Is A406/Bowes Rd/Green Lanes in Finchley and Barnet usually congested?

The A406/Bowes Rd/Green Lanes area follows typical London traffic patterns — weekday rush hours (07:30–09:30 and 16:30–19:00) are consistently the busiest periods, with school term-time adding pressure around 08:15–09:00 and 15:00–16:00 on school days. Midweek tends to be heavier than Mondays or Fridays, when more people work from home. Saturday lunch and early afternoon can also be surprisingly busy for shopping and leisure trips. The live JamCam above, updated every five minutes by TfL, is the most reliable way to check actual conditions right now.

Do I need to pay any charges to drive through A406/Bowes Rd/Green Lanes?

This location is outside the Congestion Charge Zone, so no CC charge applies. However, like all roads in Greater London, this location falls inside the ULEZ boundary, meaning ULEZ applies here 24 hours a day. Most petrol cars from 2006 onwards and diesel cars from 2015 onwards are compliant and pay nothing. Older vehicles face a daily ULEZ charge of £12.50. Check TfL's free vehicle checker at tfl.gov.uk to find out if your car or van is affected.

How reliable is the JamCam feed at A406/Bowes Rd/Green Lanes?

TfL's JamCam network operates at over 95% uptime across its 900+ cameras. Individual cameras can go offline temporarily due to maintenance, power issues or road damage, but outages are usually resolved within hours. When this specific camera is unavailable, the page will show an error message — nearby cameras in the strip below the main feed often give a useful alternative view. TfL's Open Data API also occasionally experiences brief delays, which can result in images that are slightly older than the usual five-minute interval.

Is A406/Bowes Rd/Green Lanes on a bus route?

The A406 is served by a number of TfL bus routes. You can find the specific routes serving stops near A406/Bowes Rd/Green Lanes using TfL's Bus Stops and Journey Planner tools at tfl.gov.uk, or by checking the Citymapper app. Bus priority measures — including bus lanes and signal priority — on the A406 are designed to keep buses moving through congested periods, though they also affect traffic flow patterns visible in the JamCam above.

A406 Bowes Rd Green Lanes Live Traffic Cameras & Road Delays

About This Camera

Camera Location & Hazard Overview

One of North London's longest and busiest shopping streets, Green Lanes, meets the A406 North Circular here at Bowes Road, on the western edge of Enfield near the New Southgate and Bounds Green borders. Few junctions in Enfield see quite this mix of long-distance orbital traffic and genuinely local shopping trips converging at the same point. Locals treat conditions here as a fair proxy for the wider area, not just this single point.

Traffic Pattern & Congestion Trends

Heavy orbital North Circular traffic combines with significant local flow from Green Lanes at this multi-road interchange, creating congestion that builds from mid-morning rather than settling into simple peaks. Saturday afternoons here regularly rival the standard weekday commuter peak, given how much retail traffic Green Lanes alone generates. Conditions can shift quickly here, so a clear camera feed is only ever a snapshot rather than a guarantee, and Green Lanes' constant shopping traffic makes a minor car crash claim a fairly regular occurrence at this junction.

Traffic Fines & Camera Enforcement

Signal and average speed cameras cover this complex junction extensively, given the volume of traffic turning between the North Circular and Green Lanes here, reflecting its role as one of the busiest local shopping interchanges in this part of London.

Road Closures & Alternative Routes

Bowes Road itself offers a local alternative for short journeys not needing the North Circular, though the main interchange remains difficult to avoid for longer orbital trips. Shoppers heading specifically for Green Lanes generally find parking a short walk away more reliable than trying to navigate this junction directly by car. It's worth having a second option in mind before you set off, rather than deciding only once you hit traffic.

Driver Safety & Local Tips

Green Lanes brings genuine retail traffic into this junction beyond the usual North Circular flow — if you're just passing through, this stretch can be busier at midday on a Saturday than during a typical weekday rush hour.

ULEZ & Emissions

Enfield has been fully inside the Ultra Low Emission Zone since its London-wide expansion in August 2023, with the charge operating 24/7 including bank holidays. Non-compliant vehicles pay £12.50 a day on top of any other charges. Check your vehicle at tfl.gov.uk/ulez before travelling through the borough.

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What to do after an accidentSteps to take at the scene, who to call, and how to protect your claim

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Getting CCTV footage for your insurance claimHow to request TfL JamCam footage and use it as accident evidence

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Parking near A406/Bowes Rd/Green Lanes, Finchley and Barnet

This busy junction where the North Circular meets Green Lanes has significant shopping-driven parking demand nearby, given Green Lanes' role as one of North London's longest retail streets. Look for pay-and-display bays directly on Green Lanes, or the more residential streets slightly back from the main road, which fall under Enfield Council's CPZ, typically Monday to Saturday daytime. Single yellow lines are strictly enforced given how contested this stretch is. Saturday and midday shopping trips bring the heaviest pressure. Full CPZ maps, permit applications and PCN appeal details: enfield.gov.uk/parking. Saturday trading on Green Lanes creates the single busiest parking period of the week in this specific area.

If on-street parking is hard to find, apps like JustPark and YourParkingSpace let you pre-book a private driveway or car park nearby — typically from around £2–£6 per hour or £10–£25 per day depending on how central the location is.

Compare parking near A406/Bowes Rd/Green LanesLocal driveways and car parks, pre-bookable from ~£2/hr

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Compare spaces in Finchley and BarnetDaily and long-stay listings from local hosts

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Parking links are affiliate partnerships. JamCams may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Journey Planning Tips

1Check this JamCam before joining the A406 in London — knowing the queue length before you arrive lets you choose an alternative route
2Peak congestion near A406/Bowes Rd/Green Lanes is weekdays 07:30–09:30 and 16:30–19:00 — travelling outside these windows typically cuts journey times by 20–40%
3All vehicles in this area must comply with the ULEZ — check your vehicle at tfl.gov.uk/ulez before driving. Non-compliant vehicles pay £12.50 per day even outside peak hours
4View the JamCams map to see live conditions across the wider London road network and identify the clearest approach route
5Check TfL Road Disruptions for live incidents in this area
6Consider public transport if the JamCam shows heavy congestion

A406 Bowes Rd Green Lanes: Live Road Closures & Traffic Disruption