Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Removing traffic barriers in Gardens, Hermitage Rd - reported position of Labour candidate in St Ann's ward
There's been lots of HOL coverage of the strange goings on in Labour's St Anne's ward selection process, which resulted in three new candidates (e.g. see this summary & 48 page discussion).
However, one aspect has received rather less attention, which is that the new Labour Candidate Ali Özbek has been quoted in the press as wanting the removal of both the bollard that stops through traffic (& through traffic jams) through the Gardens, and the closure in the middle of Hermitage Road that does the same there:
"Ali Özbek of Med - Chem Pharmacy on Green Lanes said that business rates in the area almost equalled rates on Oxford Street. Mr Özbek said “From a business perspective, among the most significant problems of Harringay Green Lanes are the high level of business rates and parking problems.
... In a meeting last month, I informed Tottenham MP David Lammy that in the area we have got 1,000 votes and three major issues.
...The other two matters in the area are the barriers on Hermitage Road as well as St Ann’s Road where customers are not allowed to turn towards Green Lanes. This prevents the area receiving more visitors. Mr Lammy said he would not open the barriers."
I've received no sign (so far) of any Labour literature in the ward, nor is there any hustings I am aware of. I have no information if this is the view of all the new Labour candidates in the ward, or just one of them.
This is a pretty important issue for many voters in the ward, with Labour a clear winner (Liberal Democrats second) in the last local elections.
Tags for Forum Posts: 2014 elections, Labour party, gardens, hermitage, local elections, traffic
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on
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I had something prepared in 2012 to warn people that this could happen. After much toing and froing between Liz, Hugh and myself I decided not to publish because it was deemed too political and unfair to the local libdem councillors. I have however spent the past four years trying to alert people offline to how hollowed out the local Labour Party is and therefore ripe for a takeover. The key sticking point is, nobody wants to be a councillor.
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Permalink Reply by Hugh on
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Yeah, I guess there hasn't been the same chance as last time to at least observe them (sorry no time for the videos this time round!).
I'm amazed that only TUSC and the Conservatives have taken up the offer of outlining their policies for all Harringay wards on HoL. I wrote to them after the Harringay ward hustings to remind them. The Lib Dems and Labour said they planned to post but hadn't got round to it. No response from the Greens.
Make of this what you will.
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Permalink Reply by michaelw on
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The lack of interest from candidates in promoting their position is even more noticeable in St Anne's - I haven't noticed any literature from the Lib Dems yet (even though they are in number 2 position with a controversial Labour slate in front of them).
As for the St Annes Labour leaflet, it makes no mention of the bollards issue or the closures on hermitage road, so the electorate remain in the dark on candidate's views on these issue - except what you can find in Google....
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I'm not convinced that the "let's make life worse for everyone" option is particularly constructive!
Yes, traffic problems on the Ladder & Wightman road need to be addressed, but this requires solutions involving those areas - and a general policy of traffic reduction. For example, whoever designed the traffic junction at the North end of Wightman road clearly intended to make the road as traffic-inviting as possible.
If you aren't driving and don't want to use public transport to get home at night, the usual method is to use a taxi or minicab (thus helping to support local businesses).
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Permalink Reply by Germana on
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I am a woman (who used to go out a lot at night and come back at all hours - those were the days!), now with two small kids & when I was pregnant I was for some time on crutches - yet I haven't used a car for 17 years. In difficult situations I've used cabs (rarely) and I joined the car sharing scheme (only to abandon it because I wasn't using it). When I used to drive a lot in Italy I remember it used to take less to get to places, apart from...ehm the traffic jams I got stuck in...hmmmm....the endless search for parking, etc. I am not saying it's for everyone, but in London for most people it's possible to keep car use to a minimum.
No, do not vote for Ali Osbeck nor any dodgy Labour candidates for St Ann's ward, and if he gets in and acts in the sole interest of the traders against the residents, he can expect a serious boycotting campaign of his Med-Chem pharmacy.
We would be better off campaigning to create an environment where there are fewer cars on Green Lanes and around London more generally but that won't happen until we have such short sighted politicians.
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Permalink Reply by HarringayBirder on
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I agree.
We seem to be moving backwards as a society. That is, away from the vision that so many pretended to share of a city with people walking and cycling everywhere and breathing - relatively - clean air.
Look at Green Lanes. People get knocked down because the crossings are far apart and change to green infrequently. Furthermore they cross away from crossings because (in part) there are (for some reason) no railings to stop them.
As for cycling, the bus lanes are in a dreadful condition and drivers are allowed to stop in them, park in them, with impunity.
Why oh why do people think they need to DRIVE everywhere? I've even heard of people driving from one shop on one side of the road to the other side of the road - doing a U-turn - so they can visit another shop without using their legs.
Exercise is VITAL to fight heart disease, cancer and diabetes. And yet the authorities do absolutely NOTHING to encourage it.
Green Lanes is served fantastically well by buses and even if it wasn't the majority of people who use it to shop could walk or cycle there perfectly well. We should get RID of parking on Green Lanes imo. If that meant people had to go elsewhere to show off their massive Mercs, so be it.
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