Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
After a miserable spring/summer, a ray of autumn hope
I just wanted to say how fantastic the last 6 or so weeks have been since Wightman Rd opened, and more recently since the works on Hornsey High Road and by Priory Park have been better managed. The traffic has been light on all the roads, most notably Wightman and Green Lanes. It's lovely to get to work on time, and to know that the children have got to school and college on the bus without having to walk for hours in traffic fumes. The journey home no longer takes double the usual time, and so the second afternoon job is now back on. Most importantly, being able to breath better when walking around Harringay is a huge plus. I hope the council and residents realise that the way to control traffic better and have cleaner air, is not to close certain roads and thereby shift the problems to other nearby roads/residents and make other people's lives a complete misery.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Simon Munk on
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Of course it must be wonderful for all those people who live on Wightman Road right now, or do they not matter?
The answer to control traffic better is not to "close certain roads and thereby shift the problems to other nearby roads", but neither is it to just pretend everything's wonderful and unconstrained car use is just fine.
So what is the answer? Well, it's a strategic shift away from unconstrained private car use. And that means finding ways for you (and loads of other people) to be able to "get to work on time" without using the car. Some of that is in enabling better conditions for cycling, walking, buses, tubes, trains - so people feel safe doing those things and they're convenient. But some of it is in constraining private motor vehicle usage.
That might mean one-ways, or road closures, or "bus gates" or charging. But it's not, and can't be, "we'll carry on just letting people drive all over the place whenever they feel like it". That doesn't work, never has. And if you look at all the successful global cities that are tackling this issue, it's either by closing roads or banning cars from areas or charging etc.
IMO, by the way, the problem with Wightman Road's closure is it was done and considered without any strategic oversight. It's no good closing *just* one short bit of a street. It needs to be done in the context of the whole area and how you plan to reduce traffic over that whole area. (In Walthamstow, btw, they've closed two entire residential areas - the main roads struggled for a bit, then settled back down to basically exactly where they were before, while removing thousands of vehicles from the entire area.)
(NB I'm an ex-Haringey resident - and I got pulled back into this forum cos of Wightman and other issues relating to cycling and walking.)
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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on
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Actually pollution dropped 30% over the closure, even on Green Lanes. See here.
"I hope the council and residents realise that the way to control traffic better and have cleaner air, is not to close certain roads and thereby shift the problems to other nearby roads/residents and make other people's lives a complete misery. " <- I'm pretty sure they do but have you seen the road closures in Islington, Crouch End, Hornsey Park and the Harringay Gardens that contributed to the huge amounts of traffic ladder residents endure? The ladder is surrounded by road closures, entire communities have been allowed to gate themselves off from through traffic, except for ours. See here.
Have a nice day, Catherine Troll.
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Permalink Reply by Charlotte A on
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Why is she a Troll? Could we have an amnesty week on HOL where people stop insulting each other in their posts? It's really boring.
I live in one of the 'red' areas on that map and the traffic controlling measures in that area are no better than you have on the ladder (i.e. speedbumps), although there is one solitary chicane on one of the many roads. But there aren't any one-way systems, so perhaps those balance each other out. We get cars and lorries razzing up the street all the time. The Ladder isn't the only poor relation.
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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John, whoever did the map might want to consider adding some areas where a lack of through roads and some pretty effective traffic "calming" gives a relatively protected "island" between several main roads.
Where we live isn't "gated" as such but the effect is the same for very many streets. For us, moving from a flat next to what used to be a choked rat-run meant - to give a few examples - better sleep and not having to dive through seemingly continuous traffic to and from a local primary school.
Looking back I wonder about the air quality and what it was doing to people's health - including very long term damage to children's lungs for families who live close to the busiest roads.
As you and I have discussed, the scandal of rigged car emissions may prove to be similar in some ways as the long campaign to ban lead in petrol. Will people look back in a few years and say:
"Didn't they know? Why didn't they act sooner?" Well, we do know.
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