Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
New Town Square Proposed over A1201 in Crouch End Centre
If the proposers of Crouch End have their way, the A1201 by the clocktower will have one of its forks blocked in order to create a new "town square".
I'm all for town squares anywhere. but it does look to me that this proposed scheme will create a significant hurdle for buses and reduce traffic flow on a key 'A' road.
The plans follow the announcement earlier in the year that Haringey won the initial stage of TfL’s liveable Neighbourhoods programme. They now have £1.25m to develop the proposals and are looking at a pot worth £5.8 million if everything comes together. I hope part of the initial funding is spent on an impact assessment at least as stringent as the one imposed on the recent Wightman proposals and covering just as wide an area, if not wider.
The Crouch End Forum have put forward a proposal which includes the 'Waitrose Square'. Full proposal attached.
Looking to our East and then to our West, one has to wonder whether there aren't other areas more in need of £6m than Crouch End. As much as I love the old girl, it's not the area most in need of, as the Council put it, "proposals to improve cyclist and pedestrian conditions ", nor, as the Crouch End Forum claim, the one in need of an injection of life into the high street.
When there's very limited funds, the Council needs to search its conscience about where the funds are directed. So, all eyes on the new administration to see where their priorities truly lie.
As for Harringay, we'd be well advised to keep an eye on the possible impact on our neighbourhood.
- Attachments:
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Dave W on
-
Probably... but at a much reduced speed, which will back traffic up on the Broadway.
What if queuing traffic is beyond the stop line to turn left onto the Broadway when the north end is snarled up as it so often is? (an answer of "well they shouldn't be there" doesn't solve the problem)
What if there's a W7 at the front of the queue - is there enough clearance for 2x buses at once?
Will there be an ASL for cyclists? If so, how many will want to use it knowing they'll spend much of the bus's manoeuvre directly in its path? I know I wouldn't.
How will the road layout deal with the fact that the tower will create a blind spot for all left turning traffic, which will be especially problematic if the behaviour of pedestrians (and drivers) on that part of the Broadway persists - I see a near miss there every time I'm in Crouch End.
You'd expect that these questions have been factored in before someone drew this up... But in light of the abhorrent quality of some similar schemes in North London (not just Haringey) and the terrible outcomes for road users not in a tin box, that's not a given.
EDIT: I've had a quick skim over the whole document rather than just the "headline" image - firstly the drawing in the document suggests the Park Road stop line is much closer to the junction, but I'll forgive that.
A lot of the rest is making the right noises to suggest active travel is being prioritised - obviously that's great. For me it's about showing how you integrate that with a car dependency that will unfortunately endure in the shortish term, and what is categorically one of North London's most important, most frequent and busiest bus routes.
-
-
Terrible outcomes for all road users. It'll be interesting to see what happens when Waitrose get a delivery.
-
-
I believe Waitrose delivery vehicles access the rear of the shop via Crouch Hall Road, approaching from the Highgate end. The only difference it will make, as far as I can see, is that they won't be able to exit Crouch Hall Road by the Clocktower but will have to trundle back up the hill. Perhaps mildly annoying for Crouch Hall Road residents but not that big a deal.
I do feel that the proposed location for the 'square' gives too much prominence to Waitrose - opening up the square in front of the old town hall would be preferable. Also the point about the Clocktower creating a blind spot for those turning left is a good one.
-
-
Agree. Astonishing that there seems to be no link up with what is happening with town hall. Is the council involved, giving a lead, or doing nothing?
-
-
I don’t really see that this will create much improvement. The main beneficiary would be Waitrose, but the smaller independent shops on the other corner will lose out with the shift of traffic movement to their side as well as the addition of a sharp turn for the majority of the traffic that passes through this area including buses. I can only imagine it will lead to more stopping and starting, more revs of engines as vehicles negotiate the corner, so more noise and air pollution. Even though I pass through this junction a lot as both a pedestrian and cyclist, I agree with others and that there are plenty of other parts of Harringay that could do with the funding more and that would bring about much more public gain.
-
-
Hmmm I wonder who is on the Crouch End Neighbourhood Forum? Are Waitrose represented for example?
-
Permalink Reply by Michael Anderson on
-
Yup. Below is from the Forum website
Our business members include: The Alex, Arthouse Cinema, Les Associes, Audio Gold, Clocktower Store, Crouch Hall Road Surgery, Dunns Bakery, Earl Haig Hall, Fahri Jacob Solicitors, Floral Hall Antiques, Foxton’s Estates, Graham Fine Art, The Haberdashery, Harringay Arms, Infinity Optical Opticians, Moors Bar, Muddy Boots, NatWest, Organic Hair, Painted Black Vintage, Pearl & Turquoise, A View Optician, Yoga Centric, and Waitrose.
-
-
Leave Crouch End alone. Stop slowing traffic and buses down to an even slower pace. Put any paved area on the Weston Park corner only and leave the W7s and W5s to flow as they do now. Pathetic waste of money. It's so slow on a 41 through CE in the evenings anyway.
- ‹ Previous
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Next ›
© 2024 Created by Hugh.
Powered by
