Markhouse Road Transport Scheme

Markhouse Road forms part of the Mini-Holland funded Leyton to Blackhorse Road walking and cycling route, which connects Forest Road and Leyton High Road. 

Running from St James Street to Lea Bridge Road, this part of the route is heavily used by over 19,000 vehicles and around 600 cyclists every day. 

In 2016, we set out to modernise this part of the route to make travelling in the borough by bike and on foot easier and safer.

We know that Markhouse Road is popular for people cycling from Leyton to Walthamstow, so we created separate cycle lanes where possible, making it safer and easier for everyone to share the road. We also installed several pedestrian crossings, and continuous blended ‘Copenhagen’ crossings on side streets which extend the pavement across the road, meaning vehicles need to give way to pedestrians and people on cycles. 

The public consultation for the original scheme took place between 29 February and 21 March 2016. More than 3,000 leaflets were delivered directing people to fill in an online survey hosted on Commonplace. A total of 162 people responded to the survey, and around 70 people came along to a drop-in session to ask us questions. 

As a result of this feedback, we made the following changes to the scheme: 

• The zebra crossing outside Kelmscott School was moved slightly to the north, towards the petrol station to help improve visibility for both pedestrians and vehicles, making the crossing safer for everyone
• The pavements on the western side of Markhouse Road were widened between Theydon Street and Verulam Avenue to provide more space for bus passengers outside St Savour’s Church 
• The bus shelter outside 96-100 Markhouse Road was moved outside 102-108 Markhouse Road as there is more space there to accommodate bus passengers and pedestrians.

You can read more about the consultation and engagement stage in the consultation report found in the useful documents section below.

Following the consultation and engagement processes, the Markhouse Road scheme was constructed between autumn 2016 to summer 2017.

In July 2019, we invited local people to comment on plans to extend the Markhouse Road scheme as part of a statutory consultation. 

The plans involved:

• extending the existing segregated cycling and walking facilitates from Boundary Road down to the junction with Lea Bridge Road
• improving bus stop facilities
• upgrading the existing pedestrian crossing to a “Toucan” crossing to accommodate both cyclists and pedestrians
• introducing new continuous blended ‘Copenhagen’ crossings on several side streets and upgrading existing blended crossings
• improving traffic flow by moving existing bus stops away from the junction with Lea Bridge Road to ensure that vehicles can safely pass stationary buses and continue their journey
• moving the existing signal crossing outside No. 321 Markhouse Road to a new location outside No. 330 Markhouse Road.

Following the statutory consultation, the scheme extension was approved by Waltham Forest Council and progressed to the construction stage. 

• Markhouse Road: public consultation leaflet February 2016
• Markhouse Road: Public Consultation Report April 2016
• Markhouse Road: update letter September 2016
• Markhouse Road: scheme extension map 2019
• Markhouse Road: scheme extension consultation letter July 2019