Granville Road and Albert Road - 'No Entry Except For Access' Restriction

Redbridge Council is proposing to trial a traffic reduction scheme on Granville Road and Albert Road to respond to residents’ concerns about rat running and to complement the School Streets Scheme. Roads within the School Streets scheme are included on the map within this document.

We are reaching out to people living in the area to provide you with some information and hear your views on the trial of a ‘no entry except for access’ scheme for both Granville and Albert Roads between the hours of 7am and 7pm on weekdays only through an ‘Experimental Traffic Order’.

The ‘no entry except for access’ scheme will prevent through traffic on both Granville and Albert Road. It will still allow for residents and visitors to park and access their homes as well as delivery vehicles to park up and deliver any parcels. What it will not allow are any vehicles to go directly from Ashford Road to Chigwell Road, what is described as “through traffic”, even residents.

This scheme will also require an extension to the Oakdale School Streets Scheme extending the restriction on Ashford Road to the junction with Beechcroft Road. Residents within this extended area as well as residents on Granville Road will be exempt from the School Streets restriction.

How will it work?

The ‘no entry except for access’ restriction will be enforced with cameras. The camera will identify if a vehicle has driven through without stopping and if it has we will issue a penalty notice. If a vehicle parks up then the camera will deem that vehicle has parked up for access to a property for either residential, visiting, work or delivery purposes.

The timing of how long a stop needs to be in order for the camera to exclude a vehicle will be managed throughout the trial to get the balance right.

The cameras will be placed directly opposite Granville Road and Albert Road on Ashford Road to identify the vehicles that are not complying with the restrictions.

The ‘no entry except for access’ restriction will not stop those that park in the roads as they will be compliant with the restriction. The restriction will apply to residents if they were to drive through the roads from Ashford Road to Chigwell Road, exemptions will apply to emergency services.

There will be two School Streets restriction points on Ashford Road - one at the junction of Ashford Road with Beechcroft Road and one at the junction of Ashford Road with Granville Road. These are required to facilitate the ‘no entry except for access’ restriction on Granville Road.

The restrictions will be introduced with an experimental traffic order subject to this consultation including the School Streets scheme. An experimental traffic order allows for flexibility to make changes as and where required and an extended period of consultation for the first six months from the introduction of the order, in addition to this initial consultation.

Why make changes?

The Council has undertaken surveys and a previous consultation for the wider Oakdale area to address high levels of rat running through these narrow residential roads. The previous consultation results for the wider Oakdale Our Streets scheme were inconclusive as none of the proposals received majority support the scheme was not taken forward. However, the consultation showed significant concern about rat running on these roads. This new proposal aims to reduce rat running in the area and looks to address specific concerns raised in relation to Granville and Albert Roads through a more targeted trial. The proposal is also designed to complement the extended School Streets scheme on nearby roads.

Traffic surveys carried out in the area show significant traffic volumes travelling through Granville Road onto Chigwell Road between the hours of 7am and 7pm. The direction of travel from the origin and destination surveys shows vehicles coming from The Viaduct and Mulberry Way through Granville Road onto Chigwell Road. If Albert Road is not included there is a strong likelihood that through traffic would displace to that road.

In the previous consultation some residents wanted an extension to the School Streets scheme to Granville Road. School streets schemes are designed specifically to reduce traffic around the school gate at the start and end of the school day and do not stop rat running as that occurs outside of the School Streets prohibition timing during the remainder of peak traffic time. This proposal would reduce the rat running on both roads by preventing through traffic and is designed to complement the School Streets scheme on nearby roads.