Enfield Council have announced two proposed sites for their next Quieter Neighbourhood programme. These are still at a very early ‘engagement’ stage and it would be a great idea to give them some ideas and get involved.

Bowes East QN

Bowes East is the area between the North Circular Road, Green Lanes and Wolves Lane. This has traditionally been an area where there’s been lots of ‘rat-running’ between Green Lanes and Wolves Lane. Mostly northbound traffic would end up on Princes Avenue/Tottenhall Road and then join the North Circular via Green Lanes. An attempt to solve the Princes/Tottenhall problem was attempted in 2011 (see this report from the Palmers Green Community site) but it ended up pushing traffic further up Green Lanes to Grenoble Gardens. This is an example of why planners should take a ‘whole area approach’ to Quieter Neighbourhoods. Hopefully, Enfield will take this approach but it may need your engagement to help understand the local traffic.

Some of the interventions that are being considered are:

  • Modal filters that allow people walking and cycling through but not vehicles. It is likely that the council will go with ANPR camera controls for some filters to avoid any issues with the emergency services.
  • one-way streets
  • School Streets

If the council take the same approach as the first two Quieter Neighbourhoods then it is likely that there will be some modal filters. It is possible to do the same with a clever one-way system. This is a common approach in the Netherlands and some can be found in Waltham Forest too. The present system of one-ways hasn’t worked as it doesn’t prevent vehicles travelling from Wolves Lane to Green Lanes, whereas the problem could be solved if the vehicles on Wolves Lane entering the area ended back in Wolves Lane in a circular pattern. Of course, the vehicles on Green Lanes would have to do the same and end up back on Green Lanes.

School Streets

A school street bans the entry of vehicles during school drop-off and pick-up times. There are two schools within the proposed area – Tottenhall Infant School and St Michael at Bowes Church of England Junior School. Both are on Tottenhall Road but are on the corner of Fairbrook Road so there would have to be more than one banned entry point. Enfield’s latest approach is to use ANPR cameras to enforce the ban as it allows exemptions for local residents.

It should be added that looking at the map, it is difficult to see how traffic on Wolves Lane will be reduced. This is an issue as, while Green Lanes traffic has reduced, Wolves Lane traffic has increased since the lockdown. It seems likely that Sat Nav algorithms have re-routed traffic to this quieter route after Bowes QN was installed.

If you live in the area or know the area well please contribute to the proposal by having your say here. The closing date for this map is Sunday 8th October.

Edmonton Green QN

The second QN is Edmonton Green which is the area between the North Circular Road, Montague Road, Bounces Road and Fore Street. This is a large area compared to Bowes East and as big if not bigger than the Fox Lane QN. Again the council will take the same approach using modal filters, one-ways and school streets. This is an ideal area as it already has some high-quality cycle lanes on Fore Street. There’s another lovely bit of cycle network via Angel Walk too.

It is a shame that Bounces Road looks difficult to include as this was the scene of a horrible crash that killed the cyclist Anita Szucs.

There are two primary schools, Brettenham and Fleecefield Primary Schools in the area that should benefit from being on a school street. Of course, there will be a few traffic hotspots where drivers will want to avoid the main roads and cut through the QN. As with the Bowes East QN please mark up your suggestions to improve the area on the map here. The closing date for this map is Sunday 8th October.

Better Streets for Enfield October 2023