Harringay online

Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!

From HoL's mailbox this evening:

"Hello I'm sorry to email you both directly, but for safety reasons I'd rather not add this on the website direct with my name appearing next to it, but was hoping you could add something without featuring my name for the safety of pedestrians walking along Wightman Road bridge at the moment.

"My partner and I were walking along Wightman Road bridge earlier tonight towards Wood Green. A cyclist came up behind us and demanded we move. We chose to ignore him, said nothing and just carried on walking along the pavement. But then he turned nasty and threatened to hit me.

"When my partner turned to him and said that there was no need for threatening behaviour especially to a woman, the cyclist punched my partner to the ground and then hit me when I tried to intevene.

"Although on a bike, it was clear he was quite large (over six foot), was muscular, around late twenties - early thirties, dark curly hair, educated sounding London voice, and mixed race. This wasn't some young thug with growing pains, this was a grown man. We have given the police a full, detailed description.

"Please can you warn pedestrians on the site to be very careful walking along the bridge at the moment, and not just from violent cyclists, but from cyclists in general who are refusing to respect pedestrian safety and are ignoring the "cyclists dismount" signs at either end of the bridge.

"It is only a short distance to walk along the pavement which is very narrow, so why can't they just pop off their bikes?.

"I fear that the trolls will have a field day with me on this but it really isn't much to ask cyclists to observe pedestrian and their own safety.

"Some say it would have been polite to have just moved for the cyclist, but on a pavement it would have been more polite if the cyclist just respected our safety, and the law as he has no right to be riding on the pavement in the first place.

"Thank you both"

Tags for Forum Posts: wightman bridge, wightman bridge closure

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John, I'm sure Kober should appoint a Czar to declare a Holy War on Cycling, along the lines of Dubya's War on Terror.

John, that's a bit of a daft argument. It seems to me a little like complaining that drivers are punished by traffic calming because of the more reckless ones amongst us, or that airline passengers are penalised by the security checks because of the mad ones amongst us. Yes, its true that the many pay for the transgressions of the few. Ever has it been and ever will it be thus.

I stopped using Wightman road as the last bit of my cycle journey last week because of  the dismount sign.  Back to endymion/ green Lanes or Hornesy high Street/ Turnpike Lane.  It was fun while it lasted

Fair enough; you pays yer money.

Oh hardly, the RAC and the AA do a fabulous job of giving drivers rights they regularly abuse. The ACPO won't prosecute speeding drivers unless they're massively over the limit. On top of that, we're supposed to be encouraging cycling and discouraging driving in London now.

The terrorism argument appears to hold water but the difference here is that society is being co-opted to enforce a behaviour not mandated by law but by a company. Do we trust the government to make laws or not? There is active encouragement from the home office for responsible cycling in just such situations as we have here (a road is closed) and yet because someone is able to make money selling signs with the simple command "Cyclists Dismount" all that means nothing. You guys are hoodwinked by the official looking signs and expect cyclists to adhere. You're not the government, you're my neighbours. Imagine if a local ethnic group started asking another to adhere to their customs lest they be offended. The safety argument is rubbish, it is perfectly safe for cyclists to share the footpath with pedestrians as long as they go slowly. Besides nobody is talking about safety, they're talking about compliance with a made up but official looking sign.

I think we need to ingnore the fact that this violent person was a cyclist. Its sort of irelevent. Its such a short bit of the journey I dismount . I confess I have riden through early in the morning ( just after sunrise).but not now the rails have been fitted. Its 20 seconds of walking for goodness sake !

Would this post have even existed if the alleged antagonist was not a cyclist?

This post and the only 80% compliance with the advisory dismount signs are the reasons they are going to do more to discourage cycling as they replace the bridge. Natch.

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