Dear Cllr Stephanos Ioannou,
Thank you for your enquiry. I note the request for a zebra crossing on Eversley Park Road.
While good pedestrian provision and good road safety should, logically, go hand-in-hand, a new crossing needs to justify its value based on reasonable numbers of people seen crossing at the intended location. Otherwise, a seldom used zebra crossing may be contributing little to pedestrian amenity or speed reduction. Furthermore, a crossing where a pedestrian will expect to gain priority when stepping off the kerb, but where drivers rarely see anyone doing so, can raise road safety concerns of its own. By contrast, a refuge island should offer some slowing effect on drivers however little use it gets by pedestrians and is roughly a quarter of the price, so is always an option worth considering.
Should you or your correspondents believe there is a particular spot on Eversley Park Road where crossing movements are seen in reasonable numbers, and wish to supply me with a description or image of the position, my colleagues can make observations from the street or else commission a crossing survey to verify matters.
Should we be satisfied that the level of usage would be sufficiently high, it could then be moved onto our good ideas list. Sadly the dearth of network-wide funding for minor interventions is a stumbling block. Outside of such proposals being swept up within larger schemes, or of localised funding arising, we need to identify funding from other sources and check that the proposal is not outranked by any similar ones submitted previously. For example we have been asked by elected representatives to consider crossing facilities at two sites in Winchmore Hill just this calendar year, as well as at sites on Westpole Avenue and on Fore Street, near Fairfield Road.
Regards
Traffic Engineering Manager
Environment and Communities Directorate
Enfield Council
Original enquiry description:
Has the department considered a zebra or speed camera along Eversley Park Road? There is always excessive speeding and the parents at local schools complain they cant cross
