ABD - Barnet

This page focusses on issues solely within Barnet London Borough.
For issues across the whole of London please see our main London page.

For local advice on roads and traffic issues email our regional co-ordinator:

2006-08-10
Massive Cock-Up on Parking Tickets
The High Court has found that Barnet's parking tickets were illegal prior to 5th May 2006. 2,000 people may be entitled to their money back, but they'll probably have to fight for it as the council won't be honest enough to hand the money back voluntarily.

Barnet Times — Parking tickets ruled 'invalid' 2006-08-10

Council Policy
Barnet is on the front line against Ken Livingstone and TfL's anti-car policies by adopting common sense policies on transport. Though there are signs that other boroughs are joining the battle, with Enfield and Richmond-upon-Thames both removing speed humps, and Kensington & Chelsea removing bus lanes.

Barnet Times — Humps face-off 2004-03-24
Guardian — Pro-car councils head for collision with Livingstone 2004-03-24

Accidents Down
The adoption of sensible road policies has resulted in a 14.9% reduction in road accidents across the borough during the first 6 months of 2005, compared with an average reduction of 8.8% across London.
Barnet removed speed humps after acknowledging their countless negative effects on safety.

Ken Livingstone is predictably none too happy about this and is now withholding £1.5 million from Barnet claiming their policies are “putting children's lives at risk” (the usual argument anti-car campaigners come up with when they can't think of anything else).
Brian Coleman pleonastically described Ken's claims as “absolute bollocks”, insisting that the Barnet's measures had widespread public support.

Guardian — Livingstone withholds £1.5m from 'loony right' council 2004-04-13
Barnet Times — Ken stops funds to 'loony right' 2004-04-15

Talking Sense

"The evidence is clear - road humps are a menace which are endangering Londoners."

"TfL stands for Taliban for London."

"The mayor has no idea what happens in the suburbs and neither has TfL."

Brian Coleman

Brian Coleman
Brian Coleman is a councillor for Totteridge Ward, and is Barnet Council's cabinet member for Environment. Whilst his job title might suggest he's part of the problem, his actions show he's actually part of the solution. He was the driving force behind Barnet's much publised decision to remove speed humps. Brian sought the conservative nomination for London Mayor but was unsuccessful.
Brian does not exactly see eye-to-eye on transport polices with TfL, which he has refered to as ‘Transport for Lefties’. He also believes some TfL officers are engaged in a political campaign against him. With TfL's Director of Borough Partnerships being Ben Plowden, former director of the anti-car lobby group ‘The Pedestrian's Association’, this is hardly surprising.

Hump-Free Ward
The ABD has been advised by Councillor Brian Salinger that no speed humps will be removed in his Oakleigh ward — for the simple reason that there aren't any! Cllr Salinger has refused to allow the council to install any humps in his ward. This is of course even better than the strategy of removing them.

Positive Steps
Barnet's driver-friendly policies include:

The use of traffic calming to restrict movement and available routes, previously the main way the council addressed road safety concerns, has now been shown to have adverse effects, particularly on the emergency services, bus passengers and nearby residents.

Barnet London Borough

Not replacing speed humps when roads are resurfaced. This effectively removes them at no cost to ratepayers.
- BBC — Road humps hamper police response 2003-12-03
- Barnet Times (Letters) — Speed humps cause pain and suffering to those with bad backs 2003-11-24
- Barnet Times (Letters) — Most don't want traffic humps 2003-10-03
- Barnet Times (Letters) — Speed humps are dangerous and a pain 2003-07-14
- Barnet Times (Letters) — Brian is right about humps 2003-07-01
- Barnet Times (Letters) — Got the hump 2002-05-01
- Barnet Times (Letters) — Humps are lethal 2001-10-30

Re-opening Partingdale Lane in Mill Hill after it was closed against public wishes by the previous administration in 1997. The Tories had made a manifesto promise to re-open it.

Edgware Times (Letters) — Does he want every road in the capital closed? 2003-05-13
Edgware Times (Letters) — Councillor right to stick by road decision 2003-04-16
Edgware Times (Letters) — Original decision was wrong 2003-04-08
Edgware Times (Letters) — Yeoman’s hypocrisy 2003-04-08
Edgware Times (Brian Coleman) — I am only guilty of implementing promises 2003-04-07
Edgware Times — Lyon stands by Coleman and vows to re-open Lane to traffic 2003-03-23
Edgware Times (Letters) — Lane was closed for no reason 2003-02-21
Edgware Times (Letters) — Lane reopening has saved me valuable time and petrol 2003-02-04
Edgware Times — Coleman hits back at judge's criticisms over Partingdale Lane 2003-01-20
Edgware Times — Partingdale Lane opens after controversial ceremony 2002-12-20
Edgware Times (Letters) — Traffic chaos 2002-12-05
Edgware Times — Lane ruling was right, say Tories 2002-09-04
Edgware Times (Letters) — Crazy paving 2002-07-01
Edgware Times (Letters) — Closures are not the answer 2002-06-25

Partingdale Lane Photos Some people who objected to the road being re-opened claimed there was not room for a car and pedestrian to pass. Our photos show this is clearly not true as it is a two lane road. Certainly there is no room for a car and pedestrian to pass between the edge of road and the white line, but this is true of most roads. Whilst the road has been re-opened it is now afflicted with a 20mph limit.
Pedestrians walking two abreast on Partindale Lane showing there is ample room for a car to pass safely. Ahead is a traffic calming chicane.	The same section from further back showing how hazards can be seen for several hundred yards, making the 20mph limit and the traffic calming unnecessary.
20mph be may appropriate on some bends, but not on the straight section between if there are no hazards present. Imposing a 20mph limit on the whole road undermines speed limits.	On some tight bends a speed less than 20 may be appropriate. On two lane roads, drivers should always ensure they can stop within the distance they can see.
On country lanes, drivers should slow to an appropriate speed when passing pedestrians, cyclists, or horses. In addition they should always ensure they can stop within the distance they can see. Yet the imposition of such ridiculously low limits as 20mph serve only to encourage contempt for all speed limits.

Scrapping the bus lane camera on Burnt Oak Broadway that prevented people turning right without incuring a fine.
- Barnet Times — £1m camera to disappear 2004-03-24
Withdrawing from the lorry ban.
Barnet is to withdraw from the lorry ban imposed in 1985 whereby HGVs must apply for a permit before they can access certain streets. Barnet argues that the cost of being in the bureaucratic scheme is disproportionate to the number of lorries that use the borough's roads. In the last 6 years, only 35 of the 25170 prosecutions made under the scheme have been in Barnet. Hillingdon has already withdraw.

Not so good
All is not rosy in Barnet; we have serious concerns over the way in which Controlled Parking Zones (CPZ) are being imposed in the borough; and excessive increases in council car park charges.

Hendon Times — ‘Shoddy’ CPZ consultation 2004-04-14
Hendon Times (Letters) — Parking zones are merely a revenue-raising exercise 2004-04-08
Hendon Times — Line drawn in battle for road space 2003-07-09
Hendon Times — Fined for parking outside own home 2003-06-26
Hendon Times — CAB threatened by new parking zone 2003-03-26
Hendon Times (Letters) — CPZs are bad 2002-02-05
A simple solution.
Hendon Times (Letters) — Encourage trade by providing free parking spaces 2002-01-23
Hendon Times (Letters) — Where are commuters supposed to park? 2002-01-08
A simple question that remains unanswered.

Master Atlas of
Greater London

Elsewhere on the ABD website:

Speed Cameras in London

External Links:

Adjacent local areas

Media Links:

LocalLondon — Ripping out road humps cut injuries 2005-06-02
Barnet Times (Letters) — Council’s money-raising parking zone strategy has gone too far 2005-03-24
Barnet Times (Letters) — Charges for parking meters cannot be justified 2005-03-24
Barnet Times — Parking tickets net £4m 2004-06-02
Barnet Times — Roadwork chaos to be tackled 2004-03-17
Barnet Times (Letters) — Coleman knows what we want 2003-07-08
Barnet Times (Brian Coleman) — Ken congestion charge is Poll Tax on wheels' 2001-07-17
Barnet Times — Tory threatened by cyclist group 2001-05-09