Busgate for Brownlow Road

Posted by Vicki Leonard on February 6, 2021 at 10:10pm in Traffic, roads, public transport

Actually Brownlow Road has always been designated a B road - that is, a road for cars to travel along. It is not as such a 'residential' road. I don't think that tradespeople serving our communities would appreciate being sent miles out of their way and sitting in stationary traffic.

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Replies

Matt Kitching February 10, 2021 at 8:49pm

It's true that Brownlow is a B-road. It was designated as such in the 1930s. Before that it was an unclassified road. It certainly has become a convenient way to access to/from the A406. I understand that in 'normal' times it now carries 10,000 vehicles a day and experiences high levels of NO2 pollution above WHO limits. Traffic regularly queues along its length in both directions at peak hours. It can't be a nice environment for the residents. A bus gate seems like an interesting solution, perhaps it could be limited to peak hours only? I haven't seen any proposals yet though.
Annabel Gregory February 8, 2021 at 10:31am

Hi Vicki,

Yes, that's an interesting point about B-roads. Your post prompted me to do a bit of online research! The government's guidance on road classification says that:

B roads are intended to connect different areas, and to feed traffic between A roads and smaller roads on the network ... [they will] be of significance to traffic (including through traffic), but less so than an A road

Wikipedia says:

This classification has nothing to do with the width or quality of the physical road, and B roads can range from dual carriageways to single track roads with passing places.

I am not aware that road classification changes very often, if at all? As you say, Brownlow Road has been designated a B road for a long time - and a problem with this is that road use changes. In particular, since the introduction of satnavs, much A road traffic has been diverted to smaller roads, so many B roads get an awful lot of traffic. B151 Park Avenue N22 is a worse example - it has pavement parking because there is no room on the roadway, and a massive amount of traffic passes through. We used to live there - it has large houses nearly all divided into flats full of kids - and crossing the road with my daughter so that she could play with her friend on the other side was always difficult.
- Vicki Leonard > Annabel Gregory February 8, 2021 at 10:58am
  
  Nevertheless it is a road designated to carry through traffic. I'm not sure that anecdotal evidence from years ago about other roads is helpful.
- Annabel Gregory > Vicki Leonard February 20, 2021 at 7:24pm
  Here is what Palmers Green Community website has to say about having a busgate on Brownlow, and also describing possible amendments which Enfield Council are considering for the Bowes Park LTN:
  
  For many years the volume of traffic has far exceeded the street's capacity and residents have had to endure noise, fumes and danger. Queues of cars often stretch back along nearly the whole length of the street, waiting for the lights at the northern end, where priority is given to the North Circular Road traffic.
  [Enfield Council are therefore trialling a busgate in this road.] A bus gate is a camera-controlled point which only buses, emergency vehicles, bikes and people on foot are permitted to pass. To prevent problems for other local roads, design and consultation will need to be closely coordinated with neighbouring Haringey Council, which has also received funding for LTNs in the Bounds Green area, and with Transport for London. In particular, the scheme might require TfL to allow traffic to turn right out of Bounds Green Road onto the North Circular at Hobart Corner.
  
  Phase 1 of the Bowes scheme is currently operating as a trial with formal consultation running concurrently and due to end in February. Depending on feedback received and after reviewing data relating to the effect on other roads, bus running times, emergency services and other considerations, the council may decide to abandon the scheme, to amend it, or to make it permanent. If amended, the trial and formal consultation period will be extended. A possible way of amending the scheme would be to change it around so that residents and visitors access the streets from the Bounds Green Road direction, rather than from the north.

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