Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Wightman Road closes but opens a new road to cyclists to the city
Has anyone noticed just how many cyclists are now using the closed Wightman Road to commute to the city? I've been watching from my bedroom window (on Wightman Road) for the last few mornings and am staggered by the number of cyclists (and also a fairly large increase in pedestrians). I am sure it's not just my imagination but the amount of cyclists riding along my route into St Pauls seemed to have jumped dramatically over the past two weeks. Could it be that the most terrifyingly dangerous part of the route has now been removed and there is now great joy to both new and old cyclists in journeying along Wightman Road, through Finsbury Park up to Manor House and then beyond into the city? I am convinced that people who would never have considered cycling because of Wightman have now made the switch and would continue if the road was made safer.
Endymion Road in both directions at 8.15am for the last couple of mornings has been pretty much as clear as it always is, certainly no huge build up of traffic. Of course I don't know what the current picture is at the northern Turnpike Lane/Hornsey end but I hope it is an improving situation.
I appreciate drivers have been inconvenienced and that some of the businesses on Wightman are suffering. It says a huge amount about the wonderful community here on the Ladder that there is already talk about how we can help them through this period.
The council took a bold decision to close the road while the bridge works advance but it has given us the unique opportunity to see what a wonderful place Wightman Road could be. It is a narrow, winding, hilly, wholly residential road which was never intended to take the 120,000 vehicles a week it is currently carrying. And before people tell us how it was our choice to live on a busy road and we knew what we were getting let me just say that when we bought our house in 1996 the road was nowhere near as busy and what it has become is neither what we and other residents expected or deserved. In time traffic will find another way and is a slightly longer journey really such a hardship when there are so many long term benefits.
The benefits of a long term closure are huge (though it may not seem so to drivers using it as a cut through) in terms of a healthier environment for Wightman Road residents and by default Ladder road residents too, a safe cycle way to the city, a much better environment for people to walk, reduction in vehicle traffic – the list goes on.
The Green Lanes Traffic Survey continues – I am confident that it will show that the key to the traffic issues on the Ladder start with Wightman Road, address that and the rest will follow. One thing is for certain – we can't allow things to go back to how they were before!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by DavidJ on
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I very much agree about the significance of Wightman as a cycle route - it does make sense for some great routes into the City and West End. I wonder if the footbridge arrangement needs to be re-thought - my experience is that far more cyclists are using it than pedestrians. As the better weather comes - numbers may increase a lot Maybe another lane needs to added to the bridge - if that is possible.
Lovely to see kids cycling to school.
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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on
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I agree wholeheartedly with this. Nice one Karen, I hadn't noticed the increase in cyclists myself but then I don't have the advantage of a fixed point on the road to observe them from!
Re: a cycle route into St Paul's.... mine is:
Wightman Rd -> Finsbury Park -> Finsbury Park Rd -> Canning Rd -> Riversdale Rd -> Blackstock Rd -> Highbury Fields -> Upper St -> St John St -> Smithfield Market. Stop Strava at Smithfield market and walk through enjoying the atmosphere.
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Permalink Reply by Karen Alexander on
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So the route I take is:
Wightman Road – through Finsbury Park to Manor House – Green Lanes – Newington Green – Mildmay Park – Southgate Road – Bridport Place (then through the little park – to avoid the horrible junction with New Road) – New Road – Eagle Wharf Road – Shepherdess Walk – Bath Street – Bunhill Row – Moor Lane – Fore Street – Wood Street – Cheapside
I tried to find a route with the least amount of traffic and surprisingly the Hackney stretch of Green Lanes, Newington Green, Mildmay Park and Southgate are not very busy at all. I also wanted to avoid roundabouts and horrible junctions! Isn't Upper Street busy?
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Upper Street isn't busy. I was surprised too. I think you're heading a little further wast than me but St John St is my favourite part of the route. If I get lucky with the lights I can do Highbury Corner to Smithfield Market in 6 minutes, try doing that in a car.
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According to Strava, 20-22 minutes. I think it is switching off when I stop at lights though as door to door it's more like 25 minutes.
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Permalink Reply by AndrewAW1 on
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I suspect a fair number have probably shifted from Green Lanes.
Green Lanes, as unpleasant as it is, was still better to cycle than Wightman Road. The combination of the up/down terrain and the chicanes on Wightman meant that cars were always trying to squeeze past before the next traffic island which was always dangerous. The only way to feel safe on there was take the centre of the road and bomb along at 20 mph+, which isn't an option for everyone.
Green Lanes on the other hand has all the traffic and all the parked cars so is also pretty unpleasant but slightly less dangerous feeling than Wightman.
My commute is all A roads but the Harringay stretch was still the worst part of it.
Until recently though, you pretty much had to take one or the other, both of which were unpleasant. Now, for a while at least, there is actually a pleasant option.
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Permalink Reply by Justin Guest on
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I went up and down GL yesterday and at least the traffic is less likely to be lethal when it hits you given it is often not moving at speed. The cars parked at the side take up so much space. I honestly do not know why they cannot be removed and a dedicated cycle lane put in.
Neither of the two routes (Wightman or GL) fill me with confidence, but Wightman does honestly frighten me, especially that bit as you hit the turning rise southbound up to Allison/Hewitt. I was nearly had off by a van a few weeks ago there.
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Permalink Reply by Paulie on
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Sorry, Karen, but as a resident of north-east Harringay I am struggling to see any benefits at all to the closure of Wightman Road.
That road being closed of traffic has meant a route for cyclists free of cars and lorries but it is still
(a) blocked with barriers across most of its width
(b) open to motorcyclists
(c) very hilly - so in terms of terrain far more challenging than Green Lanes
(d) way over on the west side of Harringay and not easily accessible from our part of our area.
Conversely, it has caused numerous difficulties in that
(a) we can no longer use Wightman Road when coming back from the North / Crouch End / Hornsey / Muswell Hill / Highgate etc etc etc
(b) Turnpike Lane has become more congested as a result (with the consequences for the health of the poor people living there)
(c) Green Lanes has become more congested (with adverse consequences for people living there)
(d) Cycling along Green Lanes in rush hour takes longer and is more difficult as well as (obviously) less healthy.
I am, further, disappointed to have to point out that your post points out what you see as a number of benefits for residents of the ladder but says nothing at all about the consequences of any of the other residents of Harringay. As for the phrase "address [Wightman Road] and the rest will follow", as I have pointed out before, there is at least as good an argument for closing Green Lanes to traffic and letting it use Wightman Road instead.
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Paulie, we are going to have to agree to differ on this one.
The blocking at intervals means that Wightman isn't really closed – it can still be accessed by residents, delivery vehicles, dustcarts and emergency services – what it means is that the convenience element has gone. I live mid-Wightman - it is now far less convenient for me to travel by car to and from Crouch End and Muswell Hill, instead of a straight run down Wightman in either direction I now, literally, have to go round the houses! It’s a trade off that I am happy with.
Turnpike Lane and Green Lanes are A roads – their purpose and design is to take the heaviest of traffic and the B roads (of which Wightman is most certainly) should be taking more local traffic. I sympathise with residents of Turnpike Lane and Green Lanes being more congested and more polluted but at the end of the day they are not residential in the way that Wightman Road is. You are comparing apples with pears.
In response to your point (d) – if Wightman were closed to heavy traffic then there would be no point using Green Lanes and avoid the problems you highlight.
I am sure the majority of residents will agree that the argument to close Green Lanes to traffic and let it use Wightman instead is flawed. The Green Lanes traders would never agree to it as it would kill their business. On the other hand if you offered to close Wightman Road most residents would bite your hand off.
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The barriers prevent cycling? I don't think so. Open to motorcyclists? That doesn't seem to be a problem. Very hilly? Not really but OK, wuss. Way over on the west side of Harringay? Well we can't do much about the geography and I think this is just sour grapes. Didn't you express an interest in a cycle expressway over the GNER into King's Cross? That's even further West.
You can no longer use Wightman Rd as a rat-run to get from where you live to Crouch End et al. Natch. Turnpike Lane was always congested but yes, there were always going to be some residents not happy about this and they live on A roads. Incidentally I don't hear many of them complaining. Green Lanes has become more congested. Meh, I don't drive much and when I do I don't expect London to provide miles of uncongested road through residential areas for me to use. Cycling along Green Lanes is no different. Do you actually do this?
Why would you expect a resident of Wightman Rd to point out the negative effects, that you have mostly conjured up in your head from your misguided expectations? You sound like you're just annoyed that you don't live on Wightman Rd. Just as an aside, where do you live? Is your road a potential rat-run closed to through traffic?
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