Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!

What if the council banned overtaking on Wightman Rd?

I wonder what people would think if the council experimented with completely banning overtaking on Wightman Rd as a step towards giving us a more liveable urban environment without offending the motorists of Crouch End and Enfield too much? The 20mph limit is set by the council and this ban would also be in their remit. Although speed limit is mostly enforced using road humps I challenge you go and visit another English town without 20mph limits in areas like Harringay, it's frightening.

The idea would be that in rush hour, maximum speeds would be enforced by cyclists and that cycling down there would be a much nicer experience. There is already precious little room or incentive (I'll get to that) for vehicles to overtake anyway.

At rush hour there are queues at either end of Wightman Rd, quite big queues, that make it nonsensical to over take anyway. We have seen video footage on here of dangerous overtaking on Wightman Rd and it has to be done at much more than the 20mph limit because of oncoming traffic and the pedestrian islands.

Thoughts?

Tags for Forum Posts: cycling, traffic, wightman

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Permalink Reply by Old-Age-Emporium(OAE) on January 19, 2018 at 17:21

Dearest Godfrey, John and Lisa,

I am that old boy doing 5mph on Wightman Rd and irritating the shit out of Godfrey. I intend to continue walking on Wightman at a steady 4-5mph while our footways are hijacked by motors of the petrol, diesel etc breed. It matters not a whit whether these belong to Wightman residents or out-of-borough chancers inventing their own 'park-and-ride' zone within half-a-mile or more of Harringay Station. My vocation is to modify John's overtaking ban proposal which, I fear, privileges the two-wheeled over not only the four-wheeled or occasionally the ten-wheeled monstrosities but over the no-wheeled but one-sticked whom I am proud to represent. The crazy footway parking system is set by LBHaringey Council, so its abolition before the coming election would also be within the Kober remit and the current Harringay councillors' persuasory function. My idea would be that at all hours, rush or non-rush, maximum speeds for cyclists, motorists etc would be enforced by pedestrians of mature years, gait and judgement. I shall, of course, carry the red flag I last used in the closing years of the 19th century when the peace of the Ladder in its youth was threatened by horse-traps and penny-farthings. Finally a word to Lisa: speed bumps on Whiteman Rd are sufficient danger in themselves; baby bumps on bicycles is a further irritation we could do without on Whiteman. Try Blackboy Lane instead.

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Permalink Reply by Godfrey on January 19, 2018 at 17:31

Dearest Old-Age,

You do not in the slightest irritate me, that's my point, I'm pleased you are going about your business with the freedom of not being nanny managed by someone who has no dog in the fight. My irritation is someone suggesting that in the 'interest of safety' we should adopt a frankly quite ridiculous suggestion because they think it will be safer, with no other insight into the effects of this suggestion other than a bit of an observation that at peak hours it would offer the same amount of progress. If this the case trial it at peak hours - Just gets on my bits when I see and hear things like this. Just like how speed humps are effecting in culling speed, but ambulance problems, pollution, noise pollution, vehicle damage, road damage are all a by product - im all for slowing vehicles down but I think a junior school project full of kids could be a bit more creative than filling the borough with slabs of hard materials which cost thousands of pounds a go only to watch the decay and drive up pollution at the same time. Best ones are the ones that are pyramid shape for cyclists to ride around get 4 or 5 of them and then the full kerb to kerb big beasts - whats the point?

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Permalink Reply by Lisa on January 20, 2018 at 13:44

"Finally a word to Lisa: speed bumps on Whiteman Rd are sufficient danger in themselves; baby bumps on bicycles is a further irritation we could do without on Whiteman. Try Blackboy Lane instead."

Hehehe, don't worry, the bump is no longer commuting. For now.