28 April 2020
'We don't want or need to go back to those fume-filled, congested and hostile roads of the past' - the message concluding a letter sent by campaigners to the leaders of Enfield Council concerned about what might happen once the coronavirus lockdown ends. They urge the leaders to to take steps to ensure that, as restrictions are gradually relaxed, high levels of car usage do not return, hindering social distancing and discouraging active travel modes - walking and cycling. Their suggestions include 'pop-up' cycle lanes along corridors for key workers, widening of pinchpoints that present hazards when walking or cycling, and re-allocation of road space at places where queues outside shops make it impossible for pedestrians to maintain safe distances.
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22 April 2020
'Social distancing' has drawn attention to how narrow many pavements are and what a small percentage of the space on our streets is devoted to walking - which is theoretically at the top of the transport mode hierarchy. London Living Streets has published an important discussion paper about how streets should be re-evaluated in the face of Covid. As the authors point out, the ideas reflected the situation in mid-April, and the situation will undoubtedly evolve. At national level Living Streets is suggesting that we contact councillors with suggestions for reallocating space for people on foot where social distancing is proving difficult.
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13 April 2020
Footage on Twitter of the police chasing a drug driver from near Ritz Parade, then along the A105 through Palmers Green and Winchmore Hill, eventually ending in the chased car crashing outside St Stephen's Bush Hill Park.
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13 April 2020
Hackney council is planning to implement measures to curb rat-running during the coronavirus lockdown, with the aim of protecting walkers and cyclists, allowing them more space to socially distance, and as a countermeasure to increased speeding by reckless drivers taking advantage of much lighter traffic levels. By doing so Hackney stands out from other UK local authorities, but cities in other countries all over the world have already done much more to reallocate road space away from cars.
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12 April 2020
Detective Superintendent Andy Cox from the Met's Roads and Transport Policing Command has recorded a YouTube video in which he talks about the incidence of extreme speeding during the coronavirus lockdown and police operations against all speeding in London. He urges all drivers not to speed and passengers to ask drivers to slow down - speeding should, he says, be as socially unacceptable as drink driving.
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30 March 2020
As UK doctors call for lower speed limits to reduce the pressure on health services, London's top traffic cop has gone online to plead for slower driving and to highlight examples of criminal behaviour by drivers taking advantage of clearer roads to flagrantly breach speed limits.
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01 March 2020
Enfield's first two School Streets went into operation on Monday 24th February. Photographs taken on that day in Tile Kiln Lane show pupils from Oakthorpe School strolling along in the middle of the road, free of the usual daily noise, noxious emissions and danger from cars.
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22 January 2020
Police are appealing for help in tracing a 4x4 involved in a hit and run that left a young girl with serious injuries. The collision occurred on the North Circular Road at the junction with Melville Gardens on 2nd December.
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08 January 2020
Detailed traffic speed and volume data collected during the 'planters trial' in the Fox Lane quieter neighbourhood area is now available via an online 'dashboard'. Over a one week period in March just under 260,000 vehicles passed the data collection points - 235825 cars, 18,594 lorries, 1682 bicycles and 351 cars pulling trailers. They included 25 vehicles doing more than 70mph, of which 14 were exceeding 80mph and two were recorded at speeds between 96 and 100mph.
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07 January 2020
Enfield's first 'school street' schemes - outside St Monica's primary school and Oakthorpe primary school - are likely to go live after the February half term. The council hopes to complete a further three schemes by this spring. The rate of implementation in the next financial year and thereafter will depend on availability of funding and the degree of interest and commitment shown by schools.
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11 December 2019
People living in Fox Lane and surrounding streets are welcoming Enfield Council's idea of closing roads to create low-traffic neighbourhood (LTN) throughout the area and are calling on other residents to voice their support.
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24 November 2019
Enfield Council has notified its intention to create 'school streets' for two primary schools - Oakthorpe in Palmers Green and St Monica's in Southgate.
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26 June 2019
Officers from Transport for London and Enfield Council joined local residents last Friday morning to see for themselves the challenges posed by the absence of proper pedestrian infrastructure at the junction of Aldermans Hill, Powys Lane, Cannon Hill and Forestdale.
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19 June 2019
It was standing room only at last week's open meeting of Fox Lane & District Resident's Association (FLDRA) as people from the Association's catchment area (and some from further afield) flocked in, hoping to discover what Enfield Council has in mind for the Fox Lane Quieter Neighbourhood scheme, now that the planters experiment has been officially declared a failure. Actually, we didn't learn much at all about what new traffic calming measures will be proposed, but it was nevertheless a very useful meeting because of what we, the Council and the FLDRA found out about residents' views on traffic volumes and speeds in the so far not very quiet 'quieter neighbourhood' area.
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04 June 2019
The most comprehensive study of bicycle and road safety to date finds that building safe facilities for cyclists is one of the biggest factors in road safety for everyone. Bicycling infrastructure -- specifically, separated and protected bike lanes -- leads to fewer fatalities and better road-safety outcomes for all road users.
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25 April 2019
An open letter to the Metropolitan Police and to Transport for London from Better Streets for London, pointing out that people living within hearing distance of the A10 have completely lost patience with both bodies because of their failure to take effective measures against 'boy racers' who are making their weekends stressful and endangering innocent road users.
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04 April 2019
RoadPeace, the national charity for road crash victims, has today published a review looking at traffic law enforcement across London. Based on the latest statistics from 2017, the findings have led the charity to call for improved transparency and accountability of the Metropolitan Police, to understand the strategy it is deploying to tackle road danger. London should be leading the way when it comes to traffic law enforcement, and RoadPeace’s review indicates that enforcement is not only inconsistent and infrequent across the capital, but doesn’t compare well nationally either.
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20 March 2019
The London Living Streets group has been working with Transport for London to introduce a programme of crossing retimings that will make it easier and safer to cross the street - one crossing on the priority list is in Palmers Green. A new Living Streets group launches in Wood Green on 24th March.
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19 March 2019
Newly published traffic count data for a second residential street in the Fox Lane neighbourhood confirms what its residents know only too well - that up to 400 vehicles an hour are using it as a cut-through and that, even though the street is short and has a sharp bend, there is widespread disregard for the speed limit.
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