Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Pavement Parking Damages Communities
Living Streets have just released a resource pack on pavement parking. In summary, they say it's a bummer.
This is an interesting resource pack and worth having a look at. Lots of good reasons to start thinking about Wightman Road Phase 2.
Living Streets say:
Thanks to the GRA for alerting us to this one.
This is an interesting resource pack and worth having a look at. Lots of good reasons to start thinking about Wightman Road Phase 2.
Living Streets say:
We believe that streets should be more than traffic corridors. They are important for the vibrancy, economic health, and safety of neighbourhoods; they can help to improve community cohesion by bringing people of different ages and backgrounds together in a shared space; they are outdoor gyms which people can use to get active through walking and cycling; and they are potential playgrounds for children – particularly those that do not live close to parks and playing fields. Excessive numbers of motor vehicles, both parked and on the move, have drastically damaged the social function of our streets..
We want to see an end to pavement parking, particularly where it inconveniences pedestrians or puts them danger. Pavement parking is anti-social. We have an ageing population with increasing levels of mobility and visual impairments. People with disabilities, and parents with children in pushchairs are those most affected by vehicles blocking the pavement.
Thanks to the GRA for alerting us to this one.
Tags for Forum Posts: Wightman Road, parking, pavement
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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Not just blocking pavements, but cracking and smashing them too. And tipping-up paving stones and kerbs. It causes falls; with people suffering painful injuries. Especially with elderly people, this can destroy someone's confidence. Age UK has campaigned about dangerous pavements. It's an issue I've frequently tried to draw attention to.
In the new council, this might be an excellent topic for a Citizen's Jury to tackle.
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Permalink Reply by Guy Bentham on
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Thanks, Hugh. The Living Streets pack deals mainly with pavement parking where it is officially discouraged but little or no enforcement takes place. Along Wightman Road officially encouraged pavement parking exists showing how far we have to go here.
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Permalink Reply by Hugh on
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Absolutely Guy. Officially encouraged and with all the same downsides. Sadly this has been the fate of the Ladder area of Harringay. Action taken in other areas and lack of action here has encouraged traffic into the Ladder with all the downsides.
Various solutions and plans have been presented to the Council. The reaction and interest in moving forward has been, I'm afraid, almost bovine. We now have a very innovative champion of controlling traffic on the Ladder to reduce the social impacts that lead to crime in another of the local agencies. I'm really hopefully that with the right degree of sympathy and interest from the Council, there is a chance that we may move forward.
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I have asked the various local candidates for Haringey Council what they think about the matter, referring them to the Living Streets pack. I will be happy to report on the answers I get.
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Thanks Guy. I, and I'm sure many others will be interested in the responses you get.
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Permalink Reply by John D on
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I will be interested to hear where they suggest residents on Wightman Road should park if not half on the pavement :-)
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The idea is to reduce traffic to the degree that you'll have no more need to park on the pavement than I do. Failing that how about a multi-storey car park on Fairland Park - a quick sign change to Fairland Parking and Bob's your uncle.
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Well, I thought we could roof over the New River and use that to bypass Wightman. If you reduce traffic, you have more parked cars surely ?
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So, here are the results of my survey of Harringay Ward council candidates on the subject of pavement parking. I tried to contact at least one candidate from each party, explaining my experience as a regular pedestrian on Wightman Road (impossibility of walking two abreast on the pavement, consequent unsociability of the road, problems for wheelchair or pushchair users) and referring to the Living Streets report that started this thread. I asked both about Wightman Road and the more general issue of pavement parking across the borough.
I have been unable to get a message to Matthew Cuthbert at all, though of course I'd be happy to have his views. I have not had a reply from the Green Party. But I did have replies from Gina Adamou (Labour), Karen Alexander (Lib Dem), and from Tim Caines (Conservative). I only asked one candidate from each party; apologies to the other Lab/Lib Dem/Con candidates but I've only got so much time and energy!
Karen Alexander said she recognised that pavement parking was a problem but worried about where all the Wightman Road residents would park if it were banned. She said she hoped pavement parking would be addressed as part of the overal traffic survey the Lib Dems have promised if they win control of the council. She was going to ask if the Lib Dems had a position on pavement parking in general (Living Streets argues it is a bad thing altogether), but I have not heard back from her on this.
Gina Adamou first suggested that enforcement might be asked to make sure that the pavement parking was within the marked lines and not taking up too much of the pavement space. I pointed out that my question was about pavement parking as such, not pavement parking outside the marked areas. She then replied again to say that she personally did not like pavement parking but worried where else the cars might park if not in Wightman Road. Like Karen Alexander she promised a local consultation if elected.
Unlike the other two Tim Caines did go so far as to suggest that pavement parking might be more limited to help increase pedestrian access. Like the others he also promised a general review, in this case of CPZs across the borough. He also referred me to his HOL video where he discusses Wightman Road and mentions (favourably) the proposed Wightman Road bus.
From my point of view three thoughtful, if unsatisfying, answers. No-one promised me exactly what I really wanted (an end to pavement parking, as suggested by Living Streets); no-one gave me a definitive position statement on pavement parking in general; everyone suggested further consultation was needed; but everyone agreed that the current situation is unsatisfactory.
Of course that doesn't mean that any of these three candidates believes any other situation than the present state of affairs would be less unsatisfactory. However, I'd be happy for there to be a continued discussion, with the voice of pedestrians heard louder than must have been the case when cars were originally allowed to invade our pavements. In the end we will win back our pavements, I'm sure.
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I see, Guy, that you do not live on Wightman Road. Where do YOU suggest Wightman Road residents should park ? ( I don't park on Wightman, by the way :-) )
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John, I don't live on Wightman Road, true, but like many other local residents I use the road, as a pedestrian, cyclist and occasional motorist (thanks to Streetcar). I don't think that all parking should be banned on Wightman Road. But I do think that all pavement parking should be banned everywhere. That might mean restricting parking at any one point to one side of Wightman Road only, since the parked cars would take up more of the roadway (where they belong in any case). Yes, this would mean fewer parking spaces wherever introduced, but not none. It needn't even be the whole of Wightman Road, but wherever it happened it would make the road a pleasanter place to walk along, and it all helps.
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