Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Life on Green Lanes Boundary: 2 years into the LTNs
I’ve lived on Green Lanes for a while now, and I wondered how other 'boundary road' residents are doing. While I understand the goal of the LTNs was to reduce traffic on side streets, the reality here on the main road has become incredibly difficult.
Two years on, the congestion outside my door feels constant. More worryingly, my asthma has significantly flared up recently, and I can’t help but link it to the idling engines and poor air quality we’re now facing daily.
Does anyone know if there are updated air quality monitoring reports for Green Lanes specifically for 2025/2026? And for those living on boundary roads, how are you coping? I’d love to know if there are any active resident groups focusing on the health impacts for those of us who weren't 'filtered'.
Tags for Forum Posts: traffic
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jamie Harper
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"You don't like your council or your council's decision then local elections are where you need to be casting your vote."
Elizabeth, Lutfur Rahman ran and won on a promise of removing the LTNs. The people of Tower Hamlets did exactly as you suggest. The decision appears then to be a triumph against democracy.
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Except the council still has to act lawfully and they didn't in TH's case. And the idea that the Mayor of TH wanted to do this for public transport users is ridiculous.
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Permalink Reply by Jane Roberts
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Exactly, Jamie, well put.
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Elizabeth — Quite right, it was a “consultation” not a vote (sorry), but still only 700 or so people expressed support, which is a tiny proportion of St Ann’s residents. Of course, it was a foregone conclusion anyway; Haringey were never going to turn down free money from the GLA or TfL, and the lobbying for a “yes” outcome appeared very heavily influenced by the council and a hitherto unknown pressure group that managed to leaflet the whole ward to get the message across, without considering any alternatives or negatives. However, as is so often shown, local authority “consultations” are almost always just window-dressing, not just in Haringey but in plenty of other boroughs too. Other recent HoL threads have also commented on the council’s total failure to make any changes in GL (as had been promised before the LTNs were created), thus avoiding any attempt to deal with the central and by far the most important problems in our part of the borough, some of which are reflected in this thread.
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Permalink Reply by Grand Parader
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Hi Jane - really good you posted. And sorry to hear you're experiencing worse breathing /increased asthma.
My perception is that I'd been experiencing progressively cleaner air on the street (Grand Parade in particular) - having lived on Grand Parade since the 80's and been a cyclist all that time, and a spell of buggy-pushing to local schools, the seemingly massive drop in diesel exhaust has been the biggest change - buses, taxis - all electric now, and a fair proportion of cars. The taste of diesel exhaust on your tongue is largely gone when cycling up the street. BUT interesting what Jamie says about brakes, tyre wear, road abrasion being a major part of particulates.
Reliable monitoring & statistics would be really useful as I'm not experiencing Grand Parade/Green Lanes traffic as being much different to any years/decades before. It's usually/often been a crawl. The minute it's less congested, cars/vans are moving faster, and it feels much less safe for cyclists and pedestrians (me at least).
Anyway I hope you find some relief for your asthma. I am also going to look at air purifiers - as all Grand Paraders get a lot of airborne dust from Green Lanes.
And for the record, there are likely 1500-2000 residents living above the shops, Harringay bridge > The Salisbury - usually missed out from Harringay residential campaigns /discussions.
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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter
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there are likely 1500-2000 residents living above the shops, … usually missed out from Harringay residential campaigns /discussions.
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It seems to me that this group of residents have a common interest.
Haringey Council prefers to deal with organisations (like themselves) rather than with individuals. This is why they listen closely to shopkeepers, collectively organised as the Green Lane Traders Association. As a lobbying group, the Association is effective in representing business interests. Only.
Unless GL residents organise themselves to represent their interests to the council, the ground (or in this case, the air) is ceded to those who have organised.
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As a pedestrian living to the west of Green Lanes and needing to go to a shop in GL, I use the Ladder Passage as far as possible to go north and south, in order minimise the time spent in the stench of fumes in GL. It serves as an open running sewer of pollution. The council has long felt powerless to take action. They care about air pollution, but not enough to do anything.
The Director of Public Health is silent.
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Thanks, Grand Parader, that’s really interesting. And heartening about the diesel, which makes sense. Where we are, past the Salisbury towards Turnpike Lane, there’s definitely more traffic, others including our taxi driver neighbour regularly remark on it too— though an upside I didn’t mention, is regarding speeding: cars used to literally race on this strip of road but now they can’t, ha!
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