Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Is it Desirable to **** up Traffic on Wightman?
Seen on Wightman today. Isn’t traffic disruption on Wightman just what was needed?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by AndrewAW1 on
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Certainly nowhere near as dependent as America.
I spend quite a bit of time there and very often not having a car simply isn't an option. At times you may find yourself driving 200m because there is no way to get from place to place without driving.
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Permalink Reply by Hugh on
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Yup, agree with that. I lived in LA for a couple of years in the early Nineties. I think, to be honest, you also get drawn in to the car culture there. But it’s nit a city built for the pedestrian. SF, NY and others are more amenable.
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Permalink Reply by Geraldine on
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It was not really my intention to pass judgment. True, I am shocked and sad to see what has become of the narrow streets of Harringay but I am also genuinely puzzled why anyone for whom a car is not an essential would want to own one. They are costly to buy and repair and city driving must be an exercise in conquering frustration.
There have been some really good replies with much food for thought. John D - I hope I am not crass enough to suggest that the disabled and tradespeople do not need a car but if I gave that impression then I should apologise. My post was directed at those who are capable of using public transport but choose not to do so.
I've yet to experience Andy's nightmare of a suburbia swallowed by cars but it makes perfect sense that extended families with grown-up children at home could be parking as many as four or five outside their small houses. So yes, why can't they halve that number?
I have been in Hong Kong, Hugh, which also has an explosion in car ownership - though not yet as bad as KL or Mainland China. Nowhere did I suggest that the UK was the most car-dependent country. The big criticism in Hong Kong is that the government's response to an excess of cars is to build more roads! Still in Hong Kong the parking situation is somewhat different. The majority of the population live in high-rise buildings which include a car park in the basement, which confirms michaelw's good point about the dividing line being around developments planned before and after the private car became routine.
Hugh’s very honest answer that he chooses to drive because it enhances his quality of life would apply to very many people, as once it did to me. And no, I have not given up driving for altruistic reasons. I have not driven for many years and am now of the age where I would be required to take another test which seems hardly worth the bother for the short time before it is bound to be snatched back by the authorities.
As a result of this, one of the things I have learned is that those who drive and those who do not live in two different worlds and I see that as a matter of some regret. That's all.
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Permalink Reply by John D on
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No Geraldine, my comment was in response to Andy Thomas's " No-one *needs* a car in Greater London "
From what I've seen of your contributions, I would never think of you as crass
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Permalink Reply by andy thomas on
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The point I was trying to make is that cars are not essential for most people in the London area and for those, perfectly viable alternatives do exist. I'm sorry if that seemed judgemental but I thought pointing out the real monetary savings that can usually be made using public transport was a 'Public Service'
YMMV
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You didn't say " most " - you said " no-one ".
Maybe the disabled are invisible to you ?
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If you look, I did later post a correction to say I ought to have said something along the lines of 'most private motoristes' rather than 'no-one'...
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Well, it is, Andy. Public transport is really not so bad. Depends on where you live, though. I should say that I am not in London any more but a few miles outside York. There's a great bus service and given the choice of lifts from family or friends or bus, I would actually choose the bus. It's been a great way of meeting people.
The worrying thing is that as the use of public transport decreases so the service declines which means the use decreases which means the service declines. Nothing wrong with pointing out the advantages.
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Past the first two or three paras, my comment wasn’t really aimed at you Geraldine. Sorry if it seemed that way.
Building more and more roads is exactly what they did in KL. I hope Mahatir and (possibly Anwar, if he ever gets to power) will now switch the focus more and more to public transit.
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And that says it all -
Yes, I could do without a car, but having access to one adds a lot of convenience and extends my choice of activity, particularly outside London. I don't *need* a car, in the same way that I don't *need* a TV or *need* a washing machine or *need* holidays abroad. But I choose each one of those things because they add to the quality of my life.
Fully justified Hugh. It doesn't mean you're a bad person.
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