Everything seemed to have gone a bit quiet on the Streetcar front – so I asked the Council for an update. The consultation on the sites for cars ended at the beginning of February (see my previous post: Streetcar comes to Stroud Green – at last).
I got an update from officers a few days ago. The good news is that the Council has listened to the many residents that suggested moving the proposed bay for 2 cars from Stapleton Hall Road to the Oakfield Road bridge.
The bad news for those keen to use the car club is that the Council won’t even start consulting on the alternative Oakfield Road site for months yet. This means that only the Denton Road and Victoria Road bays will be installed this year – cutting by a third the number of cars that will be available in Stroud Green ward. The Denton and Victoria cars should be in place from mid June.
As a result of the Council’s slowness it could be another year before we have Streetcar bay in the centre of the ward – if the Oakfield Road site is approved. But the reason for this delay may be economic: Across the Borough about half the proposed Streetcar sites have been dropped - allegedly because the recession has hit car club use.
June 16th, 2009 at 5:51 am
Why do you say that it’s ‘good news’ that the parking bays for Street Car are to be positioned on the bridge on Oakfield Road? You weren’t at the consultation meeting at the library when this proposal was strongly opposed so you presumably don’t know that not everyone locally agrees with this.
As my councillor (though I’m no supporter of the Lib Dems) I believe it is your responsibility to represent the views of all local voters. Not everyone in Stroud Green ward takes the selfish view that private car owners must have priority over car sharers when it comes to convenience and safety.
When, as it inevitably will, demand for Street Cars increases where will the next set of bays be positioned? The aim should be, as the Mayor of London (again I’m no fan of his) for a car share on every road. Responsible councillors should be supporting this instead of caving in to the private car drivers’ lobby.
September 18th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
“But the reason for this delay may be economic: Across the Borough about half the proposed Streetcar sites have been dropped – allegedly because the recession has hit car club use.”
Richard, sorry, only just seen this. I have no idea where this idea may have come from. Streetcar has just had the largest period of growth we have ever had taking us to 65,000 members in London. Of this we have seen membership in Haringey nearly double in the last 8 months to just under 2,000 members. The recession has a fairly balanced effect for us – more people sign up but each member uses us slightly less. Because Haringey had such a lack of Streetcars up until earlier this year, we were desperate to get as many locations as we could going in the borough to satisfy the demand we were (and are) seeing.
In terms of Stapleton Hall Road, I have to say I agree with Joanna. It is vital that bays get sited well but I would often argue with the definition of ‘well’. Over 60% of Londoners do not own cars and yet decisions are made most frequently to satisfy car owners. The decision to move the bay to Oakfield Road delays the growth of car clubs in your ward and places the bay in a position that is less attractive to potential car club members. I have been there and, whilst ok, it is isolated and less close to the residential areas that will use it. If we are to only site car club cars where parking stress is low, that misses the point of what they are designed to achieve in the first place. Car clubs reduce parking congestion by providing a viable alternative to car ownership and allowing residents to sell that car they have been hanging onto for the odd occasion they need it. The Oakfield Road site will be fine but I think it sends the wrong message about the councils priorities. Your borough neighbours are in the midst of working with us on a program to have 500 car club bays by 2012 of which 300 will be in place next year. They have over 7,500 Streetcar members and some of the highest rates of modal shift away from the private car. That is progress. Delaying bays for reasons like this, is not. Car owners will always be vocal about what they see as a loss of a space but something has to be done or the congestion that they themselves complain about is only going to get worse and worse. This seems like a case of the vocal minority winning over the silent majority.