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 Ruth on
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Point taken about improving cycling facilities all round including safe parking and raising profile of cycling. A priority.
Another priority would be to do more for pedestrians to make things safer and cleaner, and more prosecutions of dangerous drivers who run us over zebra crossings, go thru lights on red etc.
I can't see, however, why it is 'offensive' to assume that car drivers can be moved out of their cars onto other forms of transport without any incentives. I cant believe that all car drivers would just drive further away (surely petrol is very expensive these days?) rather than consider changing their habits a bit and maybe trying walking or getting on a bus sometimes. It's make them all out to be rather set in their way and not caring about the environment.
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Permalink Reply by Grant on
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Sorry - 'offensive' more of a turn of phrase. It comes from witnessing the continual failure of 'encouragement' to make a meaningful difference to numbers who walk and cycle. Make the physical environment more amenable to walking and cycling and people will get out of their cars without any encouragement or incentives. No amount of encouragement will make people want to cycle in conditions that are subjectively unsafe. It's the idea that you can force people out of cars by making things worse that rankles. Make things better and the 20% (according to TfL) of drivers who would rather walk or cycle to the shops might not need to be forced!
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Points taken Grant but you leave out the public transport option here. 4 buses serve the Arena shopping area so if people dont want to cycle, they can take a bus and walk round the corner. Maybe there should be more buses going right up to the entrance, that wouldn't be a bad idea. Still can't agree that anyone is 'forced' to drive. It's a matter of personal choice what you buy, how much you buy and where you buy it from let alone how you get to those places you want to get to.
Michael's shopping trolley sounds good. I take a small back pack myself but looking into shopping trolley option.
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I didn't say that people are forced to drive. I think we're coming from the same place on this!
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Permalink Reply by Michael Anderson on
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I use a Rolser. It's not cheap but you can use it as a two wheeler (pull behind) or a four wheeler which means you can push it from of you like a baby buggy.
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Permalink Reply by John D on
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If you don't want to be stuck don't go there. Everybody hates Sainsbury's and the exploitative Homebase anyway.
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Permalink Reply by cara howard on
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There's a big new B&Q at Friern Barnet Retail Park, opposite Colney Hatch Tesco, and a Pets at Home, Sports Direct etc. Never any queues in or out, and there is the bonus that you get free fresh baked cookies and coffee if you go into Furniture Village and pretend to be interested in a dining table or something...
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Permalink Reply by Maddy on
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Actually I don't hate Sainsbury's - I occasionally shop in Crouch End (Waitrose and Budgens), but I find on the whole that Sainsbury's is better value for money and the fresh produce is good quality. I can walk there and get a weekly shop into my trolley, but I do live pretty close and there are only two of us to shop for - I can really understand why some people want to drive there.
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Permalink Reply by Hugh on
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Looking at background for the Hampden Road development, I just came across the Council's own parking standards. Here are the maximum spaces required for non food retail:
On page 76 of Unitary Development Plan Saved Policies
This is useful both in measuring what additional parking the Council think would be appropriate for this development and an idea of the extra traffic they think will be generated.
In this case, if we assume that Harringay has the very best level of public transport, with an additional 2,200 sq metres, we'd expect to see an extra 55 spaces. I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to extrapolate from that the number of additional cars that would bring to the are in a typical day.
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Surely providing additional parking would guarantee extra traffic is generated through induced demand? If the limiting factor for traffic capacity is parking, and the parking is not increased, would traffic still increase when there's nowhere for it to go? Presumably shoppers will pretty quickly realise driving there is too much hassle and will go elsewhere, or leave the car at home?
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I'm not seeking extra parking, Grant. I'm pointing out the danger of traffic planning for this new development may be as shoddy as it was for the expansion of Sainsbury's.
You'd think that traffic chaos would keep people from driving to the Arena/Sainsbury's. Sadly current experience suggests that it just doesn't work that way.
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While I sure this will not make me universally popular I thought I could add my own observations.
I normally stroll into St Ainsbury at around 8:30 on Saturday morning, past the mainly empty accessible parking bays. Do my shopping and am outside loading it into my pull along shopping trolley at around 9:30 (or if it's a gargantuan shop waiting for a cab). I watch people loading 2 or 3 bags into their cars for 5 minutes. I trundle along to Green Lanes, stop off for a coffee and baklava along the way for £2.50, chat to my neighbours and arrive home fairly relaxed and on a sugar high. What's not to like?
We live in a densely populated city. Can't people just leave their cars at home unless it's absolutely necessary? I'm sure our Mums and Dads survived without 4 wheels - well mine did.
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