Francis Road traffic changes

Since motor traffic was reduced in 2018, Francis Road has become a vibrant place for the local community. 

To build on this success, we want to extend the car-free hours to introduce KERB Francis Road, a street food and produce market on Saturdays from 10am to 4pm, and Francis Road Lates, a series of nighttime activities run by local businesses and residents to bring more life to the street in the evenings. 

For these events to operate, we need to extend the existing ‘No vehicle’ restriction between 10am and 8pm between Claude Road and Albert Road, to the following times: 

• Sunday to Friday, 10am to 10pm
• Saturday, 8am to 10pm 

This will allow evening events to operate during the week and give traders time to set up and pack down on Saturdays. 

Apart from the change in time, the restrictions will operate exactly as they do now, including exemptions for emergency services. 

To ensure this change works for residents and businesses, we are introducing the new times on a trial basis through an 18-month Experimental Traffic Management Order. This allows residents and businesses to see how it works on the ground and provide feedback under ‘live’ conditions. 

The ETMO will be made enforceable on Saturday 5 July 2025. 

The first six months of the ETMO process forms a statutory consultation, where the community can provide feedback on the trial operating hours. To share your thoughts, please email traffic.scheme@walthamforest.gov.uk with your address, full name and the subject line ‘ET7(25), Francis Road trial market’ before 5 January 2026.

The statutory consultation is a formal process, involving advertising the necessary ETMOs associated with the changes in Waltham Forest Guardian and on-street notices in the area. 

Following statutory consultation, we will assess the feedback received and have up to 12 months to decide whether to make the changes permanent or not. 

We will also be at the KERB Francis Road market to answer questions and collect feedback on Saturday 5 July, and other events throughout the statutory consultation period.

If staff members are unavailable for any reason at 020 8496 3000, you may leave a telephone message requesting a call back from the Enjoy Waltham Forest Team.