Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Don't Forget - Wightman Road Closed for 5 months from Next Tuesday (29th March)
In case it's escaped your notice or slipped your mind, Wightman Road will be closed to through traffic for five months starting next Tuesday 29th March.
This will be a significant dislocation to North London traffic movement. So much so that warning notices have been placed as far away as Archway. No doubt it will also have a significant impact on Harringay's traffic.
However, there really is no alternative to at least partial road closure. The railway bridge between Alroy and Wightman roads is being replaced and there will simply be no road for a few months!
One option the Council could have taken would have been to simply reroute the traffic via the Ladder rung roads. It is to their credit, however, they recognised that with over 16,000 vehicles a day using Wightman Road, this would have placed an intolerable burden on our narrow residential roads, already beset by undue traffic volumes.
After consultation with residents, the solution decided upon is to place blocks at regular intervals along Wightman Road, in effect creating clusters of two or three rung roads. Whilst this will retain unfettered access for residents. it will render the whole Ladder, including Wightman, useless as a rat run. You can clearly see the details on the full size pdf map attached below.
Quite what it will mean for traffic in Harringay, Haringey and further afield remains to be seen. Those of us who have been working with the Council on this very much hope that traffic will quickly find other routes. It's fair to say, however, that at very best, we're going to experience some very heavy congestion on Green Lanes for a month or so.
At the same time, the Harringay traffic study will continue. The coincident timing of this piece of work with the bridge closure may be fortunate in that it will give the consultants an opportunity to study the outcome of diverting traffic away from Harringay.
A pdf copy of the Wightman Road closure is attached, along with some Council-produced documentation. You can stay up to date with what's happening on the Wightman Road closure on a dedicated page on the council website here.
Tags for Forum Posts: traffic, wightman bridge, wightman bridge closure
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by MD on
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Brilliantly put, Antoinette. I too have been irked by the criticism that all car users are irresponsible and selfish and by the repeated use of the phrase "rat runners" to describe us all. We have a car and, until recently, we used it sparingly as well - to visit our families outside London, to transport sick cats to the vet, to occasionally make a big run to the supermarket. Right now, however, my husband is using it daily to drive to Essex where he's training to be a teacher at a school there. The location wasn't his choice - he was put with the school by the university through which he is completing his training. At some point he will get a job closer to home where he can use public transport or cycle or even walk. I just wish all those criticising the use of cars would appreciate that, like it or not, some people's livelihoods depend on them.
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Permalink Reply by JulieB on
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Well said Antoinette, this is very much my attitude to using my car. Although since Sept when my son started secondary school I have to take him to and from school (for reasons I've mentioned previously). These journeys won't be forever and I'm hopeful he will be able to manage a bus or train alone in a year or two. I do 90% of my grocery shopping online, and pick up the remaining 10% when I'm out doing other things, often without a car.
In terms of navigation I know a few people who used Waze last week and that seemed to help them navigate the jams. It does show road closures and heavy traffic.
Yes MLB constant use of the term 'rat-running' has been irking me too, but yesterday Hugh clarified this saying he was using this term to refer to out of borough traffic using Harringay as a cut through, not local within borough traffic.
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Thanks for the clarification about "rat run", I hadn't seen Hugh's earlier post when I wrote mine. I just find the whole "them vs us" tone of some posts rather tiresome. I love the fact our Ladder road is quiet and virtually traffic-free at the moment, but I would never criticise anyone who needed to use their car to travel a distance to work or to transport their children or elderly relatives.
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Permalink Reply by Hugh on
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I agree that now's not the time for them vs us (or anything that can be interpreted as that - as I learned yesterday!). Now's a time for careful thought and understanding for other perspectives. All of this leaves room for a difference of opinion, of course, but a civilly conducted one!
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Permalink Reply by fleurie on
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Hi Hugh,
Sorry, you seem to being used as the oracle on all things 'Wightman Rd closure'. I wonder if you know if the travel wardens will be stationed at Wightman/ Turnpike junction for the whole period? If so could they not check the cars and those with resident car parking permits be let through? Thus allowing residents to access the northerly ladder roads and alleviate at least some congestion on Turnpike Lane?
As some others have said I am going to try and keep car use to a minimum but we do have some family commitments over the next few months that take us out of London at the weekend and we would like to use the car. We live on Effingham Road and as some others have suggested it does seem extreme to close off all the northerly ladder roads. Maybe is these were kept open the travel volume could be monitored along them and at Turnpike Lane to see if it eases the jams back to Priory Road. Not sure how much 'trial and error' can be tested. Sounds like the weekly reviews are a good idea.
Currently assuming this is the best it will be as schools are still off.
Thanks for all your continuing on this.
Fleur
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Permalink Reply by Michael Anderson on
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Hi Fleur, an observation. Firstly someone would need to cough up the money for 24 hour a day staffing and for some form of moveable barrier. Secondly there would be a problem for people who aren't residents but do need to get to an address on the ladder; visitors, deliveries and so on. To make it work would need pretty significant investment only for it all to be dismantled in September
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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on
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Yes come September we will no longer have a weak bridge protecting us from rampant rat running by lorries avoiding the north circular. We'll also probably have people deliberately making journeys via the ladder at high speed given the feedback from motorists on here.
I'm currently being censored for saying that I'm laughing at the moaning drivers.
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Problem is John not the limit but the observation of it.
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The traffic marshals are funded by Network Rail and they will be there for the duration. Best to feed your ideas thru to the council. I'll PM you the contacts for the right guy.
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Permalink Reply by Justin Guest on
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Its a good idea, but... Just to add to the other replies to your comments, I suspect this will actually make things worse for a couple of reasons. Firstly, you will have cars stopping, trying to get into Wightman, and potentially holding traffic up behind it. I suspect this was one of the issues on Day One.
The second is that you will invariably have loads of folks 'trying it on'. I help run the Play Street on Pemberton and we are allowed (legally) to close the road once a month to through traffic to allow kids to play in the street in a relatively safe and controlled environment. We still allow access to residents, those visiting residents and those on the street wishing to leave. To do this we have a bunch of volunteer marshals who often have to get through various levels of abuse and intimidation (at times) but they also have to manage those who either see Pemberton as a good cut through or convenient for parking for their Sunday kebab/shop at Yasha, or what ever. This is fine, but unless they live on the street or are visiting we have no obligation to let them into the road. To get back to the point, we often see folks saying yes, we are visiting/live on the street but who then have to be marshalled all the way through as they actually want to cut through, or park up and then womble onto GL... We are getting wise, but it has taken a while
As a marshal on Wightman it would be impossible to work out who lives on a Ladder Road or is visiting and have legitimate business and should be allowed access.
PS- I have a car too , so I am sharing the love...
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Permalink Reply by Penny A on
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This is a quick email to thank Hugh for the huge amount of work and time that he puts into both HoL and the planning and traffic issues that effect Harringay residents. His perspective seeks to be ojective and fair and benefits from his obvious skill and passion. Harringay is lucky indeed to have you!
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