Green Lanes & Fore Street Bus Priority Scheme

Enfield Council continues to undertake a range of project work to promote sustainable travel and healthier streets, which aligns with its own strategies and is underlined by the Council being one of many authorities to have declared, in 2019, a climate emergency. Much of this work is made possible via central funding, notably from TfL.

From observations from the streets and from analysis of bus journey data it is clear that significant improvements in bus journey times can be gained by extending the bus lane hours in these streets.

Why is this needed?

Buses in Enfield are generally reliable, with latest TfL figures for the April-to-June ’21 quarter showing that there was on average an 83.4% chance of waiting fewer than ten minutes for a bus across all routes. However, recent studies for the Green Lanes and Fore Street bus routes have indicated that there are significant delays to bus times on these corridors.

Enfield Council has analysed bus journey times using ‘iBus’ data which is provided by Transport for London and records bus journeys automatically. Studies have shown that buses along both the Green Lanes and Fore Street routes, are operating with notable delay, particularly in the periods between 7am and 7pm where other vehicles may occupy the bays in the bus lane.

What is being proposed?

For Fore Street and Green Lanes alike we are proposing to increase the bus lane operational hours to 7am to 7pm, Monday to Sunday. This is to be taken forward under experimental powers, which will allow us to see over a period of at least 6 months the benefits that arise in bus journey times. Along with bus data, feedback on the trial from the public can also be considered before deciding whether to remove or amend the changes, or to make them permanent.

The Bus Priority Scheme will include:

• Extended bus lane operating hours – For both Green Lanes and Fore Street, we will be extending the bus lane operational times to 7am to 7pm, Mon to Sun, and amend the hours of the parking bays to suit.

These measures aim to improve the reliability of local bus services by extending the operating hours and coverage of the bus lanes.

Please view our summary of supporting information to learn more about our background research and see visuals of the emerging bus lane changes.

Impacts for local businesses

Travelling by bus is one of the most important ways of travelling to shops and services in high streets and creating a more reliable public transport system should encourage even more visitors to the area.

As the bus-lane times are being extended, this will mean a reduction in operating times for parking and loading bays along the Green Lanes and Fore Street routes. Enfield Council is proposing to introduce additional loading facilities on side roads to replace loading facilities on both Fore Street and Green Lanes.

How to comment

Any person wishing to object to the scheme or make representations about it may do during the six-month consultation period. Feedback received after a bedding in period is generally the most informative. Such representations should be submitted in writing, clearly stating the grounds on which on objection is being made and sent to the Head of Traffic and Transportation, Civic Centre, Silver Street, London EN1 3XD; or by emailing traffic@enfield.gov.uk; or by adding comments to the survey below.