mind
The area that the council is referrinng to as "Bowes East" includes all streets in the borough that are south of the North Circular Road and between Green Lanes and Melville Gardens or Wolves Lane.
The project page for the Bowes East scheme explains that quieter neighbourhoods form part of a comprehensive approach to reducing the speed and volume of motor vehicles in the designated areas and creating attractive and safe environment for people to travel by active and sustainable modes, such as walking and cycling. The long-term benefits the council hopes to see include improvements in people’s health, less congestion and safer roads, and improved air quality.
The council say that
The Quieter Neighbourhood initiative considers the introduction of features such as:
- Modal filters that allow people walking and cycling through, as well as emergency services. All streets are accessible by car but some routes may be subject to change;
- one-way streets;
- School Streets and;
- cycle parking.
This suggests that the solution chosen for the two proposed schemes will not necessarily be a "low-traffic neighbourhood" (LTN), which completely prevents drivers from cutting through an area (while allowing them access to all addresses in the area). While the Fox Lane and Bowes Primary QNs both use LTN principles, that was not the case for the Fernleigh Road QN. At this stage the council's map shows no proposed interventions - they are looking to the public to highlight current problems and suggest solutions.
The council say Bowes East has been chosen as one of the next QN areas "because the area has poor air quality compared with other areas in Enfield, poor health and deprivation indicators that could be improved with active travel, two schools within the area and limited areas of open space".
During the initial engagement phase, which runs until 8th October, residents are invited to comment and make suggestions using an interactive online map. Additionally, there will be two in-person drop-in events at Trinity-at-Bowes community centre in Palmerston Road (20th and 30th September) and an online engagement event ("webinar") on 2nd October. It will also be possible to comment by email () or by letter to ATTN Journeys and Places, Enfield Council, Civic Centre, Silver St, London EN1 3XA.
A larger scheme in Edmonton
The projected Edmonton Green Quieter Neighbourhood takes in more than 50 streets to the east of Fore Street/Hertford Road
Concurrently, the council has launched the initial engagement phase for a much larger quieter neighbourhood scheme in Edmonton. The proposed Edmonton Green Quieter Neighbourhood includes more than 50 residential streets, bounded by Bounces Road, the A1010 (Fore Street/Hertford Road), the A406 and Montagu Road. For more information, see the project page on the Let's Talk Enfield website.
Bowes East quieter neighbourhood: community engagement
1 September 2023
Start of engagement with the community
This phase of community engagement invites residents, businesses and other stakeholders to share their ideas for and any current issues faced in the Bowes East area with us to inform future plans for the proposed Quieter Neighbourhood.
Share your ideas and current issues on the map here.
20 September 2023
Drop-in session 4.30-6.30pm at TaB Community Centre
Drop-in anytime between 4.30pm and 6.30pm at TaB Community Centre, N22 8RA, to speak with the team about the project, and share your experiences and ideas for the local area.
30 September 2023
Drop-in session 10am-12pm at TaB Community Centre
Drop-in anytime between 10am and 12pm at TaB Community Centre, N22 8RA, to speak with the team about the project, and share your experiences and ideas for the local area.
02 October 2023
Webinar 6pm
A webinar will be held on Microsoft Teams at 6pm on Monday 2 October 2023. The webinar can be accessed at http://tinyurl.com/BEQN-webinar(External link)
08 October 2023
End of engagement period
Following the engagement period a summary report will be produced to capture all ideas and issues raised for the Bowes East Quieter Neighbourhood. Updates will be posted under the 'Project updates' tab on this project page.
Bowes East Quieter Neighbourhood project page on the Lets Talk Enfield website
Previous attempts to solve the problems in "Bowes East"
One of several attempts to solve traffic problems in "Bowes East" was the 2016 proposal for a "Wolves Lane Quieter Neighbourhood"
This is not the first time that the council has looked at ways of solving traffic problems in the area, in particular caused by drivers using local streets as an alternative to the westbound North Circular Road.
In 2011, following a consultation held in 2009, all the streets running between Green Lanes and Wolves Lane became one-way (mostly alternating west-east and east-west). However, there were knock-on effects that affected in particular two west-east running streets, Grenoble Gardens and Berkshire Gardens, which more drivers began to use to access Green Lanes. At busy times queues build up as drivers wait for an opportunity to turn right into Green Lanes (this problem persists until today).
In late 2013 the council consulted residents about options to mitigate the problems in these two streets. The proposals consulted on were:
- Option 1 – Closure of Chequers Way;
- Option 2 – Closure of Chequers Way and Pasteur Gardens;
- Option 3 – Banned left turn from Princes Avenue and Tottenhall Road into Wolves Lane/Melville Gardens;
- Option 4 – Widening of Grenoble Gardens at junction with Green Lanes;
- Option 5 – An environmental improvement scheme.
In February 2014 council officers provided councillors in Bowes ward with a briefing note analysing responses to the consultation. The responses showed a lack of support for any of the options that were suggested.
Subsequently, in early 2016, the council ran design workshops with local residents for an alternative scheme ("Wolves Lane Quieter Neighbourhood") which would both help Grenoble Gardens and Berkshire Gardens and also improve safety for children and parents travelling to or from Oakthorpe School in Tile Kiln Lane. Three different options were briefly trialled for Berkshire Gardens and Grenoble Gardens (one week's trial for each option), but they all proved ineffective (for instance, drivers simply ignored No Motor Traffic signs and drove down Grenoble Gardens anyway). The results were reported in a briefing note prepared for Cllr Daniel Anderson, at the time the Cabinet Member for the Environment, and in a leaflet sent to residents in the neighbourhood.
In the end, the only elements of the Wolves Lane Quieter Neighbourhood to be implemented were the pedestrian safety improvements and a school street near Oakthorpe School. Wolves Lane, Pasteur Gardens and Tottenhall Road are still busy rat-runs used by drivers bypassing main roads (the A406 and Green Lanes), while there is still too much traffic using streets linking Wolves Lane and Green Lanes. The newly proposed Bowes East Quieter Neighbourhood is meant to solve this last problem.
