Every now and then, something is done by the Council, the Park, a local group or a local business that makes a difference to my life for the better. The latest was the path through the conservation area of the Alexandra Park (along the railway line boundary). No more quagmire and waiting for summer months to venture in to look for herons on the reservoir . And Hornsey is now within an easy reach on foot. A whole new world has opened up.
You can take a 15-20 min walk from the Ally Pally overground station to Hornsey, into the Ally park turning sharp left past the two cottages, then turn right onto the new path, walk through the conservation area, past the little pond (you may be lucky and see baby moorhens; and bulrushes are a great sight when in bloom), past the reservoir (do take a minute to look for cranes and other birds), then take a right turn to go down past Campsbourne school - the shortest route that takes you to the corner of Priory Park and the top end of Hornsey High Rd (do try "Olive" cafe's Turkish breakfast). Take a turn into Middle Lane and you will be in Crouch End in minutes.
Or, you can take a left turn at the end of the park onto the path that goes under the railway line to Chocolate Factory in Wood Green, then turn right off it as soon as you pass the houses, walk along the New River on your left, through the "White city" development, past the old Pump House (now an eatery, busy in summer), turn right onto Hornsey High Rd . You can have a lunch in the"Islands" cafe (they have Sunday papers) or in the Great Norther Railway Tavern opposite (only at weekends, but soon, every day); then turn into the "Smitfield" estate that developers are turning fast into a new "Smithfield Square", walk under the giant cranes and past small workshops that will not be for much longer, back into the park at the back of the "White city".
Replies
Not a rant at all Grant. I am immensely grateful. It was brilliant - succinct and informative.I was unaware of the consultation and of all the issues to do with the path; but have noticed that it was narrow .
Another path is planned for the Redstone Rd end of the Park I believe. I know nothing more about it. Perhaps we should start organising a body of stakeholders and submit the contact details to the Council. I think they genuinely struggle to find local people and groups to engage with. Maybe Friends of the Park could help. Would you be interested in taking part/leading?
It is the know-how I often lack when trying to complete consultation papers (like the Crossrail 2), so I often do not participate for fear of making a wrong/uninformed decision.
Would you be able to write us a quick guide (something similar to your post but in "mind this-beware that" from) on how to approach consultations on local projects: what to look for; what/ whom to consider, etc?... It may all seem easy to you, but as a civil servant, you are used to the process. Most of us are not. It would certainly be of great help to me.
Oh, and further on the theme of local improvements that make difference to our lives - my No2 is the weekend train service to Moorgate (!!). No 3, against expectations, is the CPZ in Palace Gates Rd (though we have off street parking; the main benefit to my family is that morning rush hour road rages are no longer happening in our road and our breakfasts are spared the din of endless hooting of car horns; why the change, I am not sure, except that the chaos was perhaps caused by cars trying to park in tight spots or waiting in the road for a parking space to be vacated).
I'd be very interested to hear what other people consider a local improvement that made difference to their lives. We often discuss problems in the neighbourhood, but rarely consider beneficial changes. Yet, it is what has already worked well that best points the way ahead.
And Grant - your reply was great.
I don't know if this counts as an "improvement" but I was very pleased when the speed humps on the west side of the traffic island in Alexandra Park Road at the top of the rise were removed during the (fairly) recent resurfacing work and not replaced. Fifteen years ago there were two quite high ones, which were replaced by lower ones, apparently to accommodate buses better. Both kinds of hump created dreadful vibrations almost every time a bus went over them (so every 5 or 10 minutes), which feel worse the higher up the house you are. They possibly contibuted to cracking plaster-work in the houses nearby, but certainly were seriously uncomfortable, and could easily throw the arm of an old-fashioned vinyl disc record player. The buses (and lorries and dustcarts) may not have been going very fast, but manoeuvering round the island still caused them to drop heavily off the hump. These things are seriously unsuitable in streets with heavy vehicles. I assume that their non-replacement had something to do with complaints from people living around - there certainly were some. I was really pleased to see the end of them.
I, too, was very pleased with the resurfaced path - being able to walk to Hornsey without wellies is a big improvement. But I take your point, Grant, about it being far too narrow. Also, if as you say it was funded with section 106 money, presumably it let the developers provide less 'affordable' housing than they would otherwise have been obliged to provide? - not good.
I also think the weekend train service to Moorgate is a big improvement.
Very eloquently put Indijana. This path is also of huge benefit to children attending Campsbourne School, many dozens of whom cycle or scoot to school along this path.
While I agree the new path is a distinct improvement over the old 'hoggin' path, to me I'm afraid it represents the sloppy attitude of some council staff who are content for many improvements to turn out half-baked. I say this for a number of reasons:
Consultation was undertaken on proposals for this path prior to construction, which I understand was funded with Section 106 money derived as part of consent for the nearby New River housing development. This consultation appears to have been shared with an extraordinarily limited number of groups. Haringey-based disability groups, pedestrian groups, cycling groups, etc. were not consulted. As far as I know local residents groups were not consulted. The local cricket club was consulted though...
I contacted the council post-consultation to point out my perceived deficiencies in their design but was fobbed off with a variety of illogical reasons why the path 'had' to be this narrow.
Apologies for the rant. As I said at the start, this is an improvement but it should have been so much better. It's so important to get these once-in-a-generation schemes right, I find it truly disappointing when the chance is missed to make a good scheme excellent.
I didn't realise the path had been resurfaced, so thanks very much for posting. But am really struggling to make sense of the reason given for the narrow path width. Conflict generation? I'm completely lost here.