Henlys Corner

Henlys Corner

Henlys Corner, looking east in March 2012
Location
Finchley, London
Construction
Type: At grade crossing with traffic signals

Henlys Corner is a road junction in North London, where the A1 meets the North Circular Road, and is named after the Henlys Group garage which sat at the junction from 1935 to 1989.[1] The two routes share the roadspace through the junction, along with a local road, the A598 Finchley Road / Regent's Park Road, together with some other local residential roads, and consequently it has been described by Arriva as "a major hotspot for traffic congestion",[2] with approximately 94,000 vehicles traversing the junction daily.[3]

The London Buses route 102, which runs from Brent Cross to Edmonton Green, also goes through the junction.[2]

The junction was created as part of the construction of the Barnet Bypass, which opened in 1928, with future provision for the North Circular.[4][5] It was designed as a dual carriageway junction, but due to the urban sprawl of London already surrounding it, meant that by the 1950s it had a 30 mph speed limit, traffic lights and pedestrian crossings.[6] In 1967, the junction was widened from two to three lanes in each direction, which remains the basic configuration today.[7]

In October 2011, Britain's first "hands free" pedestrian crossing was installed at the junction, so that the local Jewish community did not have to use electricity or operate machinery on the Sabbath.[8] Traffic is held every 90 seconds over this duration (sunset Friday to sunset Saturday), while foot traffic principally serves Finchley Synagogue.[9]

During 2011, the junction was also upgraded in order to improve traffic movements. Traffic between the North Circular Road and Finchley Road / Regent's Park Road was rerouted into a central area, as right turns had previously restricted other traffic movements. On 13 January 2012, the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson officially opened improvements to the junction, stating "This is a tremendous example of how we are improving London’s roads for every type of user."[3]

References

  1. ↑ Stewart Wild. "A Condensed History of Finchley". Finchley Society. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  2. 1 2 "Ringing the changes at Henlys Corner". Arriva. 1 August 2011. Archived from the original on 13 September 2011. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  3. 1 2 "Mayor marks completion of improvements that have transformed Henlys Corner". Transport for London. 13 January 2012.
  4. ↑ "Half inch Ministry of Transport Road Map Sheet 34 (London)". Ordnance Survey. 1927. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  5. ↑ "By-Pass Roads". Hansard. 10 July 1928. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  6. ↑ Maurice Orbach (1 August 1951). "North Circular Road, Willesden". Hansard. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  7. ↑ Stephen Swingler (20 July 1967). "North Circular Road (Widening)". Hansard. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  8. ↑ Martin Delgado (2 October 2011). "A hands-free green man...so devout Jews can cross the road without breaking a religious law". Daily Mail. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  9. ↑ "Work on Henlys Corner junction improvement scheme to begin in February 2011". Transport for London. 28 January 2011. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
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