Road transport
FERAA is pressing for improvements to Enfield’s roads, without which the borough will become just another faceless London suburb as it steadily loses its residential atmosphere under a welter of congestion. FERAA notes that the Borough Council wants to draw in more industry but there is no corresponding attention to infrastructure. Without intervention, we are facing an era characterised by a major decline in living standards.
The situation
Enfield is very much defined by its road system, with the North Circular Road (A406) passing through the south of the Borough, the M25 to the north, and the A10 slicing though the middle connecting the two. A lot of commercial and passenger traffic passes between these arterial roads serving the industrial and retail parks in the Lea Valley
As loads have increased this system is no longer fit for purpose, having received little investment in improved intersections:
What needs to be done?
A406 North Circular Road
The A406 suffers from a major bottleneck between Green Lanes and Bounds Green Road – this section needs to be a dual carriageway to connect the three lane dual carriageway sections on either side. It also needs flyovers or underpasses at the junctions with Green Lanes, Brownlow Road / Powys Lane, Wilmer Way / Bowes Road and Bounds Green Road / Station Road.
After years of campaigning, Transport for London (TfL) – the authority responsible for this road – has agreed to the more limited widening scheme (without any underpasses or flyovers) which is currently under construction.
FERAA is actively pushing for this section of A406 to be completely dual carriageway, with flyovers or underpasses at the four major junctions mentioned above.
We are convinced that any cost benefit analysis would show a positive return for the money spent.
A10 Great Cambridge Road
Similarly there are problems on the A10 where there are long delays to east–west traffic crossing this road at several traffic light controlled junctions. These are traffic movements that are vital to the traffic flow across Enfield borough. Underpasses or flyovers are needed at the major junctions on this important radial route – as has been done on the A40 in western London.
Again TfL – which is also responsible for this road – has shown no interest whatsoever in even investigating the feasibility of carrying out any much needed junction improvements of this type.
Northern Gateway Access Road (NGAR)
Several years ago a scheme was designed for a short section of new road, including a bridge over the River Lea, to link the northern end of A1055 Mollison Avenue, via Flemming Road, with A121 Meridian Way (the Waltham Abbey Relief Road). The latter road runs parallel to the M25 and connects with it at junction 26.
After a Public Inquiry in 2002 the NGAR scheme was refused planning permission by the then Deputy Prime Minister mainly because of local resistance on ecological grounds.
Now the weight of traffic, particularly in Bullsmoor Lane, is such that these objections should be set aside and FERAA is campaigning for the scheme to be reactivated. Enfield Council and the Member of Parliament for Enfield North are both supportive but no practical steps have yet been taken to reinstate the project.
A110 (Cockfosters to Ponders End)
This is the only major east west route in the northern part of the Borough, and it vitally links Barnet with the Lea Valley.
Although it is designated by TfL as part of its Strategic Road Network, this route has many characteristics of a country road. However it is a route whose significance has risen to the point where most of it is no longer fit for purpose.
It is beset by ineffective junctions that restrict its capacity (notably at Oakwood and with the A10) and it is choked by parking obstructions to the east of Enfield Town. centre. This results in traffic often moving along this important road at less than walking pace. Enfield Borough needs to remedy this and FERAA is campaigning for solutions sooner rather than later.