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Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!

Like many people I thought that my journey times on the bus between Iceland and Manor House had increased substantially since the closure of the Wightman Road bridge.  I emailed Tfl for data on journey times and they kindly sent me the numbers for the whole of January 2016 (before the bridge closure) and May (after the bridge closure).  I asked for the information on the 29, 141 and 341 buses running between Salisbury Road to Manor House as this is seems to be the most congested part of Green Lanes as it runs through the area.

I've had a quick look and charted the average journey times for the 29 bus, in both directions, which is attached.  In summary what the numbers seems to be saying are

Monday to Friday southbound.  (Iceland to Manor House). There is virtually no difference in the journey times going south.  When the bus lane ceases to be in operation the journey time rises by about 1 minute.

Monday to Friday northbound (Manor House to the Post Office).  About a minute longer on average until the parking restriction cease and then about an extra 4 minutes on average

Saturdays southbound.  Very little difference until 10am then an increase of around 2.5 minutes.

Saturdays northbound.  Same as southbound but a slightly longer increase of 3 minutes on the average journey time from 10am

Sundays southbound.  Hardly any difference until 10am then an increase of about 2 minutes

Sundays northbound.  The mornings are more or less the same but then an increase of almost 6 minutes between 1-4pm and again between 7-10pm

I have to admit to being surprised as I thought journey times would have increased far more but wonder how much of this is down to the perception you have when you're in traffic of going nowhere.

It's also clear that allowing parking on Green Lanes has a real impact on journey times.  The northbound traffic snarls up badly on Sundays when the restaurants and other businesses are the most busy and when the Arena traffic is at it's height.

The northbound data is probably the most interesting because, as there is no bus lane going north, buses travel with the rest of the traffic at all times so average journey times for vehicles is probably about the same or less (as cars don't have to stop at bus stops)

Attached is a PDF of the charts for the 29 bus and the full data sets (Excel) for those with a mind to have a play with them.

Tags for Forum Posts: bus journey, green, lanes, traffic, wightman bridge closure

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Fascinating. Thanks for gathering and analysing the data.

A side issue, but I've noticed that some of the W5 buses from Archway are terminating at Harringay Library - and it's a destination on the bus destination blinds - rather than get into the Endymion Rd traffic.

I often get the W5 from Highgate Hill and asked the driver last week about the termination of the route at the library. He said that the biggest problem they are facing is getting in, but especially out, of the Arena car park.

The other thing W5s are doing, for which I can't blame them, is coming out of the Arena into the left-hand lane of southbound traffic and then 'pushing in' to turn right at the lights. I'm not sure it's strictly legal and have not dared try it myself for fear of getting lynched, but I've seen them do it several times while waiting patiently in lane for my chance to turn right.

I was told at the Green Lanes Area Transport display last week that the reason that its not possible to have a bus lane  going north is that the road isn't wide enough. It seems a pity that we cannot have both a bus lane going south in the morning (7-10 am) and then a bus lane going north in the evening (4-7 pm), between the Salisbury and the railway bridge, when there is the most need.

Looking at the road the central line is displaced to accommodate the bus lane plus a 'traffic' lane on the East side of Green Lanes which makes the east side slightly wider then the west side, however the difference appears very small, (possibly 9 inches by eye, but I haven't been able to measure it).
It seems crazy that in the evening there is an unused corridor going north (see photos), when parking is restricted anyway so would not upset the traders, which could be utilised by a bus lane (incorporating bike lane?).

Does anyone know the minimum width of bus lanes and traffic lanes etc?  Why can't there be a bus lane on both sides, going south at 7-10 am and then north 4-7 pm with the 'central line' marked in a way that is more flexible (perhaps a zig zag). Am I missing something.(Photos-Green Lanes west side, 6 pm weekday during parking restrictions, looking south then north.)

From gov.uk

"Where roads are wide enough the bus lane should be 4.25 metres wide and the minimum preferred width is 4m; this allows buses to overtake cyclists safely and reduces the likelihood of interference from general traffic in the adjacent lane. The minimum recommended width is 3 metres."

I note that the time taken by the bus going south in the bus lane in the morning is only about a minute less than in the evening going north when there is no bus lane however could this be because there is always parking in the bus lane in the morning so it does not funtion as a clear route at all.

Yes agreed. The abuse of the bus lane by Tesco and Iceland is one thing but others seem to do it now too, with impunity.

Right so Michael's figures are only averages. You're hitting the peak times. There will be journeys out of peak times that are unaffected and so bring the average down.

My journey time hasn't changed at all - but I work funny hours so I tend to be travelling out at 9 and back at 8

I took the bus south along Green Lanes from Tesco twice today. First at 08:30, then at 13:00. I don't know if I was lucky, but both journeys seemed to pretty much bear out TfL's data.

Which is outside of the main rush hour times.  Secondary school age children are having registration or their first lesson by 8.30 and get automatic detention if they are late, regardless of the reason for them being late.

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