- Target:
- Enfield Council
- Region:
- England
The Cycle Enfield cycle lanes ('Mini-Holland') have made our roads more dangerous, inconvenient and congested.
We, the undersigned call upon the Leader and Chief Executive of London Borough of Enfield to:
• ACT NOW to remove the cycle lanes & bus boarders along Hertford Road
• Return to redesigning roads for the many and not the few
• Reinstate parking and loading bays for shops
• Deliver measures to improve bus journeys
• Enhance junction capacity to reduce congestion and pollution
• Implement cycle lanes on quiet, safe routes away from main roads,
• As an alternative to wrecking Hertford Road, extend to Edmonton Green, Cycle Superhighway 1 Quietway via North Midds Hospital, Pymmes Park and then further north via Salmons Brook, http://content.tfl.gov.uk/cycle-superhighway-route-1-map-city-to-tottenham.pdf
• Provide cycle and walking routes that will residents actually want, such as enhanced access to improved routes along both sides of the River Lea, which provides safe, direct car free access to Hertfordshire, Waltham Forest, Tottenham, Hackney, Stratford & Canary Wharf.
The cycle lanes have removed vital parking and loading bays from our shops, putting our local economy and amenities at risk, with resident parking also affected.
Our shrunk roads are no longer wide enough for emergency vehicles, buses & HGVs, causing delays and accidents. Junctions to residential streets also have significantly reduced turning space & visibility. Positioning parking between cycle lanes and the road also means that drivers will not see cyclists who will be at risk of being run over when cars turn into local roads.
The unmarked junctions and at Ponders End introduce a reckless free for all with no Highway Code rules for priority. As a result, it may be impossible to claim insurance or prosecute traffic offences after any crash.
The “courtesy crossings” that lack Zebra, Toucan or traffic light functions and also the shared space pedestrian refuges at Ponders End encourage pedestrians to cross with confidence at dangerous locations where drivers do not expect pedestrians to step out. The cycle / bus boarders are also confusing & extremely dangerous. All of these things are particularly dangerous for the blind and partially sighted.
A safety audit by TfL identified that the ‘orca’ & ‘armadillo’ lane separators as a trip hazard. Other local authorities have removed these but they have caused many pedestrian accidents in Enfield requiring hospitalisation and local mechanics are reporting that many drivers are colliding with them, damaging their cars & risking loss of control.
Enfield & TfL’s own traffic & network assessments admit that journey times will increase significantly, up to 2minutes delay per mile. Delays at junctions will also be significant because traffic light time has been taken from existing traffic for new cycle only phases. These delays will combine to result in significant cuts to all bus routes that use the Hertford Road, which will result in more car use and rat running.
Enfield’s own air quality assessment for Cycle Enfield admit that the congestion caused will increase air pollution on side roads where people live. They claim that Hertford Road air will become cleaner, but on the assumption that the scheme will cause a 2.5% drop in traffic. This means that if traffic volumes remain the same or increase, as we expect, pollution will rise everywhere as a result of this scheme. Cyclists, pedestrians, drivers and residents will breathe the additional fumes, vastly negating all the alleged health benefits.
You can further help this campaign by sponsoring it
The Save our Hertford Road from Cycle Enfield petition to Enfield Council was written by Edmonton Resident and Business Association and is in the category Environment at GoPetition.