FAQs

There will be a range of assessments that will need to be balanced when judging the overall success of the trial. Assessments will include:

• Residents’ views on how the benefits of the scheme compare against the disbenefits
• Data on the volume of motor vehicle movements in the area
• Data on the speed of motor vehicles in the area
• Impacts on the primary roads surrounding the area
• Air quality considerations
• Bus journey time considerations through discussion with Transport for London
• Outcomes of ongoing dialogue with the Emergency Services

Reporting on the trial will also consider whether the scheme supports the delivery of the Enfield Council Plan.

We have already collected traffic data in the area, counting vehicle movements at a range of locations throughout the area, including on surrounding roads. We will repeat this process once the measures have been implemented and can start to compare the data to determine the level of success and impact.

An Experimental Traffic Order (ETO) is a legal document, made under Sections 9 and 10 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, which imposes traffic and parking restrictions or changes the way existing restrictions function. ETOs enable the Council to implement the scheme on a trial basis, while a formal consultation takes place, and the scheme’s effects are monitored and assessed.

An ETO can only stay in force for a maximum of 18 months, after which a decision must be made on whether to remove the trial or make the scheme permanent. There is no minimum length of time following the initial implementation after which the scheme can be changed or removed. However, the Council would like to ensure an appropriate amount of time to assess viability of the scheme before any decisions are made.

The Council, including Ward Councillors, are committed to undertaking a meaningful consultation that will inform our decision making for the scheme. A report will be written to summarise the feedback. Monitoring will also inform any decision made by the Council.

Yes. Given the ETO nature of the scheme, the consultation with community takes place during the trial rather than ahead of the scheme being implemented.

Residents were engaged to provide early feedback for the Phase 2 measures in advance of the designs being finalised. Feedback was submitted via a survey which closed on Sunday 15 December 2020.

The Council have consulted with emergency services and TfL during the development of the proposed trial phases and continue to do so.

Once each phase of the trial is fully in place, residents and all interested stakeholders will be able to take part in the statutory consultation. We will write to residents again to inform once the consultation is live. During the consultation period anyone will be able to formally object to the scheme being made permanent, stating the grounds on which their objection is made.

The community will also be offered an opportunity to share their feedback on the trial through an engagement survey that will be hosted on this page. This survey is anticipated to open nearer the end of the statutory consultation period and prior to the time that the decision on the future of the scheme will be made. A further letter will be sent once the engagement survey is open on the project page, along with details of how you can request paper copies.

To submit your comments online you will need a Let's Talk Enfield account. Click 'Sign up' in the top right corner of this page. See here for more information on the Let's Talk Enfield site.

Yes. This is the benefit of taking a trial approach. Owing to the urgency that the Covid-19 situation has presented, rather than spend months and even years modelling multiple scenarios and potential impacts, we are trialling an approach and can then monitor the actual impacts.

The scheme is implemented using an Experimental Traffic Order (ETO) enabling the Council to make temporary changes and consult with community and stakeholders during the trial. This gives the Council an opportunity to review feedback and see how the scheme operates and either make changes to the trial, remove the scheme or make it permanent.

Before a decision is made whether to make the scheme permanent, feedback and monitoring will be reviewed, and a formal report produced and published on our website.

Once each trial phase is delivered, feedback received during the trial period will be reviewed in combination with evidence such as traffic monitoring data. A decision will be then made whether or not to make measures permanent or make changes and conduct another trial.

The one-way system on Windsor Road, Osborne Road, and short sections of Lightcliffe Road and New River Crescent (Phase 1) will be delivered by the end of 2020.

The remaining Quieter Neighbourhood measures (Phase 2) are currently in development. At this time there is no funding available for delivery of Phase 2. However, the Council continue to actively pursue opportunities to secure funding to deliver this scheme. In addition, by gathering your views at this stage, we will be in a stronger position to progress delivery of the final designs, when funding does become available.

Cut-through traffic refers to motor traffic using residential streets as shortcuts, instead of using main roads designed to handle larger volumes of traffic. Typically, this through motor traffic primarily consists of drivers who do not live in the area.

Cut-through traffic increases the volume of traffic on quieter residential roads, which are designed to provide access to homes, adding to the potential for accidents involving both motorists and pedestrians. The danger is increased by cut-through motorists who drive at speeds better suited to the main roads they’re trying to bypass, rather than smaller residential streets.

Noise and emissions from cut-through traffic can impact the health and quality of life for people living in the area as well as children studying in local schools.

Origin and Destination surveys have been carried out across the Connaught Gardens Quieter Neighbourhood area. These surveys use number plate recognition cameras to detect vehicle entering and exiting the area. This allows us to assess the number of vehicles passing through the area and their entry and exit points. This information is being used to develop the proposed scheme, exploring measures to prevent the cut-through traffic highlighted in the surveys. Our approach needs to consider the whole area, to avoid addressing a problem on one residential street that is then transferred to a similar residential road.

A modal filter is a road closure for motor vehicles, which continues to enable people to walk and cycle through the closure point. We will be using bolt-down planters to reduce the width of the road and achieve the closure.

A point closure (sometimes referred to as a ‘point no entry’) is a restriction for motor traffic travelling in one direction at a specific point along a road. It still allows traffic to proceed in the opposite direction. With a point closure, two-way traffic remains on the sections of road either side of it. Unlike a more traditional one-way road, the point closure only restricts motor traffic travelling in one direction at that precise location (and therefore crossing the point closure).

The benefit of a point closure is that it reduces through-traffic, while maintaining two-way traffic on both sides of the road.

The proposed point closures will be marked with ‘No motor vehicle’ signs, prohibiting motor traffic, except cycles and emergency services, from crossing them.

No. Vehicle access will be maintained to all roads within the area. Vehicle access may be limited between opposite ends of the road, but none of the roads will be completely closed to motor traffic, enabling access and deliveries to continue.

Emergency services will continue to be able to access all residential streets, in some cases using different routes. The emergency services have been and continue to be engaged in discussion on the proposals for this project. This has led to the design of modal filters which allow emergency access. Within the traffic orders necessary to support enforcement of such restrictions, emergency vehicles can be exempt from these modal filters, enabling improved circulation in the area.

Yes, refuse vehicles will continue to be able to collect refuse from all residential properties. This was an operational requirement of the design. Discussions have already taken place with Officers responsible for Waste Management at the Council. Whilst they will need to maintain access, they are also clear that the number one risk to their operatives is from car drivers who are trying to pass through as they collect waste. To this end, they welcome measures to reduce traffic speed and volume.

Engineers have reviewed the road layout in the area and introduced what is believed to be the optimal number and location of closure points to prevent any cut-through traffic in the area.

These types of schemes by nature limit access/egress points to the area, in order to prevent vehicles cutting through the area.

It is acknowledged that the introduction of this scheme will mean travelling to/from some directions will be hindered, and some journeys when made by car may be longer. However, one of the aims of the scheme is to reduce the overall number of motor vehicle journeys through the area, leading to longer-term improvements in air quality, and creating a safer environment for residents and school children.

Residents may be required to take a different route to access their homes, depending on where they live within the area. This can lead to a slight increase of individual motor vehicle journey times. However, this is only a minor inconvenience in comparison to the benefit of having quieter and safer residential roads with improved local air quality. Moreover, one of the objectives of the project is to reduce the overall number of motor vehicle journeys by encouraging more active and sustainable transport choices.

A review of traffic on the surrounding primary network will form part of the monitoring.

However, one of the objectives of the scheme is to ensure that through traffic stays on main roads and does not use residential streets as a cut through. Observations from similar schemes in other areas of London has shown that not all traffic reassigns onto local strategic roads with people changing their travel behaviour by:

• Using alternative travel modes, such as walking or cycling for shorter trips;
• Carrying out their journeys at quieter (off-peak) times of the day;
• Choosing to combine trips, such as a trip to the shops on the way to, or from work;
• For longer journeys, reassigning onto the wider strategic network, away from the local area;
• Car sharing;
• Choosing not to make the trip at all; or
• Altering the allocation of tasks within a household to enable more efficient trip-making.

Currently double yellow lines are placed at junctions to keep this space clear of parking. If a filter was introduced at a junction, this space would remain restricted from parking to ensure that there is space in the road for a car and/or typical delivery vehicle to turn in the road.

Measures have been included in the design to physically prevent drivers from not complying with the proposed modal filters. Where that was not possible, closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras will be installed at those areas to ensure compliance. These types of camera-enforced closures are in place at the request of the Emergency Services, to enable them to continue to pass through the area unhindered.

Yes. Red and white warning signs notifying drivers of the road closed ahead are being proposed. A series of bespoke warning signs are also placed on the approach to key routes.