ORIGINAL EMAIL

Dear Sir/Madam/Department,

I am writing this letter in regards to an ongoing concern, many residents on the Meadway (N14 6NJ) have continuously mentioned to me- and now I feel the council need to take this as a high priority matter.

Residents on the Meadway, have raised concerns with parking for the road. One resident particularly mentioned to me that he did try prior to this attempt to contact the council and implement some solution to this matter, but unfortunately Enfield Council did not respond.

The residents mentioned above are having persistent problems regarding parking outside their houses- whether it be cars blocking drives not only on a day-to-day basis, but on an hourly basis, the problem is worsened at evenings when customers of nearby takeaways and commercial shops on High Street (N14) park again on the Meadway blocking drives with scant regard for residents at the end of the road, and also narrow the road sometimes causing near on head collisions which I did witness myself upon going recently to the Meadway, to see the situation for myself.

As this problem shows no sign of stopping, and current CPZ and road markings have evidently from residents behalf (and concerns) frankly not worked, I think it is only right that we look to collectively revise and look at ways of improving restrictions for the Meadway. Residents and myself agree that in the interests of other residents i.e. residents further down, and not at the top end of the Meadway, it would seem logical and safer to impose double yellow lines from the Meadway commercial buildings at the top end, stretching down further where the problem is most serious. The proposal residents are asking for is beneficial for all parties, as one side of the road will remain clear meaning cars can adequately and at good pace travel down the Meadway, but it also eliminates the parking issue in front of drives. May I add to that point by mentioning residents frustration when coming out of their drives, as visibility is obstructed by tight parked vehicles which don’t respect current parking restrictions in place.

My worry, and the worry of residents is that this problem will eventually lead to a collision, that makes this issue potentially fatal. It is bad enough that cars speed above and abuse the 30mph speed limit in place for the road, that makes crossing and pedestrians frightened, but the issue of residents getting out of their drives safely is a bare necessity.

I hope this letter is taken with the most constructive of intentions- and I hope Enfield council will look and review the parking enforcement on the Meadway.

RESPONSE:

Dear Cllr. Ioannou

Thank you for your email copied below. I am aware that colleagues have corresponded with you on this issue in the recent past. I am sorry to hear that inconsiderate parking remains a cause for concern to you and your neighbours at the High Street end of Meadway.

The crux of your difficulties would seem to be the understandable annoyance with drivers blocking your driveway, notably when making short visits to the nearby stores and takeaways. You worry that poorly parked vehicles may also pose a hindrance with regard to traffic flow on Meadway and present a particular danger to residents accessing driveways due to the restriction on visibility. Your favoured response is the addition of extended double yellow lines on Meadway. While this may seem a straightforward request, the process of drawing up proposals, consulting upon them and making the necessary changes to traffic orders makes the introduction of new yellow lines more costly and burdensome than you might think. Given our limited funds, we are only minded to take forward proposals that offer a clear, justifiable benefit.

Traffic Flow

When visiting and considering this issue previously we have not judged traffic flows on Meadway to be high enough that parking offences, when they do occur, pose a serious hindrance to traffic. In any case, existing restrictions already allow enforcement against vehicles parked at the western end of Meadway across the day. Offences can be reported to our parking team by calling 020 8379 6406.

Road Safety

You will see in the mapping below – on which recorded injury collisions since 2012 are marked with coloured dots – that road safety does not appear to be a notable concern near your home. The one incident nearby seems to have involved a driver moving off from a parking position, but you will note that it dates back to 2012. Combining with the one incident opposite the junction makes this set of collisions no worse than the comparable junction to the east where Bourne Avenue meets The Bourne. It seems likely that the presence of the outlets will continue to generate numerous pulling up and moving off incidents, and that these will likely add to the total number of conflicting movements in the immediate vicinity. But it is not certain that adding further parking restrictions will eradicate this behaviour and nor is the current picture overly worrying. Sites that we have been treating in recent years on accident remedial grounds tend to be those attracting 5 incidents per year. In the vicinity of this junction we appear to have a rate of less than 0.5 per year. The clustering of dots on the busier intersections to the north will explain why the spread of incidents near your home is not high on our list for a detailed study, and I hope that, overall, this proves reassuring news.

Yellow Lines to Aid Driveway Access

It is well understood amongst drivers that parking across a driveway without the occupier’s consent is an offence, and those that persist in doing so, even for short periods, represent an anti-social minority who may be similarly unconcerned about parking on yellow lines. Residents are advised to report such offences on the number above on each occasion. It is not essential for any yellow lines to be present to allow this enforcement to be undertaken. We receive numerous requests from residents across the borough for yellow lines to be added at driveways to reinforce this convention, and to afford them better turning space or visibility on road safety grounds. However, we have no evidence that ‘close parking’ translates to a road safety issue and we do not have funding to provide this service for all who seek it. Instead we ask residents to turn in and out with due caution where space or visibility are limited and to use the enforcement telephone number when blocking occurs.

To ensure fairness, we must therefore reject all such requests alike. For this reason, I am not able to take forward your suggestion for double yellow lines in Meadway. Should we find access problems at the junction with High Street then this may be progressed under our junction protection programme in due course. The key difference being that the latter seeks to ensure turning space for fire engines on public roads, rather than at domestic entrance points.

I hope I have made my thinking clear on this issue. I am sorry it does not provide the response you were hoping for.

ORIGINAL EMAIL

Dear Department,

I am emailing you regarding residents concerns on Chelmsford Road, Southgate N14.

Giving some background regarding the situation on the road, Chelmsford Road is often a very busy, and at times a congested road. It is used as a cut through between Chase Road and Chase Side. Given that it is used as a way to cut journey times, many people drive very fast and unfortunately it seems the 20mph sign at the Chase Road end is usually ignored. This provides a potential danger for young children who may inadvertently run out from between parked cars and other pedestrians.

There is also a lot of parking on the street which makes visibility poor and the street narrow and therefore difficult for cars to pass. The Chase Road and Linden Way junctions are particular examples. Additionally, not all drivers are considerate in allowing others to pass.

This road is used by many to park which creates difficulties for residents. Whilst the Chase Side end requires permits at certain parts of the day, the Chase Road end does not and so it is used not only by residents, but residents from Chase Side who cannot find a space there, parents/guardians dropping off/picking up children from the local schools and non-residents who use the non-permitted areas to park for the whole day (I imagine to attend work either in Southgate or use the public transport links). I frequently hear residents have to park a couple of streets away and some of these residents neighbours have commented, that they have similar issues. Some are elderly or have mobility problems and some have young families so this is very inconvenient.

Given the situation is getting worse for Chelmsford Road the most, and of course the surrounding roads, my request to Enfield Council on behalf of residents is:

1- Will Enfield Council look into making Chelmsford Road a one way road, so that we can be sure near head on collisions and risk to members of the public are minimalised?

2- Given that emergency services have in the past struggled with getting efficiently through Chelmsford Road, and that motorists have to squeeze past and at times clip their wind mirrors, can Enfield Council look to allow parking on only one side of Chelmsford Road as to alleviate the pressure?

3- Can Enfield Council ensure that members of the public who park on bends, particularly on the Chelmsford Road junctions with Linden Way and Nursery Road, are strongly disciplined, as to ensure the safety of motorists on the road, and ensure adequate visibility for all?

4-Given that we understand the pressures on parking for Chelmsford Road and the surrounding roads, can I please organise with a road traffic engineer a suitable date to discuss any alternatives engineers themselves may have for the road to alleviate pressure?

I hope to hear from you soon.

RESPONSE:

Dear Cllr Ioannou

Thank you for passing on the concerns you and your constituents have about Chelmsford Road, Southgate, with regard to traffic flow and parking.

Parking Schemes

An extension to the Southgate Controlled Parking Zone was introduced into the western part of Chelmsford Road in 2017, following the normal consultation process. It was lack of support from residents that prompted us not to cover more of the street. I note your reports of residents often struggling to find convenient parking space and I sympathise with those who favoured inclusion but found themselves in the minority. With the more resident-friendly option of adding resident only parking bays already ruled out, I have reservations about proposing long sections of yellow line, unless a very clear need presents itself.

Traffic Flow and Emergency Access

Dense parking patterns are prone to lead to the occasional driver impasse event on roads that – like Chelmsford Road – also carry a certain amount of through traffic. However, I am not aware that we have received any communication from the emergency services on this matter. In a blue light event drivers tend to act appropriately to allow the emergency vehicle to pass. In the image below you will see that the road does have a few natural passing places to ease two way traffic in emergency and ordinary conditions. Creating one or two additional passing places by adding isolated sections of yellow line could be considered, but my instinct is that wherever we propose them, the adjacent residents will not welcome the loss of parking space. I am not so confident on them being viewed as essential to want to initiate the proposal. Parking on bends and corners, although cautioned against in the Highway Code, is only an enforceable offence where we have provided yellow lines. With the current focus of our yellow line work being on sites for fire engine access, and this road not being amongst the list London Fire Brigade as asked us to look at, I do not intend to draw up any proposals at this time.

Speeding, Road Safety and Rat-Running

Dense parking patterns can help limit traffic speeds and deter drivers taking short-cuts, as they will wish to avoid being delayed at pinch-points. Therefore, should speeding and rat-running be the primary concern, my advice would be to retain the current parking patterns. The recent injury history along Chelmsford Road (see green dots in mapping below) is a reasonably happy one and I would not wish to encourage more traffic travelling at higher speeds by a wholesale removal of parked cars along one side of the road. Incidents where drivers encounter each other head-on within densely parked streets tend to translate to impasse events, not to injury collisions, due to the enclosed environment curtailing driver speeds.

One Way Street

Converting narrow, densely-parked roads into one way streets has the drawback of increasing traffic speeds, as drivers no longer need to account for opposing traffic. The same concerns about encouraging more, faster moving through traffic therefore apply. In any case, this would represent a fairly profound alteration to the local road network that would necessitate a large consultation exercise. Given that we do not have any area-wide proposals active at this time, and no other specific funding source to allocate to the suggestion, I am not minded to take this particular suggestion forward as a project at this time.

ORIGINAL EMAIL

Dear Department,

I am emailing you regarding residents corners over the current layout of yellow lines on Holly Hill & Eversley Park Road, Southgate N14.

The issue surrounds visibility when residents on Holly Hill exit onto Eversley Park Road.

Last year yellow lines were painted on all corners at this junction. Residents have expressed concern that these lines have led to an increase in near head on collisions at the junction, as not only do those speeding along Eversley Park Road approaching the Holly Hill junction fail to see those turning out, but children of nearby school and mothers clearly have trouble when crossing the road.

My enquiry here for residents is a simple one:

-Can Enfield Council look to shorten the yellow lines in place leading onto the junction (Holly Hill), and look to instead continue further the yellow lines along Eversley Park Road.

By doing this we will be able to achieve a suitable junction for the residents, who have to rush to exit their road. Let’s make this junction safe. I hope to hear from you soon.

RESPONSE:

Dear Cllr Ioannou

Thank you for passing on the views of residents on Holly Hill, who would like us to amend the layout of yellow lines at the junction with Eversley Park Road.

The lines were added in 2016, following a consultation exercise based on the drawing below:

The length of line shown on the main road matches the advice in the Highway Code directing drivers not to park within 10 metres of a junction. On busier roads, like Eversley Park Road, this is the standard length we seek to provide to afford reasonable visibility for emerging drivers without causing excessive loss of on-street parking capacity. Stripping long lengths of parking from the main road would likely have the unwanted side-effect of reducing drivers’ sense of enclosure and hence increasing traffic speeds.

Where lines extend back into minor side roads, we often propose a shorter length of line. In this case it is the presence of existing street features that results in lines that are slightly longer than typical. The presence of footway parking either side of Holly Hill suggests that the road is not wide enough to accommodate kerbside parking on both sides. On the northern side the footway parking terminates near the crossover for property 2a. On the southern side it terminates slightly further into the road, due to the presence of the cabinet in the footway. The yellow lines match the extent of the footway parking bays, reflecting that parking at the kerbside anywhere beyond the limits of the bays would either pose a hindrance to traffic or fall within the curving section of the bellmouth, where it is least wanted.

I believe that rationale still applies and given that the package of proposals was reported to decision-makers and approved no more than 2 years ago, I am not inclined to divert towards it, at this time, any of our fairly limited funding for yellow line work. For context, there are many junctions across the network where visibility problems are reported but, as yet, have had no yellow line treatment applied. It is hard to justify delaying these sites further to tinker with junctions we have already treated.

I acknowledge that Eversley Park Road carries relatively high levels of traffic and that the gradient can result in higher than average speeds. Our road safety team has been made aware of this correspondence and will seek to keep this matter under review. In terms of recent injury incidents, the mapping below suggests that Holly Hill is not a particular location for concern. Despite a cluster of incidents further north, Eversley Park Road overall is not among our sites in most urgent need of a road safety intervention. For these reasons I propose no further action at this time.

ORIGINAL EMAIL

Dear Department,

I have attached some images of photos taken by business owners along Green Lanes, Palmers Green.

I have had both residents and business owners come forward to me today, to talk about the issue of flooding on their premises given the recent downpours. While I recognise that there was indeed a weather warning in place, I do feel that the images provided extend the situation beyond just a simple weather glitch like today.

The Cycle Lane here has failed to adequately drain the pouring rain effectively enough, leading to a pavement that clearly cannot be utilised. Further to this problem, pedestrians are left to walk along the cycle lane that poses a hazard to anyone of any age. Given the poor visibility as well here, it is leading to an accident waiting to happen.

My Enquiries here are simple:

-Were Enfield Council aware when planning the Cycle Lane, that the issue of flooding will extend this far as to cause a closure of public paths?

-Were Engineer/designers aware that the gradient of the slope of the pavement here meant that it was inevitable that flooding would be a risk?

-Given that custom of the businesses along the A105 strip have been affected by this scheme, will Enfield Council seek to reimburse or provide some
relief to the businesses who had to deal with water entering their shops today?

I am willing to meet with a road traffic engineer to discuss this issue, and even meet them together with the local business owners who were affected here.

I hope to hear from you soon.

RESPONSE:

Dear Cllr Ioannou,

Thank you for your enquiry to which I have been asked to respond.

First let me say how sorry I am to hear of the issues your ward residents had with the effects of the recent heavy downpours and any inconvenience this may have caused them. However, we believe the drainage systems introduced as part of the scheme are appropriate and have adopted an approach using the principles in the latest guidelines for drainage. While drainage systems are designed to manage with high levels of rainfall, the levels of rain, as predicted by the Met Office, of up to 80mm within a couple of hours, are highly infrequent and may cause flooding as happened across wide parts of London and the South-east and not solely along the A105.

We will, of course, continue to monitor these locations to ensure that the new drainage systems are appropriate and take any suitable action should that be required.

Prior to the Cycle Enfield Scheme, some sections of the A105 did suffer some flooding problems due to very flat footway falls and low shop thresholds. In order to not exacerbate the problem and improve the situation, a combination of trapped gullies, permeable cycle lane surfacing with perforated drainage and rain gardens has been used.

Should any business or resident affected wish to pursue a claim they should in the first instance contact our insurance department via insurance@enfield.gov.uk

 

ORIGINAL EMAIL:

Dear Department,

I am emailing regarding a constituent concern, on Old Farm Avenue, Southgate N14.

The road until recently had planted trees on the pavements, and residents have expressed concern as to why these trees have not only been removed, but not even replaced.

The aesthetics of the road has deteriorated according to residents, and I would like to know if the council intend to replace these trees for the benefit of residents and the wider environment in Southgate.

Hope to have a response soon.

RESPONSE:

Dear Cllr Ioannou,

Thank you for your enquiry regarding trees that have been felled on Old Farm View N14.

Enfield council run a removal and replacement program where every tree in the borough that is removed is replace on a 1 for 1 basis. We aim to plant the trees in the same location as the previous tree providing the site fits our current planting criteria. Failing this we will find an alternative site on the same road or and adjacent road.

Unfortunately I have looked on our tree database and cannot find any details on trees that have been felled on Old Farm View. I am going to investigate this further to ensure that no trees have been illegally removed.

However, as there is clearly a want for more trees on this road I will add it to our ‘planting request’ list. This is a list we use to enable residents to put in requests for planting. Providing there are suitable sites on the road we will aim to plant them up this planting season, October 2018 – March 2019.

All planting is subject to available funds and resources at the time.

I hope I have answered your enquiry