Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Green Lanes dangerous for cyclists
I’ve cycled along green lanes everyday for almost 30y, but think it’s getting worse
yesterday, a large cement mixer passed me, and then immediately turned left across me. Thankfully it was turning slow enough, that I could turn with it, and get off the road. Unbelievable. I’m an experienced cyclist, but another cyclist may not have been so lucky
Then a few weeks ago, a car was been driven erratically. I looked across to see the driver on the phone. I told her to get off the phone, to which she kept telling me how pathetic I was. Unfortunately I didn’t think to take her photo, as I’m sure the police would have had to prosecute. Next time I will
i have been knocked off twice over the last few years, once with a pedestrian suddenly running across the road. And another time, a car turning left across me. Luckily both times I bounced well. But my old bones may not be so forgiving in future
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Michael Anderson on
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I’ve lived in Harringay since 1984 Barbara and Green Lanes was far worse before the closures in the Gardens. In the mornings traffic from St Ann’s would funnel through Warwick and Kimberley and then try to get out of the Gardens roads on to Green Lanes. As a result every Green Lanes/Gardens junction was snarled as vehicles pushed into GL. I used to catch the bus from outside what is now Tesco to get to Manor House tube and a half hour journey time was commonplace. In the evenings it reversed and GLwas blocked by vehicles siting in the middle of the road trying to turn into the Gardens on to St Ann’s
What we have now is rubbish but at least the single entry and the single exit to and from St Ann’s are traffic light controlled rather than a free for all.
I want to see Green Lanes turned into a red route with permanent shared cycle and bus lanes in each direction as is being proposed for the part of GL that runs from Turnpike Lanes to Wood Green tube stations.
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Permalink Reply by Barbara on
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Michael... I too have lived here since actually 1982! It wasn't like this along Green Lanes then. The traffic did move along a lot faster!
It's the volume creating this mess currently...More of everything as London and Haringey businesses have grown. Red routes are good but they affect businesses markedly..see Archway Road! The local businesses won't agree and Haringey Council wants their business rates. The unfettered expansion of the restaurant biz has created all kinds of problems rarely mentioned. Of course extra parking is one... I remember when the parking hours ended about 10:30 was it? The restaurants must have complained as the signs now say 6:30pm... geared to them.
Why do people have to have so many cars anyway? Each household should consider ditching the second one (or even the third?!) but that won't get you the votes as local councillors know!
You say "at least the single entry and the single exit to and from St Ann's are traffic light controlled rather than a free for all"... There have always been traffic lights at this junction ( the original Pelican crossing in the 1960s!) and the Gardens exits eased the traffic anyway. No doubt heavier at school pick up times. Presumably if a red route there would be places on the road junctions where vehicles could turn right into a Garden road... not rocket science. Just a matter of good road design.
The subterfuge involved in creating the Unofficial Gardens LTN was successful for the parties involved but it's a can of worms for the rest of us. Those garden roads are oh so quiet and peaceful....apologies to Bjork!
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The difference would be that traffic trying to get through the Gardens on their way to elsewhere would be trying to enter or exit it, rather than a far smaller volume just driving to end their journey within the Gardens. An example of this kind of traffic is the road I live on, Warham, which has one of the highest traffic flows in the area as it is used as a short cut to Wightman. In the contrast my neighbouring street, Seymour which has a one way flows the same direction, mainly gets traffic actually going to that road and has much lower volumes a result.
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Warham isn't a "short cut" to Wightman. It is the main thoroughfare from the East to Wightman. At least a third of the west bound traffic from St Anns heads up Salisbury Rd and continues onto Warham.
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Thank for highlighting the problem Gordon. 1 in 3 vehicles heading through area are encouraged to go along a wholly residential street on to another residential street when there is a perfectly good route, with four lanes along some parts, that could be improved if parking was removed. A win for everyone.
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There isn't a problem, Michael. Warham is not a residential road. It's a thoroughfare because of its connection to Salisbury Rd (whilst Seymour is not)
You might argue that Warham is residential because there are residential houses on it. If that is the case, then Salisbury Rd, St Anns, West Green etc are all residential roads too (in which case the through traffic they carry should be diverted to larger roads like Seven Sisters etc). And Seven Sisters also has houses on it too (as does Green Lanes). The argument becomes exponential until the only roads with through traffic on them are those without houses.
That extrapolation is obviously silly. Therefore the question becomes which roads with houses on them should carry through traffic. Would it be determined by the number of houses? The number of residents? Whether a councillor or influencial shop owner lives on the road?
The logical solution is that those roads which represent the shortest/most direct route between points become thoroughfares which is the reason for the status quo in the case of Warham.
So as long as people want to drive east to west, the shortest/most direct route is up Warham. You might argue that is unfair for Warham residents but they are compensated by cheaper houses and rental prices compared to neighbouring residential streets.
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So no management of traffic Gordon - just a free for all?
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Not by forcing traffic onto inefficient routes which prolongs journeys whilst adding cost, stress and pollution.
Removing parking from the stretch of Green Lanes between Turnpike Lane and the Arena and replacing those spaces with dedicated and segregated cycle lanes would help.
Taking ongoing enforcement action against those breaking traffic rules on Green Lanes would also make a big difference (be they motorists, bus drivers, cyclists or the ever dangerous mopeds and scooter drivers).
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You might argue that is unfair for Warham residents but they are compensated by cheaper houses and rental prices compared to neighbouring residential streets.
I have not seen any data to indicate that my house was cheaper than on any of the other streets around me when I bought it. As your argument depends entirely on such data being available, could I see it?
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Rightmove is your friend Mark. That will give you asking prices. The Land Registry will give actual sold prices. You'll see that houses on Warham, Salisbury and Wightman Roads are cheaper than comparable properties on surrounding non-thoroughfare streets. This has been a consistent pattern over time.
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Permalink Reply by tigha on
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My point was about safety for cyclists, and the slower traffic goes for us, the better. Having been knocked off twice in the last 8years, a couple of recent near misses, but the previous 25y nothing. Evidence would back that up. There has always been tons of traffic, and tbh, haven’t noticed any difference over the years. Maybe drivers are more frustrated with the changes and less aware of traffic, bikes around them
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Hello Barbara. I'm curious. Who was the councillor?
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