Henlys Corner

Henlys Corner is a road junction in Finchley, North London, where the A1 meets the North Circular Road and crosses the A598, 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 was described by Arriva London in 2011 as "a major hotspot for traffic congestion",[2] with approximately 94,000 vehicles traversing the junction daily.[3]

Henlys Corner
Henlys Corner, looking east in March 2012
Location
Finchley, London
Coordinates51°35′23″N 0°12′00″W
Construction
TypeAt grade crossing with traffic signals

London Buses route 102, which runs from Brent Cross Shopping Centre to Edmonton Green station, also goes through the junction.[2] Other routes that cross the junction include the 13, 232 and 460.

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), with foot traffic principally to and from Kinloss 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. The improvements cost over £30 million[10]. 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. Archived from the original on 3 July 2013. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  2. "Ringing the changes at Henlys Corner". Arriva. 1 August 2011. Archived from the original on 13 September 2011. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  3. "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.
  10. citation needed
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