CPZ - the Final Word

At the Area Assembly on Tuesday, Councillor Hayley confirmed that from November Harringay's CPZ will be changing its hours of operation to Mon - Sat 8 AM to 6.30 PM. This is inspite of a petition against the change which showed more oppostion to it than the Council's own survey did in its favour (see earlier forum post for the details on this). Hayley was unable to explain this satisfactorily other than saying, "We've had the zone as it is for seven years, it's about time we tried something different".

Needless to say, I'm very disappointed and feeling naive - clearly a lot to learn about how to influence local politicians. A few weeks ago Hayley sat in front of Paul McKay and myself, agreed with our position, promised a review and to consult with us further before making a decision. At the the Area Assembly this week, he denied making these promises and firmly stood his ground regarding the changes with no apparent logic - other than the fact that just 174 people in the council's survey voted in favour of the change.

He's promised a review after a year if it's not working. Recent experiences of his promises mean that his word is currently of little value to me right now. And this still menas at least a year of living with whatever consequences the changes will bring. So, let's hope I've been wrong all along and that the changes are implemented without any problems for the residents. If I am wrong, all well and good. If not, raise your glass to the frustration ahead.