Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Wightman Road now feels far more dangerous to cross
I know the work hasn't finished yet and I've been trying to hold off passing judgment until the road updates are complete but I just cannot see how these changes are an improvement.
I used to cross the road a lot using the island by Mattison Road. I have a two year old with limited road sense and right now I'm heavily pregnant. Trying to cross the road with my son and bags is a total nightmare! Before I just needed to look one way at a time - now I need to check for traffic going both ways and coming out of Mattison Road too. I find it quite stressful!
I don't feel confident weaving between traffic when it slows for a chicane because your view is blocked and I worry that a moped might be weaving through so end up waiting for ages to cross. Motorists are too busy trying to navigate the road to also look out for pedestrians.
On top of that - all the queuing traffic makes the road feel busier, even if there are fewer cars and the amount of angry beeping I hear now has definitely gone up! (although I appreciate there are still temporary traffic lights further down so perhaps this will improve)
What options do we have to lobby the council to make further changes? I wrote to express my concerns about the 'informal crossing' points when they sent details of the road changes but that had no impact. I feel like a few zebra crossing at key points along the road could help - especially where lots of kids are crossing i.e. at Mattison or Pemberton near the school.
But what is most effective way to get the council to listen? Emails and complaints to local councils and councillors might elicit responses - but actual action?
And more to the point - does anyone else share this concern?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Dominik on
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The problem is that ppl who don't live locally don't know what they are getting themselves into. So large cars and vans go on the road but it now doesn't seem suitable anymore for those type of vehicles. This obviously doesn't help anyone esp now when you have them coming into your lane or trying to squeeze through the chicanes.
Would you or anyone on this forum be able to share the email addresses of the people responsible for this project?
I think it is important for all of us to voice our concerns and press for changes as long as the works haven't finished. Now is the time to make adjustments. We can already tell that this is not working by looking at the sections where work has finished.
It is just very obvious Wightman road has become more dangerous for everyone and more stressful for its residents. We need to hold the council accountable. They are spending our taxes after all.
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Thanks everyone for your replies - there's some comfort in knowing I'm not the only one who is finding crossing a road more stressful than it needs to be.
It's also good to hear that there will be a zebra crossing near by - given I wasn't aware of this, I think I will hold off emailing the local Councillors till the work is complete so that I can at least give the new layout a chance...Hugh - I hadn't appreciated how much work local groups had done to work with the council on this. Thank you on my behalf (as a relatively lazy resident who just wrote in one objection!) Heartening to know there's people in the area who care so much but frustrating that the council didn't take many of concerns seriously. I do think there's an element of box ticking when they do these consultations.
In the meantime - best of luck to all the cyclist, pedestrians and motorists on Wightman Road - if there's one leveler to all this then it's that it's stressful for everyone!
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Permalink Reply by Alex on
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I agree about the increased amount of angry beeping by cars, seemingly where Wightman Rd has been ‘pinched in’ by the new islands and traffic is forced closer. I suspect that when the new road markings are painted this may help drivers perception and understanding of the flow.
I also agree that crossings become slightly trickier. Im not pregnant or with a toddler, so I sympathise and understand how this new road layout makes your experience more stressful.
A few zebra crossings at strategic points (schools) is a great idea.
i have no knowledge or experience of how to petition a council effectively, I’m afraid, but I’ll certainly support any suggested actions to ask the council to consider proper crossings
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Permalink Reply by Kit on
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Me too; should we all write to Razak?
Wightman is now either gridlock or speeding. From a cyclist's point of view it's particularly terrifying northbound, over the railway bridge, heading round the curve, as southbound cars swerve into the middle of the road to get round the chicanes. Often at some speed.
From the point of view of all Wightman Road residents and users, especially those with children, idling gridlocked cars are terrible for air quality. I borrowed a friend's air-quality monitor for a couple of weeks and the readings were dangerously high during both rush hours, for both Wightman and the stretch of Endymion leading to/from the northwest gates of Finsbury Park.
Can we do something?
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Having said I'd wait till the works had finished - a friend of mind told me yesterday that she drove a guy to A&E on Tuesday after he came off his moped. As I understand someone was crossing the road at one of the 'informal crossings' where cars were queuing to get round a chicane. A moped was weaving through the traffic and swerved to avoid the pedestrian and came off his bike. So I will write to Razak - even if just to highlight that this happened.
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Permalink Reply by DavidJ on
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It was always obvious that this plan was not going to solve the local traffic problems - but this has clearly now made things much, much worse. The bits that are 'finished' show how dangerous this road has become.
As someone who cycles on there - the traffic island pinch points did create problems - but the problem now is there numerous pinch points and long sections that are effectively pinch points (because the road is so narrow). The big problem is that these pinch points are not really visible to any driver who is not fully concentrating.
Cyclists and mopeds (as above) will try and weave through traffic queues (which are occurring 'naturally' at the chicanes) which will create problems. Of course it would be safer if bikes did not try and overtake the queues - but any road design that means that bikes have to sit in queues of traffic in this day and age is a design fail.
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Permalink Reply by Mavic Starfish on
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@ DavidJ - agreed, as a cyclist it's much much worse, and I've already been beeped by car drivers who cant see the chicanes, and wonder why I'm in the primary position which is fine when there is traffic but as soon as there is a break further up the road, car in front bolts up and the car behind me gets impatient. That happens elsewhere but the chicanes make it impossible to pull over as you can't then pull out at the next one, so you slam to a halt. or stay in primary. The chicane just passed suicide bridge almost outside St Alouisus has a gap in the middle so cyclists can pass through the chicane. That should have been incorporated in the Wightman chicanes
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That’s not possible when there is parking on one side of the chicanes.
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Can't disagree - I'm now at the point where I sit OUTSIDE of primary across the bridge, essentially blocking off the overtake unless they put their vehicle entirely on the wrong side of the road, which even the most reckless of boy racers are reluctant to do around bends.
I normally will do a bit of filtering to get down the front - but that's largely to avoid being trapped between vehicles, of which the one in rear probably will have a crack at passing me, safely or not.
I'm too big and stupid to be bothered by a tit leaning on his or her horn - I give as good as I get and hold my ground. But there are a lot of people who would find such treatment very intimidating - and so what prevails is less people cycling on Wightman...
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This may just be coincidence, but the evening 'rush hour' traffic flow northbound on Green Lanes has become noticeably slower in the last couple of months, it seems to me. Some days it's about as slow as when Wightman Rd was closed for the bridge rebuilding. Are some car drivers abandoning Wightman Rd on risk avoidance (collision at chicane locations) grounds?
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