Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
West Green Road Red Route Report
Some may remember a consultation about introducing a red route and other changes along West Green Road with a broad goal of speeding up buses.
The council appear to have been sitting on the results for 2 years now, based on this entry in their 'forward plan'. (https://www.minutes.haringey.gov.uk/mgListPlanItems.aspx?PlanId=655)
As I understand, there were some controversial elements in the plan, which I won't go into personally, which I guess have made this decision tricky for whatever reason. However, it seems to mean that uncontroversial (I think?) elements, such as having a right turn lane and right filter phase on the lights at Belmont Road/West Green Road have not been done.
In the very earliest consultations about the West Green LTN (maybe 2022?) I and others had raised on the interactive map that this junction would become a problem. Whatever one's views on the LTNs generally are, I would have hoped that ensuring obstacles like this are cleared on the remaining through routes should have been a no-brainer but nothing is happening.
I would ask any councillors on here (I did not get any response to a direct email about this a while back) : why is there silence on this, and can some improvements (like this junction) be factored out and implemented if there are other sticking points?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Neil Ford
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Implemented by 2030? The council should send wardens down WGR to sort out the cars parked on double yellows. I can walk them through all the hot spots.
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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter
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which I guess have made this decision tricky for whatever reason.
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Due to the lack—and often the absence—of leadership, the default position is to avoid decisions or to tread quietly along the path of least resistance.
In practice this means no change and no action. Council employees have long dominated the Council. And possibly never more so than since last May when the election led to a Borough with no overall (political) control.
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There doesn’t seem to be any plan for active travel, tackling pollution, LTNs or improving buses. I’ve been to several meetings now and there is no plan, no process to develop a plan and no dates for any announcements or engagement. Depressing doesn’t begin to come close. Looks like Haringey and Harringay - are destined for 4 more years of inaction with more accidents, poor health and congestion.
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ACTIVE travel has been promoted fitfully by the municipal PR team but it has not enjoyed meaningful support from the Highwaymen.
Their paper on car-parking talked all around the subject, with something for everyone, especially present and future car-owners. Their big strategy paper lacked any sense of a coherent strategy, reflecting the chronic lack of political will.
At last count, there were 101 roads with official pavement-parking, evidence of Highways' loyalty to the car owners in our Borough. Labour always heard most clearly the voices of the car-owning minority.
The Highways Department is a bastion of conservatism. There has been active resistance to progress from this gatekeeper, through which any improvements would have to pass. As the delays, inaction and hand-wringing continue, traffic gets worse and our Borough falls further behind our neighbours.
Labour's previous Cabinet Members for Highways largely acted as mouthpieces for their "officers". Can the new Green Cabinet break the long-term log-jam?
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101 roads with pavement parking is outrageous. Shame on the council, clearly pedestrians, especially those with disabilities don’t count for anything
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KATE, yes, but the Council is always ready to pay lip-service to those residents with disabilities. For highways, in practice they listen to and prefer the demands of car-owners.
The Highways Department designed and implemented Pavement Parking bays for car-owners several years ago. Rather than their fitful PR efforts, this actual practice on the ground reflects their true priorities. Due to the lack of political leadership, the council now finds it to difficult to unwind. Fixing this stays in the "too hard" basket.
The nuisance effect is obviously most pronounced for wheelchair users—but to some extent, all pedestrians are disadvantaged. The council's flawed, de facto policy of Pavement Parking retention has less obvious effects:
- By example and in effect, the council encourages parking on pavements not in official council authorised bays and the council loses moral authority
- Pedestrian pavements were not designed for half the weight of a car.
- Throughout the Borough, in a half-metre margin alongside the kerb, pedestrians' pavements are cracked or damaged.
- In some places, the Highwaymen have added strengthening to accommodate the extra weight
- Repeated driving up onto kerbs tends to damage cars' tyres
Can the newer, Green Administration make a difference where Labour could not?
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Reading the LCSP minutes, the comments from the new cllrs was instructive. They have a battle on their hands with the Highways Dept at the council to be enable to enact change.
One cllr commented in answering questions about traffic plans for harringay: "... blockages on improvements are finance and officers. More funding is being sought. There needs to be a cultural change for officers. It seems officers lead the council. Very aware of these issues."
LTNs didn't take years to implement but decades of dithering about parking in the borough on major arterial roads seems to be a problem nobody wants to take a lead on!
Opposition from lobby groups including traders : they can use public transport like the rest of us. With all due respect to them, they don't need to park their very fancy cars outside their workplaces every day.
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Permalink Reply by Dan77
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I thought we had a Green council now? Surely reducing pollution and active travel would be somewhere on the list of priorities
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In theory but the Highways Department is not answerable to the council political leadership. It's likely more complicated than this, but the general principle is this it seems.
Why have Haringey done virtually sod all for cyclists where other authorities in north london are miles ahead (literally!) in the provision of cycle lanes, for example.
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THE absence of clear, coherent thinking in transport is evidenced in this Ham & High interview in 2021 with previous council leader Joseph Ejiofor.
It's a lengthy piece. The then-leader muses about transport from the paragraph beginning:
Thinking off the top of my head …
Further down:
“I might be a little bit of an oddity... but I love driving and I’m 100% up for LTNs,” Cllr Ejiofor said.
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