Background
- The A104, or Epping New Road, bisects Epping Forest, north to south, from Epping all the way through Woodford to Leyton Flats.
- The Department for Transport has recognised it as one of the most dangerous roads in England. In response, a new Essex County Council project intends to extend the 30mph zone of the road from Redbridge (where it is now) up to the junction with Rangers Road, leaving the remainder of Epping New Road at 40mph, albeit with new average speed cameras installed between Rangers Road and the Wake Arms.
- EFHT do not think this goes far enough, as this leaves 2.8 miles of Forest-surrounded road at 40mph; between 2015-2022 almost half of all collisions on Epping New Road which resulted in harm to cyclists or pedestrians involved a car going at 40mph or less.
How can you help
Share your experiences
As a Forest visitor, and/or someone who drives along Epping New Road, it would be great to hear your side of the story and feature your voice in our campaign.
Become a campaign volunteer
If you are concerned about the safety of Forest visitors, enjoy talking with members of the public, and would like to stand up for Epping Forest, we would love to have you as part of the team.
Our campaign asks:
From our perspective, Epping New Road is currently a huge blight on the Forest, creating a huge barrier between the north-west and north-east of the Forest, with the high traffic speeds making it unsafe for visitors (walkers, cyclists, horseriders) to cross the road, with many visitors to the Forest therefore choosing routes which avoid Epping New Road altogether.
We believe that Epping Forest is for all, and all visitors should be able to access the Forest safely and securely. We therefore are running ‘Make Epping New Road Safe’ campaign with the following two asks:
1. To reduce the speed limit of the whole road to 30mph
Collisions at 30mph are far less likely, as they reduce the stopping distance of cars by 15 metres. Moreover, collisions at 30mph are between 3.5-5.5 times less likely to be fatal for pedestrians than collisions at 40mph. The safety of drivers would also massively benefit from this reduction, as the risk of fatalities from frontal collisions between vehicles decreases by up to 14%.
2. To install two safe crossing points where most pedestrians cross: at Lincoln’s Lane and Mount Pleasant
These are the points most people cross the road, but in 2023 alone two serious collisions took place around Mount Pleasant. One of these resulted in a death. Essex Highways, after consultation with the City of London Corporation, has made provisions for traffic islands at various points across the road, including these two points. However, without adequate traffic calming measures, the dangers inherent to a 40mph road remain (pedestrians using the islands would also be at risk of being left stranded between two streams of fast-moving cars). Safe crossing points, either controlled or fitted with traffic calming infrastructure like speed tables, would protect walkers, cyclists and horse riders as they cross from one side of the Forest to the other, ensuring that as many people as possible can visit the whole Forest safely.
Data analysis and briefing:
[Updated August 2025]: Road Safety on the A104 Epping New Road
EFHT has analysed crash data collected by Essex Highways. It shows that the majority of crashes between motorists and non-motorists (cyclists and pedestrians) involved speeds of 40mph or less, so reducing the speed to 40mph as proposed by Essex Highways does not go far enough to make this road safer.
This briefing also includes research references about speed limits and their impact on safety and sustainability.
FAQs:
What about the impact of traffic displacement?
Drivers hoping for an as-fast-as-possible journey may opt to travel down roads which in parts remain at 40mph, including the next nearest A Road (the A112), leading to greater congestion in these areas. However, given that the journey time on Epping New Road would only increase by 1.5 minutes, we do not believe that this will be a main factor in people changing routes. Alternatively, those who continue to travel down Epping New Road at 30mph will be able to more easily and carefully appreciate the incredible ancient woodland surrounding them on either side.
Is there a risk of increased pollution from slower speeds?
Public safety is the main concern of the Make Epping New Road Safe campaign, but, as a charity, EFHT also cares for Epping Forest as a rich source of heritage and biodiversity, and we would be concerned about any transport policies which could have harmful effects on these. However, research is on the fence about which would cause a greater impact, higher speeds or slower speeds.
Will a 30mph speed limit result in more traffic queues?
Although a relationship between reduced speeds and increased congestion may seem clear-cut, research shows otherwise. Some recent research has even shown reduced congestion through the lowering of speed limits to 30mph. Not only do reduced speeds limit crashes, but they also allow for smoother traffic flow, especially at intersections (like Lincolns Lane and Mount Pleasant car parks).
What about increased journey time?
Our research shows that reducing the speed limit between Rangers Road and Wakes Arm roundabout will only increase journey time by 1.5 minutes. Counter-weighted with the benefits to public safety (including a 3.5-5.5x reduced risk of pedestrian fatality from collisions and potential 13% reduction in driver fatality from frontal collision with another car), we believe that this is necessary.
Why have you chosen Lincolns Lane and Mount Pleasant for the crossings?
Lincolns Lane and Mount Pleasant are already the places with the highest footfall of people crossing the road. They are both next to car parks and are therefore good crossing points for visitors looking to explore more of the forest. Their popularity also makes them more dangerous. 2023 saw two serious collisions around Mount Pleasant, one resulting in a death. Installing these crossings would protect walkers, cyclists and horse riders as they cross from one side of the Forest to the other, ensuring that as many people as possible can visit the whole Forest safely.
Our previous responses in relation to A104 Safety Proposal
September 2023
Essex Highways have presented their proposals, which include details on the most recent crash and casualty data, to the Epping Forest & Commons Committee and the Epping Forest Consultative Group. We had been liaising with Epping Forest Transport Action Group and the London Cycling Campaign to feed in views. We support their plans to put in place speed cameras, but we think their current plans could go much further to reduce speeds, reduce pollution and make the Forest more accessible to, and pleasant for, visitors.
June 2024
Essex Highways have presented their updated proposals to the Epping Forest & Commons Committee and the Epping Forest Consultative Group. EFHT still has significant concerns about the scheme, primarily that it fails to deal with the genuine safety issues facing Forest Visitors of crossing a 40mph road. Proper signalled crossings at key crossing points would be the best solution. The second best would be reducing speeds to 30mph, which would have the added benefit of reducing pollution levels which are too high in the north of the Forest.