There's a lot of ongoing discussions on this site regarding local traffic issues, with the volume of traffic on Wightman road a key issue, both making Wightman road unpleasant (even with the poorly signposted 20 zone), and creating more traffic on the ladder.
Given this, I was amazed a couple of weeks ago to see the design of the junction of Wightman road & Turnpike line, which basically tells drivers 'come on in, this is a big through road'...
Wightman road at this junction has an amazing 6 lanes, in strong contrast to the one each way further south.
Maybe traffic volumes would reduce if there was a redesign of this junction, narrowing down & making Wightman Road much less attractive to through traffic?
If you don't see the junction often (I was on a passing bus), then the google street view of the junction is here (if the very long URL survives...):
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocod...
"Going back to my original post, my feeling is that most people in the area would like to have less traffic on Wightman (and hence the ladder), which is why we have the (somewhat ineffective) 20 zone."
;)
I think Green Lanes shoppers should be allowed to parkalong any road as long as they pay and display.
The issue is Haringey Council are pushing this green washno car campaign without looking at the problem, I'm guessing as long as no onefrom the western parts of the borough complains about the traffic then there'sno problem.
I agree with what Stephen is saying, I hardly drive butwhen I do I'm always stuck in traffic (trying to get in or out of Harringay).On my way home from work I'm on a bus which is stuck in traffic and I thinkit's taken 10 years off my life, I worked from home last week and upon returningto the office someone said I looked younger (I blamed the traffic for making melook older).
Maybe I've just solved the traffic problem; everyonecould just work from home!
Hi Germana,
I expect that people who don't drive are very much part of the problem, as they clamour for traffic restrictions without understanding how it affects people who do drive, and indeed people who don't drive, but elsewhere.
I understand that pollution, noise and careless driving are bad, but I don't understand what specific problems Ladder residents want addressed by increased traffic management restrictions...?
Can't vibrations from the speeding Royal Mail truck be addressed by Royal Mail? Can't dangerous driving be reduced by better enforcement? What will moving ladder traffic elsewhere actually solve?
Hypothetically, would a huge volume of perfectly driven electric cars (i.e. no pollution, noise, or careless driving) still be unacceptable to Ladder residents? I think that yes it would.
By all means, people, enjoy the monthly/weekly discussion of Global Ladder & GardensTraffic but, purely in the interests of logical and terminological exactitude (pace customary parlance), may I make these tiny corrections?
1. "traffic from Wightman Rd, or even the [other] Ladder roads"
2. "make the Ladder [rung] roads two-way again"
3. "increasing control on Wightman is the best way to reduce volumes on the [rest of the] Ladder"
4. "a factor in people's decision to drive down W[h]ightman and cut through the a Ladder [rung road] at some point"
No, these changes won't calm the traffic, but they'll shore calm me.
Marginalised Ladder Resident.
69 Wightman Road.
(3) really is a completely unnecessary correction, in fact you have changed the meaning of the original sentence. Let's say "increasing control on Hewitt is the best way to reduce volumes on the ladder" and it works too. You're being overly sensitive. Times crossword too easy today?
Probably a crazy idea but I am not much of a town planner.
How about gating off all rung roads on the ladder half way up. if you live at the bottom of a rung road you use green lanes if at the top you use wightman.
Make the roads two way. so eresidents could drive in an out, lose the speed bumps as cars could not use them as through roads.
Emergency services have slight problem... hmmmm....
Wightman Rd would just need "blocking off" at either end and the REST OF the ladder would benefit too.
I don't think that's a valid solution though. I would like to see narrowing to restrict the large commercial vehicles that use ladder roads to avoid traffic lights.
John, I accept that on No.3 I was overstating the case for emphasis. Substitute 'whole' for 'rest of the', to avoid changing the original meaning. (I agree fully with the point made, as I see you do.)
As for being overly sensitive, no I don't depend on antipodean tycoons' cross words to pass my Sundays.
According to the Campaign for Better Transport's guide to traffic reduction methods, 20 mph zones do deter traffic:
"20mph zone
Traffic calming measures have to be installed so that vehicle speeds are physically restricted to 20mph or less
Cost: £60-130,000
Pros: Very good at slowing down cars. Improves road safety. Individual traffic calming measures within the zone do not need signing, so visual intrusion is reduced. Self-enforcing. Deters traffic
Cons: May lull pedestrians into a false sense of security with the assumption of safety zone. Requires other traffic calming methods to be installed, which may have their own disadvantages"
They've got a good run-down of the advantages & disadvantages of a wide range of approaches on the same page:
http://www.bettertransport.org.uk/local_campaigning/online_guides/s...
(NB: Just having a 20mph limit without traffic calming is less effective, as there is nothing to stop drivers going as fast as they want to, unless you have external enforcement like speed cameras, traffic police etc).
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