Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
No Additional Customer Parking in Massive TK Maxx Arena Retail Expansion
A planning application linked to significant growth of retail space at the Arena Shopping Park revealed plans to increase staff parking by 50% whilst making no allowance whatsoever for additional customer parking.
The transition of Unit 3 at the Arena Shopping Park from Royal Mail Sorting Office to TK Maxx will see a 15% increase in retail space.
Given the atrocious traffic planning around the last growth in retail space on the site, my concerns on hearing the news of the change last year were about the effect on traffic.
My concern was heightened when I read the following glib statement in last year's change of use application from the developers:
The application premises are located in a sustainable location with good public transport links located in close proximity to the site. In addition there is a large resident catchment population thereby enabling local residents to either walk or cycle to the application premises.
In other words, they weren't going to consider the impact of the additional traffic at all.
It was somewhat reassuring to see that the Council's approval of the change of use application was subject to both a traffic management and parking management plan.
Last week the parking management plan was lodged (copy attached). This foresees the growth of staff parking at the Arena from 26 spaces to 39 spaces - a 50% increase. Despite the addition of 15% more retail space, it makes no allowance for any increase in the number of customer spaces however. With existing provision for 200 customer vehicles, one might have expected an additional 30 spaces.
As you may suspect, I'm neither a retail expert nor a traffic planner, but, unless there's an assumption of existing over-capacity of customer parking spaces I'm not immediately convinced of the logic that underpins this new parking plan.
Most worryingly for me however, is the effect of the retail space growth on the flow of traffic in and around the development. Those of us who have lived in the area for a few years will remember the traffic fiasco that accompanied the last increase of retail space in the same area.
We'll have to wait for the publication of the traffic management plan to see how the developers and the Council plan to tackle the issue this time round, but last week's parking plan taken along with past experience doesn't leave me feeling reassured.
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Tags for Forum Posts: arena shopping park, t k maxx
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by cara howard on
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That has 'avoid entire area on Saturday afternoons' written all over it. I remember when the latest wave opened, spending 45 minutes trying to get out of my space, let alone the car park.
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Permalink Reply by pamish on
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Why are there any staff parking places at all? After all, it has good public transport links located in close proximity to the site. In addition there is a large resident (worker?) catchment population thereby enabling local residents (workers?) to either walk or cycle to the application premises. Housing built on or near transport hubs now must be car-free, why should shops be different?
PS Sainsbury's definition of Local Workforce is five miles - ie pretty much the whole of London. The new Sainsburys Local in Seven Sisters sold itself on creating 32 local jobs. None of the staff we've asked, live nearer than Walthamstow.
Can they not cut another exit onto Green Lanes, further south? Without this, nightmares coming up.
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Permalink Reply by Hugh on
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Sorry if I didn't make things clear.
There's going to be 15% extra retail space. The lack of additional customer parking may or may not prove to be a bugbear both in the shopping park itself, for traffic flow in and around it and by reducing parking overflow for traders on Green Lanes.
One thing that's almost certain is that the new shopping space will generate more traffic - and that's my primary concern. Last time this happened - just adding a few more aisles to Sainsbury's - it caused local traffic gridlock. Things don't bode well from current indications.
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I imagine it could mean X% extra customers driving around looking for parking spaces snarling things up even more in the area and that's likely to have a knock on effect on traffic in the neighbourhood. I dunno, Billy. I'm not the expert. No one seemed to have given these issues any professional consideration last time round. I'm flagging it as a potential issue of serious concern this time.
Let's see what the traffic management plan says when it's issued.
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Permalink Reply by Takaokagiejin on
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The issue isn't the number of parking spaces it's the poor design of the roads which mean it takes forever to get out of the car parks. In my view there should be less parking spaces or a second exit, perhaps next to the pedestrian entrance to Homebase right by the traffic lights on Green Lanes.
Just don't suggest an exit through Hermitage Road or you'll get me ranting about fumes clogging up small residential roads again.
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Permalink Reply by Antoinette on
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I'll second that
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You and me both! You're more likely to find the lost city of Atlantis. You can do it on two wheels but on four you can forget it.
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Sooooo the reason there is no exit on Hermitage Road is:
The area was blighted for years as a cut through to Seven Sisters, huge articulated lorries blocked the tiny Vale, Eade and Hermitage Roads all day. At night they parked up and used the services of working women drawn to the area by said lorry drivers. After many years of horror the roads were closed and you cannot get through to Seven Sisters. Don't try.
When the Arena enlarged it's space a few years ago and the traffic difficulties began, an overflow exit was opened into Hermitage Road. The result was not a happy easing of the traffic, but a huge amount of standing traffic in small residential roads. Shoppers sat for hours, engines idling, choking the neighbourhood. Those of us fortunate enough to live there found it took over an hour to exit our own road so spent the weekends indoors listening to the gentle sounds of road rage on our doorstep.
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Permalink Reply by Ruth on
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You shouldn't have to live through all that again.
That was terrible. None of us should. Let's try to keep the traffic moving by having less of it and encouraging use of feet, legs, bikes, buses....
I get fed up with people who use our streets as parking whilst they go to restaurants and dont consider local residents when leaving noisily..
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Permalink Reply by Carol Tennant on
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That report seems to suggest that increasing penalty notices and preventing staff from parking in customer areas will be sufficient, but ignores the already poor flow of traffic. I went on Sunday with my daughter to get some paint and as soon as I turned onto Williamson Rd, I was trapped in there - if I'd wanted to leave, I simply couldn't have. There needs to be more traffic management, not parking management.
That car park needs another exit.
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