Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
FAO: Zena Brabazon - Endymion Roundabout
Have written to Zena Brabazon about this already but wanted to share my outrage and possibly gain some advocacy on this issue.
I frequently run and walk by the Endymion road mini roundabout - as some of you may know vehicles tend to enter it at excessive speed.
I was therefore pleasantly surprised that the council had installed traffic islands which I noticed had achieved the desired traffic calming effect, and negotiating the roundabout is now very pedestrian- and cyclist friendly.
I walked by it today and was dismayed to see that the whole section had been re-surfaced and the added layer of tarmac has effectively levelled the islands with the main road (no more than 1.5" height - won't be felt by the average van) and the sidewalk, where it is 100% level. The result - the islands now have traffic calming properties of 0, and the roundabout is wide open to manouvres on to the pavement!
Given the speeds at which vehicles drive through this creates a lot risk for pedestrians, cyclists and bikers.
- for pedestrians, and especially individuals with impairments/disabilities, the lack of elevation may cause one may struggle to identify where the road ends and sidewalk begins
- for cyclist and motorbike riders it now creates ambiguity - some may not notice it at all in adverse or low visibility conditions, could run unexpectedly into the island and cause an accident. I have personally witnessed a fatal accident involving a motorcyclist in a similar situation (newly installed roundabout.)
Complete and utter shambles. The council and subcontractor need to be held to account.
UPDATE: 11 October 2018
Here is the full explanation from the officers in charge of the fiasco. Note the multiple contradictions such as references to crossing facilities, while discounting the traffic islands as such, and the interesting rationale for the raised junction table. I have set out a number of questions back to the council.
"The traffic islands at the junction have been designed and installed such that they can be overrun by traffic (particularly large vehicles) whenever necessary, however still providing the needed visual contrast to the asphalt junction table and thus help to slow down traffic going through the junction. Unfortunately due to the tightness of the junction, we are unable to install a pedestrian refuge islands with high heights and with ‘keep left’ bollards as desired as these will be subject to abuse, requiring regular maintenance and also jeopardise the safety of pedestrians using the crossing facilities at the junction.
The raised junction table was installed at almost the same level as the adjacent footway to ensure the required gradient for the raised table ramps were achieved whilst avoiding undue adjustments to the adjacent footways, which in some instance could result in the backfall of surface water on to adjacent private properties."
Tags for Forum Posts: traffic
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Bella on
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The island greatly impedes turning left from Wightman onto Endymion Road now. My car doesn’t have a great turning circle but vans and other vechiles must be the same. So not all tire marks on the island will be from careless driving/speed, if that’s any reassurance.
As a pedestrian I don’t even attempt to cross at the roundabout. There’s just too much going on in that small area for people on or in vehicles to take in and process that I figure adding another element with me on foot increases the odds of carnage.
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Permalink Reply by Bethany Burrow Atherton on
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I agree on the left turn - my car has a terrible turning circle and it's tight to get round it without hitting/mounting the pedestrian island, and I've tried a few different starting positions now. A complicating factor is the parking spaces on that side of Endymion ending too close to the junction (now that it's been redone), meaning that if you get round the corner, you also have to put your nose out into the middle of the road to get around the first parked car.
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Permalink Reply by kotkas on
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Perhaps approach at a speed that allows you to execute the manoeuvre? Whole point of the islands is to slow you right down. It’s a 90 degree single lane turn - shouldn’t be beyond any vehicle to navigate - at the right speed.
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Below as found this morning, obstructing the road. And three minutes later.
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Permalink Reply by Hugh on
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It looks taller than the last one, but less substantial. Does this mean:
a. The Council is determined to have its way by continually raising the height of the bollard until it reaches a peak-lorry-stopping size?
OR
b. Giving up and reducing the profile of the bollard until it gets to a point where it can gracefully retire whilst saying they did try after all?
Answers on a postcard please............
PS: Gordon. what moved the bollard from photo 1 to photo 2, or vice-versa? You?
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An unwary/unsighted cyclist hitting that would have no chance, so yup I shifted it. Fortunately it would rock between two pivot points, so it was 'walked' across the pavement.
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Well done, you. That's 3 good-citizen points for you then, Gordon! It looks as though it might have been rather heavy, to say the least.
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Permalink Reply by JoeW on
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Seems to me the council should really put some serious time and effort into studying the volume and type of traffic using this road so they can come up with some effective solutions rather than wasting taxpayers' money with this kind of tinkering?
Oh, hang on...
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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on
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I think you'll find that's the moronic motorists, not "the traffic". The distinction is important.
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Permalink Reply by John D on
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I think you'll find it's lorries / HGVs, not motor cars. The distinction is important. :-)
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Lorries and HGVs have motors too. It's the people driving them that are being stupid, not this dirty cloud of "traffic" that appears sometimes as if from nowhere.
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