Tags for Forum Posts: harringay traffic study
John, reopening Wightman Road but closing off the ladder rungs at the Green Lanes end would significantly reduce both volume on Wightman and congestion on Green Lanes. This is because:
- Not many of the 210K individual journeys on Wightman go the full length of the road - about 26K (the utility of Wightman for vehicles is not as a north-south route in itself, but as a means of cutting through the residential sidestreets); and
- The initial findings report (para 3.2) identifies a key cause of GL congestion as "friction caused by turning movements and parking manoeuvres" so closing the rungs at the bottom would alleviate that.
Closing the Gardens roads at the GL end would help for the same reason.
I'm not sure if this is my preferred solution, but it would be a significant improvement on the status quo.
My idea for re-opening Wightman and closing the ladder roads John isn't closing them at the top or bottom, but at the middle! Let me explain a little...
- close the ladder roads at the 'chicane' ramps in the middle, one closing off post at each end of the ramp
- this would make the passage a pedestrian walkway all the way through without any traffic.
- the passage is a great resource and used loads, including massive of use by kids often without parents and would obviously make traversing the ladder safer and allow parents the option of letting their kids go further on their own
- this would also have the benefit of allowing drivers to come into their own rung from either end, depending on which end they live at and which way they're coming from.
- OK, there might be slight issues with people turning round to get out of the cul-de-sacs, but the rungs are no narrower than many other 2-way roads that manage fine. You probably just need some double yellow markings to leave areas for turning or something like that. Maybe some larger delivery vehicles would have to only go up the roads a bit and then reverse out, but frankly, they'd just have to deal with it. On balance it would be so much better.
- I've read (I think from you John and other people too) that the vast majority of the through traffic is East-West, not North-South, so having this set-up with Wightman open but the rungs as dead ends would stop all the East-West through traffic and therefore most of the overall through traffic. Yes, it would allow the North-South through traffic on Wightman for verhicles going right through Harringay, but it seems this is a small minority of through traffic and perhaps it would be a decent compromise.
Waddaya reckon!
This idea would suggest that the amount of traffic on both Green Lanes and Wightman could be could be reduced as it would be more evenly spread would extra traffic coming in from the Ladder roads.
Well it has worked on Hermitage/Eade/Vale Roads, so you can cite that as a local precedent. Losing some parking spaces is a price worth paying?
I think as with almost every traffic calming idea for the ladder, there is at least one massive drawback - in this case, deliveries.
Huge vehicles reversing onto Green Lanes - not exactly ideal. Reversing into Wightman would be even worse.
An HGV driver faced with a cul-de-sac sign is trained to reverse into it from the main road (having made their intention clear) as the safer option to reversing out. And most deliveries to houses are from courier vans which could manage a 3-point turn.
Hugo, I think a problem is what happens when cars need to turn around having realised they can't get through?
Already we have cars and huge lorries in the Northern end of the ladder zooming up the roads, realising they can't get out and then having to do tricky u-turns or reversing all the way back down the road. You'd get a back log and a jam.
(PS Why Haringey council can't make it clearer on Willoughby that Hampden is closed rather than hiding it on a lamp post 40 yards up the road I dunno....I have requested clearer signage but to no avail...but watching the amount of traffic turning up into Wightman from Turnpike Lane I think people just don't believe a road closed sign till they can't actually get through....)
Damn, we need to go back to the drawing board guys as none of this suits Antoinette or Jessica.
You'll probably find it doesn't suit anyone who becomes segregated from the Western side.
I guess each rung road residents could vote on whether they wanted their rung to be closed at the top, middle or bottom. I seem to remember we voted on which way the rungs would run when they were made one-way (although it seems everyone voted in favour of the council's proposal to run them alternately).
Even if it was in the middle, it could be a rising bollard like they have in the Gardens' exit to St Anns:
All the residents have a fob or swipecard so they have full access, I'm not sure but maybe the bin men and emergency services do too.
© 2024 Created by Hugh. Powered by
© Copyright Harringay Online Created by Hugh