Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Really P****d Off
I hope all you who have the vote in Harringay will remember tonight ( and certainly other nights to come ) and at the next election vote out the incompetent shower responsible for the introduction of the LTN.
My weekly 5-minute journey from Wightman Road to Green Lanes took 45 minutes, including 30 minutes to go the length of Hampden Road. Yes, I know that there was a burst water main. But in happier times traffic would have been distributed across the roads now blocked off and not confined to Green Lanes. Yes, I know that I could have taken a bus to sit in the same traffic jam as I did this evening but in any case there aren't any buses between my house and the bottom of Effingham Road.
I understand the concerns of those residents living in the LTN who hope that the pollution in their streets will be reduced but don't the residents of Green Lanes, Turnpike Lane and Wightman Road breathe ? don't their children have lungs ?. Where did the Council think the LTN traffic would go ?
And please don't suggest to this disabled person that I could have cycled. I couldn't.
Tags for Forum Posts: low traffic neighbourhoods, traffic
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Old-Age-Emporium(OAE) on
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I thought not, John.
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I find it so disheartening people aren't prepared to give the LTN longer to bed in before deciding it's a disaster. It's only been a couple of weeks!
What's actually a disaster is our planet's climate reaching the point of no return. But hey, we'll tell the future generations of Haringey we gave it our best shot, eh? We tell them that we did introduce this scheme to try to lower levels of traffic and pollution but because people were either too lazy to walk around the borough to get places or, if they absolutely had to drive for work or health reasons, simply weren't prepared to accept longer journeys in the short term while the scheme bedded in, we gave up. So it's on them now to fix things. Oh, except it's too late now. Soz.
Honestly, the inward looking and selfish attitudes on all the LTN threads make me despair. The council hasn't introduced the LTN for giggles, it's to make a difference. You might not like it now and you might never like it, but can't you at least give it a chance, for our children's sake, for their children's sake? And before anyone leaps on and says it needs a more joined up scheme across London to be effective – well yes, of course it does. But baby steps could lead to giant steps and we've got to start somewhere.
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Wish there was a big like button for MLD's post.
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The problem is not LTNs as such. In some places they have worked. The problem is at the top. The government slyly funded the LTNs but only if they were imposed by a certain time and with conditions. Some local authorities refused the blackmail. Others imposed them without proper consultation and without properly accessing the impact. Don't be taken in by the idea that the people who are opposed to them are all climate change denying Jeremy Clarksons; quite the opposite. You seem to believe that if we simply wait, they will 'bed in'.
Whatever that means. Kindly explain to me the benefits of LTNs that make people sit in traffic jams, force people to make hugely extended journeys, delay public transport and choke with fumes the people living on main roads. There is no benefit to these ill planned LTNs. Do you really think people are going to abandon their cars? Do you think they drive for fun? Only central government can make the changes needed to reduce carvusage and they don't show the slightest sign of doing so.
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If we were talking six months of traffic jams and extended journeys, I could see your point that the benefits seem lacking. But it's been a couple of weeks! Opponents cannot possibly decide in such a short space of time that the LTN isn't worth having.
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Do you really think people are going to abandon their cars? Do you think they drive for fun?
I'd say the answer to both of these questions is yes.
Putting together some of the stats certainly suggests this
Six in ten car trips are made for shopping, leisure and personal business purposes and a fifth for work purposes. A third of car trips are shorter than 2km.
There are more car journeys on Saturdays and Sunday than during the week
Around six in ten car driver trips are made alone, without any passengers, a quarter include one passenger and the remainder have two or more passengers.
Those kind of stats suggest to me that there is a lot of scope to reduce car usage.
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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on
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Demolish houses, build more roads.
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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And, perhaps John, chopping down trees front, back, and beside existing homes to provide more space to pour more concrete to build taller towers and inflate the prices of homes. And raise-high the debt mortgage mountain and other loans which may never be repaid. Much of which, like student loans, and the so called National Debt, does not need to be repaid.
But it does keep huge numbers of people quiescent as they worry about staying ahead of the bills.
About "baby steps". This got me thinking.
Observing our three granddaughters, it seems to me that they were rarely taking baby steps. Relative to their ages size and developmental stages it's more like giant brave determined reckless leaps. Yet isn't our current need for giant brave leaps to tackle the climate crisis?
By the way, I'm jotting down these rough thoughts because I see myself. possibly like many others on climate issues, stuck in the fable of blind men standing around the elephant. We may observe angry shouting matches about proposed Green measures. While others appeal for calm and patience and giving things time. Time for sharing our insights,hopes and doubts, in a process of mutual respect and learning. And - yes - empathy for others' material positions.
"The wearer knows where the shoe pinches." Anarchist saying.Time though is dangerously short.
Aren't we now beginning to mourn the possible death of the planet? Or at least of the lives, livelihoods and homes of many millions? So Anger, Denial, Bargaining, and so on are wholly understandable reactions.
A possible ray of hope. I'm beginning to sense,in this thread at least, there may be signs that anger and denial can be replaced by the wish for consensus. What cooperators once called "Building United Judgement" on which to base effective action.
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Permalink Reply by HoL Site Admin on
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The sub-thread on immigration has been deleted to bring the conversation back on topic, in line with our house rules.
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I guess most of the traffic was cars with people who could have easily taken your bus. That is the point. I was at Ally Pally yesterday and nearly every car had one to two people in them. My bus had over 40 people or the equivalent of (being generous) 20 cars. The car drivers need to understand they are the problem.
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