Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Haringey the 4th most congested London borough
Very sad statistics in the Metro this week - Haringey ranks the 4th most congested borough in London. And the #1 slowest borough for travel times.
Metro - New traffic map reveals London’s most congested boroughs
The only answer to this is to get cars off the road, by improving cycle lanes, cycle infrastructure and encouraging car alternatives. Compared with neighbouring boroughs such as Islington, Haringey has a lot of catching up to do.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter on
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THANKS Max.
Sadly this dismal statistic is little surprise. The way forward is clearly along the lines you cite, but In active travel, Haringey lags 10 to 20 years behind next door Boroughs.
Haringey Council has been chatting about walking and cycling for years. They've looked at removing pavement-parking … and then looked away.
As well as the endless, circular talking, they do PR and consultations, publish papers, action plans and strategies (the most extreme example is their Haringey Cycling Action Plan, replete with timetable and dated 2004 (not a typo).
Although there may be handful of council employees and Councillors who want to see progress, the chronic underlying factor is that there is net-zero political will.
The indifference is led by the council leader who seems much more interested on Haringey Borough of Culture 2027.
The Highways Department (and the Cabinet Member/spokeswoman) is a bastion of car-ownership. They know no better. There are lobby groups such as groups of traders who beleive their businesses depend on parking outside their premises,
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Permalink Reply by Sarah
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Haringey is an absolutely dreadful borough to walk and cycle in, I don't really blame people for getting into cars and the inevitable congestion that follows. Of course it's worse than the surrounding boroughs all of which are far more people-friendly
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Permalink Reply by Brian
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My response to the Haringey Air Quality Action Plan submitted earlier this week. (Ref. congestion resulting from LTNs.)
On reading the Haringey Air Quality Action Plan which I picked up last week from Wood Green library, it came as no surprise to me that 4 of the 5 cited areas in the borough designated as air pollution hotspots are adjacent to LTNs. (Low Traffic Neighbourhoods) The exception is Muswell Hill / Fortis Green. So a theme has already emerged, It cannot be a coincidence that four of the five most heavily polluted areas in the Borough are located alongside LTNs. As we know (those of us who use the roads on a regular basis) the LTNs have thrown traffic into the bottlenecks of the boundary roads e.g. Durnsford Road, Tottenham High Road, Green Lanes. (Incidentally the Haringey Air Quality Action Plan pamphlet refers to "Drumsford Road. "There is no Drumsford Rd. in Haringey. I think they mean Durnsford Rd. It doesn't exactly inspire local residents with confidence if the Council cannot even get the name of one of the most polluted roads right.)
Prior to the implementation of Haringey's LTN programme traffic was able to maintain a regular smooth flow and disperse 'holistically' through the neighbouring streets which bordered the main arteries. No particular pressure was placed on one stretch of road over and above another. Immediately after the introduction of the LTNs, however, traffic congestion on the Boundary roads sky-rocketed. Traffic was, as I have written above, 'bottlenecked, into a few roads and, not surprisingly, heavy congestion resulted and has continued as such. ('Stop / start traffic' emits between 2 - 4 times the noxious greenhouse gases of traffic which flows smoothly. Traffic on the Boundary roads is very much 'stop / start traffic.') And it is often the poorest in society (those living on main thoroughfares)and those from the black, Asian and other ethnic minority communities who are worst affected. Odd to see a Labour Council disadvantaging those from these communities - but that is what is happening.A week ago I made a point of travelling south on my scooter from Bounds Green Tube at 5.30 pm along Durnsford Rd. I made a video of the queue of traffic - cars, buses, commercial vehicles - which stretched along Durnsford Road, bumper to bumper for some 600 metres. (I have seen in the past - since the introduction of the Bounds Green LTN - traffic backed up to Colney Hatch Lane along Albert Road. This is a total distance of approx. one kilometre.)
Prior to the establishment of the LTN traffic would occasionally be backed up during rush hour (heading north along Durnsford Rd.) for approx. 100 metres before the junction with Bounds Green Road / Bounds Green Tube. Almost overnight the congestion on Durnsford Rd. increased exponentially and has remained at the same level since. (This increase in traffic congestion on the boundary roads has been mirrored across the remaining three LTNs in the borough.) This was recognised by those who participated in the consultation on LTNs which took place in late 2024. Responses from showed an overwhelming dissatisfaction with and rejection of the LTNs.
Bounds Green - 59% negative, 19% positive
Bruce Grove West Green - 59% negative, 18% positive
St. Ann's - 60% negative, 18% positive
(Responses from Carers and the Disabled showed a far greater dissatisfaction with LTNs.)
Bounds Green - 82% negative, 7% positive
Bruce Grove West Green - 82% negative, 5% positive
St. Ann's - 79% negative, 7% positive
Carers are very much at the 'sharp end' of Haringey's traffic experiment. They know how difficult it is to get around the areas bordering the LTNs: longer journeys in terms of time and distance, increased use of fuel, fear of straying into an LTN and collecting a PCN - as if their job were not stressful enough already.
But, as with previous consultations, Haringey chose to ignore the wishes of Haringey People and permanently imposed on the populace an ill-thought-out scheme which added stress to road users (inc. those using buses) and continues to degrade the environment.
I wondered why Haringey had chosen to ignore the feedback from Haringey Council Tax payers. I submitted a Freedom of Information request regarding the revenue generated by Haringey Council from LTN fines over a three year period. The figures below represent Financial Year / Actual income received from LTN PCNs / Total value of LTN PCNs / Number of LTN PCNS issued.
The results stunned me: -
2022/23*
£4,896,309.33
£13,478,539.00
103271
2023/24
£5,503,368.80
£20,576,566.00
145681
1st April 2024 - 31st October 2024
£1,762,394.05
£8,562,110.00
63023
*The dates for the 2022/23 period are from 15/08/2022 to 31/03/2023, as the first LTN was launched on 15/08/2022.
The total income to Haringey Council generated in fines stemming from the LTNs was £42,617,215!
If Haringey Council were to end the LTN experiment and revert to improved traffic flow which pertained prior to their introduction, they would be relinquishing a sizeable annual income.
Haringey's finances are in a parlous state. The Council had to go cap in hand for a government bailout earlier this year amounting to £37 million. LTNs are the gift that keeps on giving - in terms of income... and additional pollution.
If Haringey is serious about improving air quality in the borough then a way of determining whether the LTNs are the cause would be to institute a six month moratorium: a temporary suspension of the programme, a reversion to life and traffic as it was prior to their introduction. This would show, I have no doubt, improvements in traffic flow and, commensurate improved air quality. I do not believe that Haringey Council has either the will or the vision to implement this measure, however (if past experience is anything to go by.)The response from the Council to the consultation late last year (on whether to make the LTNs a permanent feature) was 'Yes, we know that the LTNs are unpopular. They cause increased congestion and hence poorer air quality both inside and outside the LTNs but we feel confident that over time the situation will improve.' (Minus any evidence to back up this belief.) The LTNs have been in place now for some 3 years. If traffic 'evaporation' was going to take place, it would have done so by now. (It hasn't.) But, like many boroughs, Haringey is hanging on to this failed project possibly because it fits in with its environmental agenda, possibly because it is unwilling to admit that it made a mistake and / or because it is addicted to the revenue which the LTNs generate - possibly a mix of all three.Haringey currently has the slowest traffic of all London Boroughs. (29.7 mins to travel 10 kms.) I know what the Council is doing to cause congestion in the borough but I see no measures in place to alleviate it.The anti-LTN lobby is depicted by Haringey Council as knuckle-dragging neanderthals, And yet the lobby includes individuals such as Rosamund Kissy-Debra whose daughter tragically died as a result of poor air quality. She wrote in 2022: "it is appalling"that Londoners are being fined... for driving through Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs)." She says that Labour boroughs are 'milking local residents.'
An unbiased assessment of the current situation will naturally lend itself to the six month suspension that I have recommended. Please advise whether this recommendation will be given serious consideration or whether, like the vast majority of previous consultations, Haringey will implement the policy it has already decided upon irrespective of public opinion.lbc.co.uk‘Appalling’ councils are fining Londoners £100m for driving through LTNs, says mother of girl killed by toxic air“Labour councils are milking their residents” claims Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, the mother of the first person in the UK to die from high air pollution.
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Permalink Reply by Barrie Birch
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Thank you so much for this great piece of research. I do believe Haringey Council suppressed this Air Quality survey until after the decision to keep LTNs was made so as not to release evidence that would prevent them keeping LTNs. This is a very bad loik for Haringey Council. What you have produced deserves urgent and wider debate
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Permalink Reply by KatieH
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This is really interesting and I agree with all points made so far about Haringey being less walking/cycling friendly than other boroughs as well as LTNs causing increased congestion and pollution on boundary roads. I would also throw another issue into the mix which is that of public transport - if we are to compare Haringey with, say, Islington, it’s clear that our public transport infrastructure is inferior. Not necessarily without reason - we are a less central area so of course we have less tube coverage - but I’d also argue that there’s a need for more ‘non-radial’ bus routes if we’re to cut down the amount to car traffic. From us in the Southern end of Harringay, after all, it’s easy to get to Wood Green or East to Tottenham (albeit with a potentially significant wait for a 341) but getting West requires multiple buses, as does any further North than Wood Green or East anywhere other than Tottenham Hale. Extending the reach of our bus routes so that they travel more East to West as well as North to South could go a long way to encouraging those who are currently using their cars for things other than commuting to work (this issue tends to disproportionately affect women, I should add - there’s a whole load of research into radial public transport and gender). Of course this isn’t Haringey Council’s remit to solve - but definitely something to note when comparing to more central boroughs.
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I'm in South Tottenham and one of my main reasons for moving here was the excellent public transport. I love living on the Victoria line. The difficulty comes when I want to get to Crouch End. Should be easy on the 41 bus but it is frequently delayed by badly parked cars. The other day we were held up because a police car was trying to get through coming from the other direction. A driver stopped to the side of the road but there was a car parked on the other side so there wasn't enough space for the police car to get through... And my bus had to wait for this to clear then other cars and buses to pass through before we could move again.
Weren't they consulting on making WGR a Red Route? We really need public transport prioritised in Haringey.
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THE transcending and underlying problem is that there are too many cars. This simple proposition ought to be the starting point, but it is not accepted by the council. There is no political will to advance and too little ability—if not active resistance—among the Highwaymen. For the foreseeable future, Haringey will remain one of the most transport-retarded Boroughs in London.
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Permalink Reply by John Leeming
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I would have thought that half an hour to drive 10km was fairly normal for almost any dense urban area in the country. For those who don't have to use cars, there is a fair selection of reasonably fast local rail services crossing Haringey.
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