Conservative party’s Southgate MP, David Burrowes, held a small meeting in triangle in Palmers green, which 20 people attended, to address the referendum results on the bike lane proposal made by the Enfield Council.
Enfield council was given 42 million pounds by the TFL for the development of bicycle lanes in and around Enfield.
D.Burrowes and some of his supporters have opposed the proposed Cycle Enfield project since it was first introduced. Even though most were in favour of the project in the survey carried out by the council, the referendum, organised by Burrowes, showed only 17% percent of Enfielders are in favour of the project, 462; those who said no, 1973, to the question, “Do you support the overall proposal to the A105 cycling scheme”.
“This is a resounding verdict [on the scheme],” said Burrowes.
“1.646 responded to the council’s online consultation; on my referendum had 2828, 3/4 said they were against it.”
The referendum was carried out primarily in Southgate, Winchmore Hill and Palmers Green areas, the MP’s constituence.
“Businesses and residence are against it, because imagine cycle lanes six metres wide on each side – it will reduce parking, make traffic stationary and increase air pollution for less than one percent of the Enfield area,” Dyana Row, resident of the Enfield area.
“Many restaurants are going to lose a lot of business in Palmers green because a lot of parking space is going to be taken over by the new cycling Lanes,” said Paul, who runs the ‘save our Green Lanes” area.
“The evidence all around the world proves that, getting more people to cycle improves congestion, decreases air pollution and improves public health; exercise and so on…[…] at the moment, 0.7% of people in Enfield cycle to work. This is because it is not safe: “Around 40% said they will cycle if it became safe enough”.
The scheme is set to go ahead but will not be