Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Farewell to the Tottenham Gyratory
As I see it the opening of Broad Lane to two-way traffic on Sunday marked the end of the Tottenham Gyratory. I don't claim to be a great authority on this, which I'm sure some of you are, but just a few observations....
1) I think that widening the pavements and allowing cyclists to use them is a pretty good idea. It certainly used to be too frightening a prospect to ride a bike round the Gyratory - the cars used to try to push you off the road - so opening the pavements gives cyclists a convenient route to the retail park and the marshes. There have been complaints though that the pavement isn't separated into lanes for cyclists and pedestrians, but surely that wouldn't be possible because the pavement narrows at various points. There may be a few teething problems as cyclists and pedestrians learn to rub along together, but I find that Tottenham residents are quite a tolerant bunch: cyclists on the pavements is a minor annoyance compared to many of the tribulations of living in this neck of the woods.
2) I imagine there will be teething problems also with the new road system. We were hoping on Sunday morning to become among the first motorists going east along Broad Lane, but when we tried to cross over from the West Green Road we were met with a stream of traffic cutting across in front of us - we chickened out and went up the High Road as normal.
A further point is that I expect it will become quite congested along the new Somewhat Less Broad Lane, although with extra lanes/options on the High Road and Monument Way perhaps the traffic will even itself out over time.
3) Driving round the Gyratory always used to feel a bit like being in the Monaco Grand Prix. There was a frisson of excitement to it all, but more seriously this created a fume-choked dehumanised autogeddon in the heart of Tottenham. (I suppose there could even have been a case for giving the Gyratory listed status as a classic sixties/seventies urban planning disaster.) I can't say that the new-look Broad Lane has the atmosphere of a tranquil country by-way, but it has to be an improvement on what was there before and I hope that it will play a part in the rejuvenation of Tottenham
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by pamish on
-
Yes, we welcome, with bells on, the two-way system.
BUT
there are many tweaks needed. There needs to be yellow box junctions at several points, as eg turning right out of Wakefield Road across backed-up traffic is tricky, you have to menace the idiots parked across the road, ditto at the entrance to the shopping centre. Pedestrians are still merrily plunging onto the (new) crossings without looking right, so motorists need to beware or get bloody bumpers. Most of the traffic heading into town on Broad Lane should not be there, I've watched loads of it going straight onto the High Rd so they should be going Monument Way/High Rd. This may be out-of-date satnavs, or they are hoping for a short cut (why, when its much slower?). Needs a big sign at the entrance to Broad Lane saying Local Traffic Only, that was one of the ideas of these works.
And the signing overall is just terrible. I still get lost round the Maplins island bit. The road writing directs westbound traffic onto Broad Lane by saying it's the A503, well yes it is but they are looking for Seven Sisters Road.
There needs to be much clearer marking about the shared cycle/pedestrian path. It will take some getting used to. I don't see many cyclists, on the pavement or elsewhere, have they all evaporated - it used to feel safe with the green cycle path on the pavement. Fast cyclists will still use the road, so why no ASLs at the traffic lights?
I will write to TfL about this, it will plod on to completion but needs people who actually use it to feed back to them. We told them about the need for box junctions via our Residents Assn, but they said there wont be any, 'Lets see how it goes first' yes really. Email tottenhamhalescheme@tfl.gov.uk
-
Permalink Reply by Mavic Starfish on
-
Hallelujah. the only car "accident" I've had was on this hellish road , as described above - grand prix - lots of lanes all meeting. Someone cut me up and then claimed I'd run into them causing whiplash - issuing all sorts of threats to sue and demanding my details - their wasn't a mark on his car. in the meantime we' had cars passing by on both sides all going on their merry way. It was a complete nightmare - then a police car turned up out of nowehre - I explained what had happened - looked round and the other driver had sloped off quick sharpish. Police just said "sorry nothing to do with us - civil matter" - thanks officer! Anyway, glad the planners have finally come to their senses.
-
-
It's even better for those of us living eg south of Broad Lane, where our only exit was via Wakefield Road, just before the High Rd - now I can turn right to go East, as long as I can barge across the non-box junction. And before, I had to go 1 1/4 miles round the loop before getting home. Still no right turn coming north up the A10, it will mean wriggling round behind the market to come in via West Green Rd. The gyratory was originally built to stop people doing just that - going up Broad Lane from the A10 - now that tail-back is moved further up to the Monument, though it doesnt seem too bad there, yet.
-
Permalink Reply by Clive Carter on
-
Bon soir TBD
In my perambulations one thing I've noticed is the tendency for the Council's Highways engineers to provide the most-motorway-like interchanges that are possible, exploiting fully all available land.
Sometimes these are in otherwise suburban areas.
This is in order to keep the traffic moving, but when there is light traffic, it tends to move too fast, which isn't so great for cyclists, accidents and pedestrians. I can think of a number of intersections that could be described as over-engineered.
Disclosure:
am a prospective councillor candidate
Highgate Ward | Liberal Democrat Party
-
-
Speeds are still way above 20mph on Broad Lane, except when it's jammed. Monument Way is usually whizzing along at 40mph, except when it's jammed. Needs more speed cameras, and the odd random visit from those mobile radar speed guns. Also why are the little side roads still 30mph, bonkers. My 31-house road ie some 70 metres long, presents a challenge to the boys re whether they can get up to 60 between one end and the other.
-
Permalink Reply by John D on
-
I sometimes wonder if any of the traffic planners actually drive themselves. They seem to be totally devoid of sense.
-
Permalink Reply by Ian on
-
As a motorist I also applaud the removal of the gyratory, and I imagine that this will make a real difference to people living on what was once the island. I have not seen the new layout yet, but from what John Higson describes I still despair at the missed opportunity to incorporate a meaningful alternative to cars in this development.
A recent paper by Transport for London research (links in here) suggests that we will see a 60% rise in traffic snarl-ups in the centre of the capital by 2031.
Air pollution in London is some of the worst in Europe, a Public Health England report estimated that air pollution killed an estimated 29,000 people a year (link). The only other public health mass killer of this scale is smoking (100,000 people a year)!
Promoting cycling and walking could help mitigate these issues and promote localism, but only if we make them a desirable alternative! Some paint on the pavement is unfair to pedestrians and cyclist alike. This excellent report gives examples of what we should be incorporating into all of our major infrastructural projects if we don’t want our local streets to become the next north circular!
Ian
-
-
It all seems very odd. Yesterday was the first time in the gyratory area since getting completely lost trying to get to Ikea some weeks ago. Coming from Harringay to Markfield yesterday I couldn't turn right into the newly two-way Broad Lane so had to go round the old gyratory route - which now takes longer because there are more traffic lights on the way.
Pedestrians crossing the road now have to look two ways instead of only one.
Speeding motorists ( inevitable ) now approach each other head on instead of going in the same direction.
How is that safer ?
-
Permalink Reply by 24g2s8fz5ir06 on
-
well as someone who lives right in the middle of it, I think it's great. There are still too many motorists driving south on Broad Lane rather than going down the High Road, but just two weeks on their numbers are already signficantly reduced. Traffic seems to go slower thanks to speed bumps. And the zebra crossings rather than than traffic signals are working well. And as a cyclist, it is much better - would have been nice to have dedicated lanes etc for cyclists, but now it feels sane and safe.
-
-
nn, are you cycling on the shared pavements? This is in the plan, I just haven't seen anyone doing so.
-
-
nope - cycling on the road which seems fine. And when I am in the car, I make a point of sticking rigidly to the 20 mile an hour limit! I would say that there are fewer cars as each day passes, so maybe message is getting out.
© 2024 Created by Hugh.
Powered by
