As a foreseer of things to come a letter was published in the Enfield Advertiser

The predicted taste of things to come occurred in Southgate at around 6pm on 7th April as a result of traffic signalled controlled works by Thames Water on Chase Side N14 clashed with signalled controlled works by BT Open Reach for new properties on High Street N14 (by Southgate Auctions) at the corner of High Street, Southgate  and Balaams Lane N14. The temporary signals for the works by Thames Water were allowing just 5 vehicles in each each direction with the resulting backlog on the roundabout and westbound. the tail of westbound traffic obstructed the traffic through the temporary traffic signals on High Street. 

Was the hassle avoidable? yes with proper traffic management? .Was the hassle foreseeable, Yes!  But as it was buses on route 121, W6, 298, 299 were losing 20-25 minutes journey time on this half mile stretch of their journey.

The TFL Roadworks permit scheme allows the local highway authority to impose conditions on the utility undertakers....but in this case it failed. But give credit where credit is due, the roadworks in Chase Side did include coordinating the provision of a temporary pedestrian crossing