Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
What's happening at The Arena?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by anne-marie on
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I tried as well around 4:30 & assumed it was the old problem resurfacing of overcrowding in the car parks. A few years ago I got stuck in the sainsburys car park for 2 hours till I made it out onto green lanes. Bank holiday bbq & diy rush on at homebase perhaps?
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Looked like that to me, and a lot of pointless car horn tooting by drivers going nowhere - perhaps tempers spilled over in the Sainsburys car park. The car parking marshals were in evidence doing a reasonable job of trying to keep traffic moving where possible (i.e. keeping junctions unblocked by selfish drivers).
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Permalink Reply by John D on
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The day before, there were two huge yellow roadmending vehicles parked on the left as you exit so there was only one lane in use. The marshals did a good job.
I wish it were possible to see the backed-up queues before committing to going in.
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Which is ecologically less sound? Spending two hours stuck in the car park or driving past the entrance and round the block to check the size of the queues before you go in - or not.
Local knowledge, common sense or both leads some people to avoid driving to the Arena site on weekend and Bank Holiday afternoons, as many previous posts on HoL attest.
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Permalink Reply by Michael Anderson on
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Philip, I heartily recommend the Rolster shopping trolley. Sturdy, capacious and gets up a good speed going down hill.
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But the problem is that the pressure of traffic backs up all the traffic on green lanes, as with yesterday so what should be a 15 minute drive 'around the block' if no traffic takes the best part of an hour. So realistically you've already committed your time.
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Yes, particularly northbound traffic on Green Lanes.
I was only proposing a way of avoiding making a bad situation worse, before making the point that if possible avoid it altogether.
If I have to use the car, say for a large/heavy item from Homebase, I get there as soon as they open.
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Permalink Reply by Madeline on
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Perhaps the Parking Marshals could tell drivers before they enter, (maybe with a sign board? the estimated waiting time to exit the park?
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I suggested that years ago but they sneered. I don't think the shops want to turn customers away.
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But it's ridiculous. The access to the arena shops obviously was poorly thought out when they shoved so many more shops on the site a few years ago.
These shops are losing customers because of the traffic issues. I personally boycotted sainsburys for 2 years after getting stuck in the car park for 2 hours a few years ago unable to get out. (Think that was before they had the traffic marshals). And yesterday I would have gone to both Sainsburys and Homebase if I had been able to get in. As it was I spent almost an hour on a wasted round trip (most of it stuck in traffic, I only live in N15). It really puts me off using the Arena shops.
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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We had similar problems at one time at Tottenham Hale Retail Park. Tackled by changing the entry and exit points. (Credit goes to Cllr Lorna Reith for coming up with practical suggestions.) But similar options aren't easily available at Green Lanes. And if there were, might encourage further "development" and perhaps a cycle which repeated the problems.
Current plans for Tottenham Hale include demolition of the existing box stores and development of some sort of indoor mall with higher rise "apartments" perched above. This is in pursuit of the Council's fantasy of a new "town centre". By which they really mean more shops, more shopping and lots more traffic. Which will risk bringing us right back to where we were before - vehicles snarled-up in queues.
Sadly, both the old and new dogs on the Council are wedded to performing these same old tricks and learning nothing. In pursuit of the chimera of retail-led "regeneration" they've encouraged developers to cram in more retail spaces; making fortunes in the short run from sales of flats near the station.
Of course the smartly dressed, shiny new people in the architects' shiny drawings of the plans are always walking. And there are no traffic traffic jams.
The Retail Park is within reasonable walking distance to most of us living nearby. Transport for London have even put in some new benches so we can go and watch the traffic jams when they begin.
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