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Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!

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

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You do have the issue of people blindly following sat navs though. If you don't know the route that well then if it sends you up that sidestreet then you'll probably follow it.

So you are saying that using Satnavs is anti-social ?

On my street it may well come to this one day!

I don't think so. I don't really know what you mean by anti-social.

You say that satnav users " blindly follow ". If you don't know the area why wouldn't you follow your satnav ?

John, it’s because blindly following a SatNav rather than taking notice of the No HGV signs at the bottom of my street that causes it to be blocked on regular basis.

I thought that was a different thread.

Green Lanes, of course, is wide enough for four lanes and could happily carry far more traffic for most of its length through Haringey. The congestion occurs where it thins to single lanes to make parking available outside the shops and restaurants, something fiercely and uncompromisingly protected by the cabal of local traders. Like so many commentators on this thread, they are uninterested in the avalanche of evidence that making an area more appealing to cyclists and walkers increases footfall and trade. They are certain that the one or two parking spaces available outside their storefront is responsible for the majority of their turnover. Somehow. 

Rory, A question and a few general thoughts in response to your interesting post.

● What would you rather have instead? Two bus/bike lanes, perhaps?
● In much of Haringey borough - not just Green Lanes - we have two lanes of our roads reserved for vehicle parking. (Some homes have the alternative of frontage parking spaces with pavement crossovers.)
● Your suspicion about a "cabal of local traders" may be taking things a little too far. I'm not a trader.
●  Nor am I a member of any organised cabal-like group that tries to support our local businesses. (Although l used to be a member of the Labour Party in former years before members were banned from Freedom of Speech.)
● Nor am I a car owner or driver.
● I'm an East Tottenham resident who likes meeting friends in good, reasonably priced, convivial Haringey restaurants. (Though not if they're so crammed and noisy that it's impossible to hear our friends talking.)
● For places not within walking distance, I appreciate a lift and a walkable parking space. Especially in rainy weather and on cold dark winter nights.

● Getting older and my worsening eyesight has altered my views on a lot of these questions. So has helping to look after grandchildren and re-learning from them.

Well that's a lot to break down! Personally, I would have a bike/bus lane on either side. A lot of the rush hour congestion is caused by buses pulling out into the middle lane and joining all those cars, alongside cars parking and pulling out into traffic. Further north up Green Lanes where there is a bus lane and no parking there is virtually no/very little congestion. You may not agree with me, but many residents, myself included, think the GL traders have an unrepresentative and undemocratic sway over the council and their policies. I'm not sure why you feel I have put you specifically into their ranks, unless you own a business on GL and lobby the council on their behalf. As a non-car owner I would imagine that you successfully manage to reach these businesses. Maybe you can share this expertise with so many residents who seem to find this an impossible task. Generally, everyone needs to figure that out, considering the climate crisis and legacy of carbon emissions. Reserving the first, say, three parking spaces at the ends of the roads that meet Green Lanes also doesn't sound too controversial. When Wightman was closed, the Ladder residents realised just how many parking spaces were taken up by non-residents, as the streets virtually emptied of parked cars. I am a member of the Labour Party and to my knowledge, no-one has banned my free speech, I'm genuinely sorry to hear that the Labour Party has banned yours. What a shame. So many of these threads seem to be people furiously aghast that they might have to use their cars less when everyone knows that we all have to use our cars less.

Do the traders in GL make donations to the Labour Party? Do they have family or similar ties to members of the Lanour Party? That might explain the undemocratic influence they have long been observed to weild. Anyone remember the public money they were given to do up their shops several years ago?

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