Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Play streets in Bristol
Hi,
Saturday's Guardian had an interesting article on 'reclaiming the streets for kids', showing what happened in Bristol when some parents got together to get their street temporarily closed so that children could play:
"They didn't realise it when they started, but Alice and Amy have unwittingly created a child development expert's dream. "We had a play professional from the council come to one of the early sessions," recalls Amy. "She asked how we had got the children to cover so many of the different types of play. Of course we hadn't done anything at all, just followed a hunch that this kind of child-led play is what fires imagination."
It was enough to convince Bristol City Council not only to give Playing Out a grant to expand the scheme and run workshops for the many interested parents, but also to change its rules, creating Temporary Play Street Orders to close roads up to once a week if residents agree.
In fact, there have been very few objections, even from non-parents. Residents are able to drive in and out of the street during sessions (very slowly and guided by the wardens) but most do not feel the need. "We were surprised how supportive people were. A lot of older residents actually come out to help us steward and have a cup of tea which is lovely," says Alice."
Something that could be tried around here?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Alison P on
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I read this too and also wondered about how it might work around here. It struck me that it could work very well for many of the ladder and gardens roads - you could have one road a weekend shut without it causing too much hardship to anyone and, because of cut throughs like the passage children could easily make use of roads that weren't their own being shut. But that is probably getting ahead of it all - what do others think? Could it work around here?
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Permalink Reply by ant on
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It does seem like the roads around here would be good for it and it would be an interesting thing to try, I'd bring my kids along to support it on the day anyway.
I wonder if it goes far enough though. Instead of just one day every now and then it would be interesting to try something more permanent to some of the ladder roads to make them more child and people friendly - how about blocking off Falkland and Fairfax roads in the middle at the Harringay Passage so they couldn't be used as through roads and make them more open paved places with less car focus. Picking those two roads as they're around Fairland Park and North Harringay school. Without the through traffic the residents car traffic would be pretty minimal and they'd become much more welcoming and pleasant to play and walk about on. With just a few roads being blocked like that it might not make too much difference to traffic on the other nearby roads.
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Permalink Reply by Maddy on
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I think it sounds a great idea, and very do-able round here as there are plenty of other options for traffic to use. You wouldn't even have to seal off the entire street, just a section in the middle - or a section in the middle of two adjoining roads so the passage could become part of the playground.
It seemed rather a shame that the play streets still had to be supervised by adults, though I understand why. Half the fun of playing out was to get away from your parents' gaze...
In our street kids play out anyway, skateboarding down the hill in between traffic!
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Permalink Reply by NIck and Lizzy on
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Amazing, please lets do this in Harringay.
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This discussion disappeared almost immediately, which is a shame as I think it's a really workable idea for this neighbourhood, if some parents are willing to take on organising it.
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Permalink Reply by Zena Brabazon on
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I read this article and thought this was a great community initiative. Playing out is such a rare thing now, yet it is that freedom to be with other children in an environment where they create their own activities which is so important for developing social skills. I spent most of my own childhood playing in the street with my sister and loads of other children - we had the greatest time and learned skills which have been invaluable all our lives!
When I lead Haringey's Play Service we worked hard to give children their own space to play together and enjoy each other's company in an informal environment like the playcentre, as we knew many didn't have much opportunity elsewhere.
Really good quality early years provision encourages playing out, as children come indoors and go out as they please, rather than having formal playtimes when they all go out together. As Professor Tina Bruce says, young children 'learn on the move'! Maybe we could get some proposals for both sides of Green Lanes!
Zena Brabazon
Councillor, St. Ann's Ward
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One of the issues with doing this is that it takes months to get permission from the Haringey council to close a road and it costs £80 each time, see here. In Bristol where they did this the council had a scheme where its was free to get get a road closed for play regularly every week for a year. Doing it as a regular thing seems much better than as a one off to me. I did email the Haringey Road Closures people to see if they'd waive the fee for us, haven't heard back yet I'll post back here if i do.
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I've just heard back from the Haringey Road Closures people who say the only thing they could do is the standard street parties thing, and that national legislation means we could only do that once per year. They did add that the Lead Member Councillor could waive the £80 fee and could seek special authorization from the Department for Transport to close a road more than once in a year. They added that it appeared that Bristol Council used the Town and Police Clauses Act 1847 to do the closures but that Haringey Council does not make Orders under that act.
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Permalink Reply by 3dabemynv2wyk on
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I read it too and think it would be fantastic. It made me remember how my brother and I would just take off across the suburb on our bikes for hours when we were little. Visiting parks, sometimes off to the pool on our own. Are kids allowed to do this anymore? Such a shame.
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