Summary of changes – Markhouse Village
Summary of changes
Markhouse Village is one of the residential areas that has been earmarked for changes as part of the Enjoy Waltham Forest Programme. It is home to almost 6,000 properties (including residences and businesses), five schools, five religious institutions, and several learning centres. It is also popular with people who walk and cycle travelling to Walthamstow Town Centre, Lea Bridge Road, Bakers Arms and further into Leyton.
The Markhouse Village area is bordered by Selbourne Road to the north, Hoe Street to the east, Lea Bridge Road to the south, and Markhouse Road to the west. In September 2015, we carried out a perception survey to find out what local people in the Markhouse Village area thought about the area and the type of improvements they would like to see. The survey was online and copies were hand delivered to all households in the area. The results of the perception survey are available here. We would like to thank everyone who took part in the perception survey.
We have been reviewing the feedback received during the perception survey, along with a number of other local issues that have been raised with us over the past two years. We are now in a position to take forward improvements in the Markhouse Village area.
Over the next 18 months, we are looking to make a number of changes to the area to improve road safety, and make the area easier to get around for people who want to walk and cycle. We also plan to improve the appearance of the area so that it is more attractive for residents, businesses and visitors. Some of these improvements will require engagement with the community, while others are maintenance or highway improvements and will be constructed for community safety. The funding we have from TfL has been split over the two years, with some of the smaller scale improvements planned for this financial year, while we work on longer term plans that will be consulted on and delivered next financial year.
The improvements we are looking to progress this financial year are currently being developed and are set out on the next page.
Public realm improvements
- Exmouth Road – Improve the public realm outside the southern entrance of Walthamstow Queen’s Road Station on Exmouth Road. This is likely to include planting trees and shrubs, installing cycle parking, new footway surfaces and install playful street features to encourage walking and cycling in the area. We are also looking to improve cycle access.
- Kirk Road – Improve the public realm on the existing pedestrian space on Kirk Road with new footway surfacing, tree planting and public art. We are looking to increase pedestrian space in this area by removing parking from the footway to provide a safe walking environment for pedestrians. We are also looking to improve cycle access.
Walking and cycling safety improvements
- Queens Road – Introduce measures to improve pedestrian safety by increasing footway space and preventing motorists from overrunning the southern footway on Queens Road between Tennyson Road and Callis Road.
- Tennyson Road junction with Ringwood Road – Introduce measures to improve pedestrian safety and reduce the speed of vehicles passing through this junction.
- Queens Road junction with Kirk Road and/or Queens Road outside Edinburgh Primary School – Introduce new zebra crossings and introduce traffic calming to improve road safety for all users.
- Lennox Road at park entrance – Provide a wider pavement area and an informal crossing point at the northern entrance/exit to Thomas Gamuel Park to improve safety for pedestrians crossing Lennox Road.
- Boundary Road - Improve the public realm on Boundary Road with new tree planting and more open spaces. Introduce raised roadway at the junction with side roads in various locations to improve walkability, and replace traffic calming with sinusoidal speed humps to reduce the speed of vehicles.
Over the past couple of weeks we have speaking with key organisations in the area such as local schools, the Emergency Services and TfL/London Overground to make sure they are happy with the emerging plans. We are now planning to start sharing the plans with residents and businesses. Some of the changes are essential highway maintenance and safety works with minimal impact on traffic or parking and so the level of local engagement will vary for each of the schemes. Where there is a chance for the community to get involved, we will be in contact soon and will write to residents and businesses with details on how.
We hope that you will get involved in the local engagement and would like to thank you in advance for your views, which will help shape the area you live, work, or enjoy.