Objection to the failed experimental cash cow at Briardale Gardens & Pattison Rd in Childs Hill.

A popular route at rush hour, roads are there to be used.

This is Mr Mustard's objection, which he has just submitted. You have until 7 October to get yours in.

This is an experiment which is failing.

There has been plenty of time for people to get used to the new restrictions, nearly 6 months having passed since its introduction, and yet there were 433 PCNs issued for contraventions at those locations in the week ended 31 August 18.

It brings the council into disrepute to have such wholesale flouting of banned turns. The general public at large won't know that the errant motorists received a PCN apiece.

It also isn't an attractive look that the council will gather in c.£28,000 in PCN revenue in a week when what they really wanted to do was to stop motorists from using the two roads in question at certain times.

It isn't clear to me why the experiment isn't working, and I don't suppose the council has done any research into why it isn't, by, for example, joining with the police and stopping vehicles after the contravention has occurred and asking the drivers about their actions.

If we contrast these junctions with that of Barnfield Road (junction with Market Lane, HA8) where there is a no entry restriction and an enforcement camera we find that in the same week ended 31 August there were only 2 PCNs issued for breaching the No Entry restriction. Clearly the No Entry sign is accorded much greater respect by the motoring public. I note that was the preferred option of the adjoining borough, Camden Council.

Barnet's DPR shows that they did not follow the preferred option of Camden Council, which would have led to the desired effect of virtually stopping any contraventions from taking place.

In summary my objections are:

1 The experiment is a failure so should be stopped and not made into a permanent order.
2 The majority of affected residents are within the borough of Camden so their view should take priority.
3 The council have carried out no research as to why their experiment has failed.
4 A new experiment should be conducted using 'no entry' signs. These have to be 24 hours but that doesn't matter as most of the traffic will be within the banned turn times so extending the times affects far fewer motorists & cycles can still be excluded.
5 No entry signs are respected almost all of the time.

I now have a copy of what Camden Council sent to residents, since the start of the trial.

Further to our joint letter of 16 March 2018, we write to update you in relation to the trial traffic scheme that is currently in place at Briardale Gardens and Pattison Road.

As you may recall, there is agreement between Camden Council and Barnet Council that there is a traffic problem at Briardale Gardens and that action was needed to address the safety concerns, in particular for pedestrians crossing Briardale Gardens at its junction with Finchley Road.  Officers from both authorities have been working together on finding an agreeable solution and in April 2018 an experimental scheme was implemented that banned the right and left turn movements from Finchley Road into both Briardale Gardens and Pattison Road operating between 6am and 10.30am and between 3pm and 8.30pm (except for cyclists), Monday to Friday.

We are aware that since the implementation of the experimental traffic scheme the concerns amongst local residents regarding road safety, particularly on Briardale Gardens and at its junction with Finchley Road, remain and that there is a widely held view that the experimental scheme has not been sufficient in addressing these issues and only a no entry from Finchley Road into Briardale Gardens will address the concerns.  Residents of Pattison Road have also expressed concerns at the operational hours of the scheme and its impact on them accessing their home. It is noted that the volume of traffic in Briardale Gardens has reduced by up to 90%, during the restricted hours, however, traffic volumes have increased by an average of 85% during the hours between the traffic restrictions, 10.30am – 3.00pm Monday to Friday.  There continues to be a high level of non-compliance, especially in the case of Briardale Gardens. 

Since its implementation the operation of the experimental scheme has been subject to ongoing monitoring, including traffic count surveys, video surveys, levels of compliance and the feedback received during the trial period.  This information is currently being reviewed by officers and will be used to produce a monitoring report and it is anticipated that this will be available in early October. 

This technical analysis and the findings of a road safety audit will be used to inform discussions with Councillors and the authorities will jointly agree a final decision on the future of the scheme. 

We would like to thank you again for your patience in this matter and would like to assure you that we are working to bring this issue to a conclusion as soon as possible.