An opposition councillor has described the impact of the new bus lane in Church Street as “utter carnage”, reports James Cracknell

The bus lane in Church Street, Enfield Town, is causing traffic to back up beyond the town centre

Enfield Council has temporarily suspended a new bus lane in Enfield Town amid an uproar from local drivers over the impact it is having on traffic.

The short 24-hour bus lane along Church Street, where there are already three bus stops, was introduced late last year but quickly began causing tailbacks as drivers were forced to wait behind delivery vehicles serving local shops and anyone else that had parked or stopped ahead of them.

After drivers began sharing videos of traffic jams in the town centre on social media, and opposition Conservative councillors slammed the “utter carnage” the bus lane was causing, the council announced on Friday (9th) it would pause traffic restrictions until further changes could be made.

The council implemented this suspension by spray-painting the bus lane sign. However, when the Dispatch visited yesterday (Monday 12^th), no vehicles other than buses were using the bus lane – apparently as drivers did not realise it was now suspended.

The council has spray-painted the bus lane sign as a way to suspend it

The council had already been planning to designate Church Street as a ‘red route’, with strict ‘no stopping’ rules to keep traffic flowing, but did not introduce this at the same time as the new bus lane. The Dispatch has asked why but received no answer to the question.

Even with the new red route, Tory councillors say that the problems are likely to persist, as many drivers simply ignore the rules.

A council spokesperson said: “The investment to improve our town centre with a bus lane, new crossings and improved pavements are part of our work to make it safer, tackle speeding and create cleaner, more welcoming streets for everyone.

“The bus lane is there to keep buses moving reliably through the town centre and to improve safety. These works include a new pedestrian crossing.

“At the moment, some of the traffic is being caused by cars parking illegally on double yellow lines and blocking traffic. To deal with this, red route markings will be added as soon as the weather allows, which will strongly discourage illegal parking. We expect this to be in place by the end of the week.

“While work is still ongoing, drivers can use the bus lane if needed, and no fines will be issued during this period. Signs have been updated to make this clear. No fines have been issued so far.”

Discussing the impact of the bus lane so far, Town ward councillor Mike Rye told the Dispatch: “It is entirely self defeating – the purpose is to improve the speed of the buses but what is happening is traffic is piling back up to Chase Side, Windmill Hill and even to Enfield Chase Station, so they can’t get into town. It is utter carnage. It is not helping the town centre.

“They didn’t listen to the traders about their deliveries. They have removed delivery bays and many shops don’t have rear access so they can only deliver to the front.

“Drivers are frightened to go into the bus lane and get a ticket so instead they stop and then traffic snarls up the town.

“I want them to scrap it. The bus lane serves no purpose. The previous arrangement worked perfectly well and it meant traffic could flow seamlessly through, but that is not happening now. It is detrimental to businesses.”

Regarding the red route, which the council says will be in force by the end of the week, Cllr Rye added: “It won’t solve the problem, because you will still have ignorant drivers stopping and people will also just do it illegally.”

The council spokesperson added: “Supporting local businesses is a key part of this investment. A safer, cleaner and more attractive town centre helps bring more people in, increasing footfall and supporting shops and traders. That’s why loading bays have been built into the plans, with dedicated loading areas at both ends of the high street, as well as parking available throughout the town centre.

“We are also investing more in enforcement and in keeping streets cleaner and safer, so the town centre works better for residents, visitors and businesses alike. We are keeping a close eye on the situation and ask drivers to park responsibly so everyone can get around safely.”

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