Council agrees new 'red route' traffic restrictions for Wood Green

The new restrictions run along A105 High Road Wood Green between Turnpike Lane and Bounds Green Road, reports Joe Ives, Local Democracy Reporter

Wood Green High Road and (inset) Cllr Iozzi

New traffic restrictions for Wood Green have been approved by Haringey Council – following claims residents who opposed the scheme had an “incorrect” understanding of it.

A new ‘red route’ is set to run along A105 High Road Wood Green between Turnpike Lane and Bounds Green Road.

The move officially came into effect on Tuesday (20th), a week after being formally approved by Gio Iozzi, the Green Party-led local authority’s cabinet member for climate action and transport.

In a report, the council said the new red route “will help maintain traffic flow on key corridors, reduce illegal stopping that causes delays, and support sustainable transport objectives”.

It argued that “clear access” along the road is currently being “hindered by illegal or poor parking practices, leading to congestion, and raising safety concerns for pedestrians, where vehicles obstruct the footway”.

Nevertheless, nearly 60% of the 196 responses the council received from an “initial public engagement exercise”, carried out between August and September 2024, expressed opposition to the plans.

However, in a recent report, council officers recommended that the majority of respondents who did not support the proposed changes should essentially be ignored.

Most of these doubters, including “both residents and businesses”, had an “incorrect perception” that the red route would remove or reduce parking and loading facilities, officers said.

The right perception, they argued, is that the new restrictions will only “convert” existing “no waiting and no loading” restrictions to the “no stopping at any time” rules of a red route.

The report presented to Cllr Iozzi noted that “it is the view of officers that these changes are an essential intervention for this key north–south connective corridor, ensuring it provides a safe, reliable, and efficient means to move through the borough”.

After its initial poll, the local authority went on to carry out a formal statutory consultation on the new red route proposals. This was carried out over a three-week period between September and October last year.

This consultation found a fairly even split of opinions, albeit from a total 44 responses, less than a third of that generated by the council’s “initial public engagement exercise”.

Despite this, officers used the statutory consultation to conclude that “overall analysis” of public opinion suggests that “a majority of respondents support the proposed Red Route along A105 High Road Wood Green”.

The new restrictions route will now be put in place by the council using traffic management orders.

The local authority estimates a “full cost” of £197,000 for the new measures, including a £170,000 bill for the supply and installation of extra enforcement cameras.

The fee will be paid for through the council’s capital programme and is “subject to agreement from the Better Bus Partnership Bid” secured from Transport for London.

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