Fox Lane Area Quieter Neighbourhood

Share Fox Lane Area Quieter Neighbourhood on Facebook Share Fox Lane Area Quieter Neighbourhood on Twitter Share Fox Lane Area Quieter Neighbourhood on Linkedin Email Fox Lane Area Quieter Neighbourhood link

This project has now concluded.

The Fox Lane Area Quieter Neighbourhood project is part of a Borough wide programme, which aims to:

  • reduce the volume of motor traffic in residential neighbourhoods
  • reduce the speeds that people drive at on our residential streets
  • reduce the ability for people driving to 'rat run' through residential streets
  • improve the liveability, amenity and safety of our neighbourhoods
  • enable residents to walk and cycle safely from their front door, to connect with public transport or major walking and cycling routes
  • increase the health and wellbeing of residents and strengthen community cohesion

The project was delivered from 2020 and made permanent

The Fox Lane Area Quieter Neighbourhood project is part of a Borough wide programme, which aims to:

  • reduce the volume of motor traffic in residential neighbourhoods
  • reduce the speeds that people drive at on our residential streets
  • reduce the ability for people driving to 'rat run' through residential streets
  • improve the liveability, amenity and safety of our neighbourhoods
  • enable residents to walk and cycle safely from their front door, to connect with public transport or major walking and cycling routes
  • increase the health and wellbeing of residents and strengthen community cohesion

The project was delivered from 2020 and made permanent in March 2022.

Quieter Neighbourhoods and the wider Journeys and Places programme intended to achieve Council aims to see more people walking, cycling or using public transport for short trips in the borough. Long-term benefits include better public health, reduced pressures on the NHS, less motor vehicle pollution and improved air quality, which will also help deal with the declared climate emergency.

On this project page you can find:

  • Key project dates
  • A video providing an overview of the project
  • A document library with key documents
  • A list of frequently asked questions

Project updates from throughout the project are below.

This project has now concluded.

  • Update 4 March 2021

    Share Update 4 March 2021 on Facebook Share Update 4 March 2021 on Twitter Share Update 4 March 2021 on Linkedin Email Update 4 March 2021 link

    Please find below an update on a number of aspects of the Fox Lane and Surrounding Streets Quieter Neighbourhood.

    Experimental Traffic Order and Key Dates

    The consultation survey has been live since mid October 2020. We are receiving lots of responses and we thank you for taking the time to share your comments. The scheme has been implemented as a trial under an Experimental Traffic Order (ETO) which allows us to make changes to the scheme. Following early feedback we changed the modal filter (consisting of planters which enabled cycles only to pass through) on Conway Road near its junction with Fox Lane to a camera enforced closure. This was done by modifying the ETO on the 19th November 2020 – the modified ETO can be found on the right hand side of the page under the Document Library. As a result, the statutory consultation period now ends six months after the modification was made, on the 19th May 2021.

    Monitoring

    We are continuing to monitor the area and feedback received, whilst recognising travel patterns have been highly variable since we implemented the scheme as a result of the impacts of Covid-19.

    Whilst the statutory consultation period ends on the 19th May 2021, the ETO continues to be live until March 2022 (18 months since the ETO was initially made). Owing to the current situation, we have delayed the collection of traffic surveys until such a time that we can gather data that is reflective of ‘more normal’ traffic conditions. This is unlikely to occur until after the easing of Government restrictions. A decision will not be made until this comprehensive data is available. As we move towards making a decision on the scheme we will continue to provide updates and will also publish more detail on our monitoring approach to help explain this.

    Ongoing Feedback and Equalities Impact Assessment

    If you have not done so already, please provide feedback via the Consultation - Fox Lane & Surrounding Streets Quieter Neighbourhood survey on the Surveys & Forms tab on this page.

    A particular focus area for us over the next few months is engaging specifically with members of the community with disabilities, representative groups of people with disabilities, and carers. We have contacted Blue Badge holders directly with a further survey to gather more insights. We will also directly contact those who have completed the Consultation - Fox Lane & Surrounding Streets Quieter Neighbourhood survey on this page and identified as having a disability, receiving care assistance in their home, or as a carer. The feedback collected will inform our ongoing Equalities Impact Assessment and be considered alongside feedback collected through the main consultation survey and other monitoring activities when making decisions on the future of the scheme.

    Electric Vehicles

    You may be aware Enfield Council has advertised the intention to install electric vehicle chargers in lamp columns on a number of streets in Enfield as part of a trial. Whilst this project is being managed by another team in the Council, the combination of a range of initiatives will contribute towards achieving the aims of strategies such as the Climate Action Plan and Health & Wellbeing work. Details of this can be found at this link.

  • Consultation for Fox Lane trial opens

    Share Consultation for Fox Lane trial opens on Facebook Share Consultation for Fox Lane trial opens on Twitter Share Consultation for Fox Lane trial opens on Linkedin Email Consultation for Fox Lane trial opens link

    The consultation for the Fox Lane trial is now open for feedback, via the Surveys & Forms tab on this page, a direct link to the form is here. You can complete feedback more than once throughout the consultation period.

    This consultation follows a period of implementation of the trial during September.

    The design implemented has responded to the feedback received from the community engagement that took place towards the end of 2019. A summary of this feedback, along with a copy of the leaflet showing the revised design sent to residents in the area, are available in the document library.

    Please note that the closure points on Meadway and Fox Lane, where 'no motor vehicles' traffic signs are displayed, are enforced by a camera. If you pass through in a motor vehicle then a penalty notice will be issued. These types of closures are in place at the request of the Emergency Services, to enable them to continue to pass through the area unhindered.

  • Update 5 March 2020

    Share Update 5 March 2020 on Facebook Share Update 5 March 2020 on Twitter Share Update 5 March 2020 on Linkedin Email Update 5 March 2020 link

    The Fox Lane Area Quieter Neighbourhood Engagement Findings Report is now available to download via the document library on the project page.

  • Update 24 February 2020

    Share Update 24 February 2020 on Facebook Share Update 24 February 2020 on Twitter Share Update 24 February 2020 on Linkedin Email Update 24 February 2020 link

    The Healthy Streets team have now completed an extensive analysis exercise to review the comments received on the Fox Lane Quieter Neighbourhood programme, following the engagement event held on Tuesday 12th November and subsequent 6 week opportunity to provide comment. This review included consideration of the following:

    • 1174 comments and 67 questions through the Let’s Talk platform;
    • 267 comments cards from the public exhibition;
    • 166 emails;
    • 147 signatures on a petition from residents in Oakfield Road;
    • Four letters from stakeholder groups including:
      • Green Lanes Business Association
      • Federation of Enfield Residents and Allied Associations (FERAA)
      • Better Streets for Enfield
      • Winchmore Hill Residents’ Association.

    The team are now in the process of finalising a report for this engagement, which will provide the key themes and include a detailed FAQ section. In addition to this feedback, the Healthy Streets team have been reviewing detailed input from a further engagement process direct with Ward Councillors. The draft report from the public engagement will now be discussed with Ward Councillors before finalising and uploading to the engagement hub.

    However, prior to the publication of this report, we can say that as a result of the feedback received, a decision has been made to make changes to the original design. Further work is now ongoing to develop a revised proposal, that responds to a number of the key concerns raised. The Council have held a number of conversations with local groups and have received suggestions of what a revised scheme could look like. These ideas will be seriously considered and will help inform a revised design. This will include a review of the use of ANPR (Auto Number Plate Recognition) in Quieter Neighbourhood projects. Initial thinking is that whilst ANPR could play an important role in certain contexts (for example, enabling continued through access for emergency vehicles) they are unlikely to be the right solution for every street corner across the Borough.

    We anticipate the following next steps:

      • Publication of initial engagement report once discussed with relevant Ward Councillors
      • Development of a revised scheme design
      • Ward Councillor discussion on revised scheme design
      • A workshop session with local community representatives to discuss revised design and how it is presented
      • Sharing of revised design to wider community with opportunity for final comment
      • Decision on whether to procced with a trial
      • If a trial period is decided, formal consultation would then start enabling a further opportunity for comment

    The Council can implement trials on the public highway without any pre-engagement, with formal consultation through the trial period. However, we recognise the value in engaging with the community and the community helping to shape the design of these neighbourhood projects. The Quieter Neighbourhood project was re-launched in the summer of 2019 and is focused on creating long-term change. This project is expected to be delivered over the next 20 years, progressively delivering neighbourhood improvements across the Borough. The Healthy Streets team recognise the need to continually review how we deliver projects and will take learnings from one scheme to the next.

  • Update 21 November 2019

    Share Update 21 November 2019 on Facebook Share Update 21 November 2019 on Twitter Share Update 21 November 2019 on Linkedin Email Update 21 November 2019 link

    Dear Resident,

    Thank you for your feedback on the initial Low Traffic Neighbourhood proposal for the Fox Lane area following the engagement event on the 12th November 2019.

    We are aware there has been much interest in the proposals and in view of the different opinions that have been voiced, we have extended the engagement period to the 22nd December 2019.

    The initial proposal remains available online and following feedback to date, we anticipate revisions to this proposal, a key theme so far being concerns around entry and exit points into the area.

    The council is committed to addressing ‘rat-running’ and reducing pollution levels in the long-term, but any proposal must be the right solution for your area, one that works for the local community. A future trial should ensure that traffic is not just moved from one local residential street within the area to another.

    All comments will be carefully considered before we decide on the next steps and any scheme would be introduced as a ‘live trial’, allowing us to make changes in light of feedback from residents.

    Any trial will not start before Spring 2020 and would only be considered as a permanent change if it improves the situation for local people and works for local business.

    Updates and the opportunity for further engagement will continue to be published on the engagement hub for this project. A summary of the feedback and how a future trial may look is anticipated early in the New Year.

    We welcome your continued input to the process.

    https://letstalk.enfield.gov.uk/foxlaneQN

    Cllr Ian Barnes

    Deputy Leader of Enfield Council

    Winchmore Hill Councillor


  • Update 17 November 2019

    Share Update 17 November 2019 on Facebook Share Update 17 November 2019 on Twitter Share Update 17 November 2019 on Linkedin Email Update 17 November 2019 link

    Dear Residents,

    We are extending the opportunity to comment on these plans and so the form and Q&A section will remain open until Sunday 22nd December 2019 - a further update will follow soon.

    Please note we have identified an issue affecting BT internet email addresses where users' verification emails are being blocked by the email provider. If you have a BT internet address please register with an alternative email address or email letstalk@enfield.gov.uk.

    Please note this update was moved to this news feed from the project page here in January 2020.

  • Update 12 November 2019

    Share Update 12 November 2019 on Facebook Share Update 12 November 2019 on Twitter Share Update 12 November 2019 on Linkedin Email Update 12 November 2019 link

    We invite residents of the Fox Lane and surrounding streets Quieter Neighbourhood to a public exhibition of plans for the area on Tuesday 12 November. This public exhibition will be held from 3pm to 8pm at 305 Green Lanes (former Starbucks), during which time residents may visit to view the plans and speak with the project team. The flyer detailing the Fox Lane and surrounding streets Quieter Neighbourhoods area is available for download in the Document Library to the right of this page.

    If you are unable to attend the event and would like to provide your comments on the plans or a question, you can do so using the survey and Q&A tool below.

    Please note this update was moved to this news feed from the project page here in January 2020.

  • Update 11 October 2019

    Share Update 11 October 2019 on Facebook Share Update 11 October 2019 on Twitter Share Update 11 October 2019 on Linkedin Email Update 11 October 2019 link

    Dear Residents of Fox Lane and surrounding streets,

    Thank you for your continued patience as we have developed ideas to address the shared concerns of ‘rat running’ motor traffic, pollution and safer streets throughout the Fox Lane area.

    Over the summer we have developed a robust set of measures that we feel will address these issues. Over the last couple of weeks you may have seen cameras installed around the area. We have updated the data we have on the number of vehicles entering and exiting the whole area. This will provide a fully up-to-date set of baseline data that is more comprehensive then the volume data counts collected earlier in the year by the tubes placed across the roads.

    We will shortly be sending out a leaflet to all homes to invite residents to a pop-up engagement event in Palmers Green. We are planing to host this from 3pm to 8pm on a weekday to allow people to drop-in and review the plans, speak to Officers and leave comments. At the same time as the physical event, comments will also be able to be made online.

    At this stage, the intention is to implement the plan on an experimental basis. This means that once the measures are put in place, there will be at least a 6 month period where you can provide formal comments on the scheme. Once a minimum of 6 months has passed, we will then review these comments and formally respond to the issues raised in a report for the scheme. Based on this report, a further decision will then be taken on whether to implement the scheme as per the trial, to make some adjustments or to remove the scheme entirely.

    We have set-up the opportunity to ‘subscribe’ to the Fox Lane project. If you do this, as well as receiving notification through the door, as soon as details of the pop-up event are confirmed we will e-mail you to let you know. To subscribe please click the 'Subscribe' button to the right of this page.

    Residents and business owners within the Fox Lane area are encouraged to subscribe.

    Please note this update was moved to this news feed from the project page here in January 2020.

  • Update 3 June 2019

    Share Update 3 June 2019 on Facebook Share Update 3 June 2019 on Twitter Share Update 3 June 2019 on Linkedin Email Update 3 June 2019 link

    Over the past few months we have conducted a trial within the Fox Lane area in response to concerns by residents of rat running traffic. Through the placement of planters at several junctions, the intention was to discourage this traffic from travelling through these residential streets.

    We collected data prior to the implementation of the trial and have now collected interim data following the deployment of 50 per cent of the planters. We now have evidential data which demonstrates that the planters are not achieving their intended objective of reducing through traffic in these areas. A summary of the baseline and interim data is available here.

    The Council continue to believe that trials are the right way forward as we try to address the shared concern of rat running traffic through residential areas. However, we have also consistently said that if the data collected did not demonstrate a level of success, other options would then be considered. Therefore, on the basis of the evidence, this current trial will not be progressed further. The trial planters will be removed and no further planters will be installed as part of this particular approach.

    The Council remains committed to measures to reduce motor traffic speed and volume through residential areas. The Fox Lane area is one of the first areas where the Council have looked to tackle this issue on an area wide basis. We know that rat running traffic is a concern shared by many residents. We will therefore look to develop new proposals for the Fox Lane area, as we continue to explore methods that we can then look to replicate in other areas of the Borough.

    Over the coming weeks, the existing planters will be removed. We will shortly publish some ideas for an alternative approach for the Fox Lane area using our engagement hub, Let’s Talk Transport which will allow residents to provide their initial thoughts on these ideas (we will collect information to understand whether responses are from residents living in the area or outside). The Council can then review this feedback and consider the next steps. Any implementation that is taken forward will once again be on a trial basis, providing opportunity to re-consider depending upon the evidence of data collected throughout this further trial, along with the views of residents living within the area.

    Once the ideas for an alternative approach are published online, all households and businesses within the area will receive a flyer to provide an update and inform them of how they can contribute their feedback and invite them to a community event where they can discuss the ideas with Council Officers.

    Please note this update was moved to this news feed from the original link here in January 2020.

  • Update 1 March 2019

    Share Update 1 March 2019 on Facebook Share Update 1 March 2019 on Twitter Share Update 1 March 2019 on Linkedin Email Update 1 March 2019 link

    Dear Residents of the Fox Lane area,

    Traffic monitoring data can be found here. The latest set of planters were installed week commencing 25 February. More information on the next steps is available in this document.

    As you are aware, Enfield Council are in the process of delivering a series of measures in the Fox Lane area as part of the Quieter Neighbourhood project, funded by Transport for London (as part of Cycle Enfield).

    The aim of this project is to address shared concerns between both residents and the Council on the speed and volume of ‘rat running’ traffic through these residential streets. At the end of 2017 Enfield Council delivered a consultation on a set of proposals to help address this issue. Following consideration of the responses the Council published a report on the actions it planned to take. The report is available to read here. A key feature of this was to trial the placement of planters at junctions throughout the area. The proposed location of these planters is shown on this map. The concept of the planters is that they will slow traffic passing through the area, creating a less attractive route for ‘rat running’.

    Before Christmas, we put out planters on The Mall and Selborne Road as an initial trial and then added two further streets, Old Park Road and Derwent Road, as a result of which we have had a lot of feedback. Some residents have told us that they feel that the planters are reducing traffic. Others have said that they don’t feel that the planters are having any impact at all. Some have said that whilst they’ve discouraged a number of drivers, those that continue to cut through then drive even faster between the planters. Others think the positioning is wrong. Lots of different residents, lots of different views.

    In determining the particular positioning of each planter a number of factors need to be considered, which may mean that the exact positioning varies from street to street. Issues to consider include dropped kerbs, utility covers and the extent of existing yellow lines (we have committed to installing planters within the existing yellow lines to prevent a reduction in parking spaces). We also need to ensure that both refuse vehicles and fire appliances can access each residential road and as such we have visited some of the early sites with the London Fire Brigade. Of course, maintaining access to these vehicles does mean that other vehicles of a similar size could still use the road as a cut through. We want to ensure that, for vehicles that do use these streets, the planters are visible and so each planter has a large reflective sign on its front, and reflective strips on each edge.

    What we need to do is to collect some additional data on traffic speeds and volume, so we can then compare to the data we collected prior to placing the planters. Before we do this, we are going to install a further set of planters on Amberly Road, The Ridgeway, Oakfield Road, Burford Road and Lakeside Road. This will result in approximately 50 per cent of the original proposed planters being in place. We will then conduct some interim monitoring to generate further data on speed and traffic volume. We are scheduling this work with our contractors, but hope to have these planters in place within the next four weeks. We will then wait a further two weeks before conducting the surveys. At the same time, we will also be implementing measures at the junction of Greenway and Meadway to address concerns about speeding traffic cutting the corner.

    This will enable the Council to have more detailed data in order to consider the next steps. As we outlined in the report, we remain committed to trialling other ideas if the data we gather suggests the planter approach is not having the desired effect.

    I appreciate there is frustration with some residents over the time taken to deliver this project, which has included discussion prior to the 2017 consultation. I understand this. However, I would ask for continued patience as we deliver this trial incrementally to best understand the level of impact it is having. At the same time as looking to help address the ‘rat running’ on your streets, we are delivering a series of projects across the Borough, including major investment in the Edmonton area – re-designing some of our streets to ensure they’re fit for the future.

    What I hope is clear by the work that we’re doing, is that Enfield Council is committed to tackling the problem of excessive traffic on our residential streets. I hope we can continue to work constructively with the community as we work towards delivering this shared goal.

    If you have any questions, in the first instance please send these to my colleague Liz Rhodes, our Community Relations Officer via cycle@enfield.gov.uk.

    Yours sincerely,

    Richard Eason
    Cycle Enfield Programme Lead

    Please note this update was moved to this news feed from the original link here in January 2020.