Some people have expressed concern that the extensive works planned for Ally Pally station will omit a pedestrian bridge for people just wanting to cross the railway. I have located the planning application (HGY/2023/0881), and am not sure that this is actually the case. There is a letter from Network Rail which gives an overview of the works (the many detailed plans also included are really unintelligible to non-specialists!):
Ally Pally Part 18 England.pdf
The planning application was submitted in March, and deadline for comments was unfortunately 24 July.
What do others think about this?
Replies
OMG you're right! The letter from Network Rail (link above) is seriously misleading - the only footbridge will be connecting the platforms, with no exit to Bedford Road, either for train passengers or those who just want to cross the railway without catching a train.
The person who has drawn up these plans is clearly not aware of the size of the crowds that come to gigs at Alexandra Palace. Or the crowds of schoolchildren who come over the footbridge to go up to Alexandra Park/Palace. All these, and ordinary users of the footbridge, will have to use the narrow pavements over the road bridge to get across the railway.
I wonder what the team at Alexandra Palace will think of this? They will surely not be happy about anything that makes it harder for their visitors to get to and from the Palace and Park. And proposing no entrance at all to the station from Bedford Road will certainly make access harder. I still hope this is a massive misunderstanding/vast array of typos, but clearly it is not.