Smoothing the path to school

A group comprising parents of children at Hazelwood School and nearby residents are asking the public to sign a petition to Enfield Council in support of the Hazelwood Lane Project, which was launched this week to coincide with Walk to School Week.It proposes major improvements to pavements, road crossings and public spaces between Green Lanes and Hazelwood School, all of which are currently in a very poor state. The objective is to encourage sustainable and active travel, reduce the number of car drop-offs outside the school and make it easier for children to travel to school independently.

Currently Hazelwood Lane presents multiple obstacles to children walking and scooting, parents pushing buggies and people using mobility aids. There are numerous trip hazards, such as cracked paving slabs and protruding manhole covers; no dropped kerbs where people need to cross the road; inconsistencies in pavement levels, slopes, widths and surfaces at the many points where resident driveways cross pavements; and nothing to encourage drivers to follow the highway code and give way to pedestrians when turning.

Among suggestions made by the campaigners is the replacement of the current chaotic mix of different paving types by resin-bonded gravel or tarmac surfacing, with the kerb line dropped consistently along both sides of the road to create a smooth and consistent pavement while allowing residents to access their front garden parking. They want to see "Copenhagen crossings" to provide seamless walking and scooting across side roads and to calm traffic. And they have imaginative proposals for street art and more "greening", all designed to make the street a more pleasurable pedestrian experience and a "destination", so that for pupils the walk to school becomes exciting and attractive, offering projects that they can get involved in themselves.

A thousand signatures

The small team of parents and local residents behind the Hazelwood Lane Project have published their initial proposals on social media and launched an online petition. They'd like to amass a thousand digital signatures so that when they talk to the council and potential funders they can point to strong public support.

The project has the support of Hazelwood School's new head teacher, who has endorsed it in the most recent school newsletter.

What next?

With strong evidence of community support, the next steps for the project team would be to investigate the feasibility of their ideas, to engage with Enfield Council, with parents and neighbours and to look for sources of funding.

The state of the Hazelwood Lane pavements