Quieter Neighbourhoods

A quiet lane, with wandering pedestrians, dogs, cyclists, children on scooters, and the occasional bus and delivery van. This is Fox Lane. It is a dreamlike contrast with what used to be a thundering main road, with several thousand polluting and speeding vehicles every day. We are liberated. Instead of cowering in our separate, dangerous rat-run streets, we are now a 'neighbourhood'. A daily nature walk, a history walk or jog of discovery is a revelation, as you pass kids and mums and dads scooting, walking or cycling from school...

For transport to become environmentally sustainable we need to shift a significant proportion of journeys to non-polluting modes - walking, cycling or public transport. But doing so can also improve our environment in other ways, making it safer, cleaner, quieter, more sociable. A short film, partly filmed in Palmers Green, gives a glimpse of how we can have better streets.

An update on the Let's Talk Enfield website has information about extension of trial operation of the low-traffic neighbourhood (LTN) scheme in the Fox Lane Quieter Neighbourhood and announces a new focus on gathering information about the impact of the scheme on people with disabilities and their carers.

Formal consultation for phase 1 of the Connaught Gardens quieter neighbourhood is now under way. This relates to a small one-way system and 20mph zone in the north-western corner of the area designated as a quieter neighbourhood.

Ahead of the start of consultation on a new Walking and Cycling Action Plan, due to be considered by its Cabinet this week, Haringey Council has published a map of 25 low-traffic neighbourhood areas covering the vast majority of streets in the borough. Simultaneously, Haringey has launched the initial engagement phase for the three low-traffic neighbourhoods for which it has been allocated funding by Transport for London, including an LTN in Bounds Green which is adjacent to Enfield Council's Bowes quieter neighbourhood.