Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
The new Oxford Circus
Article here.
Oxford Circus has also had its barriers and street clutter ripped out and remodelled, giving the 200million shoppers and workers who visit annually about 70 per cent more freedom to move about.
Half a kilometre of both Regent Street and Oxford Street is also being redesigned, with wider pavements and new lighting.
York stone has been used on the pavements and has been coated with a chemical to help make removing chewing gum easier.
The Architects Journal also discusses the re-design.
Maybe they could re-design our very own Grand Parade.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Maddy on
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I do hope not. I noticed these toilets were closed several months ago - I know the exact location of most public toilets (and "free" ones in shops and cafes) as I am a frequent user. Apparently there is no statutory requirement to provide public facilities - that's not so bad for men as they can use the street, which is of course not very nice for the rest of us.
I love the sign on the Manor House public toilet that has been closed forever - it says "The nearest convenience is at Stanford Hill." Not very convenient to have to take a bus to the loo!
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Permalink Reply by StephenBln on
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Thanks for the link alistair.
It clearly demonstrates that Oxford Street/Circus should really be a pedestrian precinct - ideally with a tram service along it - say, Holborn - Marble Arch -(fast to) Hyde Park Corner & Victoria.. You've seen the trams on Alex in Berlin so you know what I mean..
It also clearly demonstrates that people want to take back their city streets and don't want to herded like cattle behind railings.. BTW, pedestrianising the street would probably be cheaper in the long run than employing all those HIVIZ Cops to shoo the people off the road..
There are some great comparison shots here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/recoveringscot/3483541445/
and here:
http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=Oxford%20Circus%201950s&w=all
And those who like old London shots -look here: http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/cushman/results/result.do?query=cou... (the second photo shows a bus on its way from Harringay (Tottenham) to Forest Hill)
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Permalink Reply by matt on
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Wonderful photo of old Oxford Circus Stephen. So it looks like they've come back full circle on the more open style design for the pedestrians (?)
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BTW, the cobblestones stayed in place until 1963, when they were replaced by 'the umbrella' over the junction, during the Victoria Line construction work...
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Permalink Reply by Hugh on
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Thanks for those links Steve.
The Cushman pages in particular are well worth a look through. (Nice to see the old Covent Garden.
One thing that struck me looking at the Cushman photos was how very much more open everything felt before we became so barricaded in and the streets got so terribly gaudily tattooed.
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Yes Hugh, the Cushman pages are interesting.. I came across them by looking at photo 143 showing Pond Square, Highgate - where my maternal gr-gr-gr-gr-gr-grandparents lived and died..
Yes, you are right too about the tattooed streets of London - something we don't have here in Germany. I suppose because we have longer periods of snow, making yellow lines quite useless..
Anyway, Cushmann shows what I imagine must be one of the first yellow boxes in London not far from Oxford Circus on Upper Regent Street in 1965 (photo 37) and which was most probably, a very unusual sight at that time.. (I don't know when the first were tried out, but I presume they also have something to do with Ernie Marples (Minister of Transport), just like Harringay's Controlled Pedestrian Area).
I bet the Robin Reliant in the shot belongs to a BBC presenter on his way home :o)
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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Thanks again to Matt for raising this; and for the links. Some further thoughts on the article and video in The Architects Journal.
The video is especially interesting. It first highlights the problems for pedestrians: overcrowding; restricted movement; pedestrian safety; and street clutter. Then, with elegant and ingenious animation, shows the solutions proposed.
The four problems are repeated across Haringey - admittedly without the enormous numbers of people at Oxford Circus.
I've tried to imagine what a similar solution might look like, say, at the junction of the High Road and Station Road, Wood Green. Would it work?
How much more effective Haringey's consultations could be if we used similar tools and had a similar approach ─ getting much better at illustrating, explaining and discussing the issues and possible solutions with local residents.
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Last year HoL members raised the topic of the Oxford Circus pedestrian crossings; and the general move to take away pedestrian barriers and street clutter and widen pavements.
So people may be interested in an item on the BBC's In Touch. It was broadcast on 22 June and is still available here. Or as a transcript.
It's about the agreement reached between the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association (GBDA) and Kensington & Chelsea about the "shared surface area" in Exhibition Road, South Kensington.
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Meanwhile Haringey and Transport for London both seem to be letting the opposite happen - as pavements are narrowed and even more cluttered by shops extending their displays outwards.
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How do we counter that local trend Alan (or at least have some discussion on it)? Do you have any particular instances in mind?
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Here's one example, Hugh. The corner of High Road Tottenham and St Loy's Road N17.
(Click here for the original and larger versions.)
I don't know for sure, but my guess is that the trader's displays on this corner may be legally on 'private' land. This often happens on roads where former homes became shops, with the old front 'garden' area not part of the 'public highway'. The result is that the pavement width is substantially narrowed.
Can I make it clear that I'm not completely against shops having outside displays. Nor do I oppose street stalls as such. Both can add to the colour and liveliness of a street; and even make it safer by adding more overlooking. (Though I'd make an exception for the mess outside Bruce Grove Station in what is supposed to be a conservation area.)
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