Richard Wilson

I’d like to thank all the local residents who completed our W3 Bus survey, which has enabled us to tell Transport for London (TfL) what passengers think about the route.  TfL are holding a review of the route, and we have sent the results into their consultation so Stroud Green residents views are considered.

We had over 50 responses, and the results were:

• 66% think that a lack of bus countdown displays at some stops is a problem.
• 54% say that buses are too full at rush hour
• 54% want better information about big delays on the route
• 36% think that the wait between buses is too long
• 36% are concerned about anti-social behaviour on the bus
• 36% say that elderly residents are not given enough time to board and sit down.
• 22% believe that bus drivers speeding is a problem
• And 20% are fed up with all the road works on the route

As your local councillors, its incredibly useful to know what passengers’ top concerns are – so we can raise these with TfL and the bus companies at every opportunity.   The W3 is a fantastic route and we will fight to improve it further.

Over the last few months I’ve had lots of residents and shopkeepers complain to me about refuse sacks piling up by the shops on the Ferme Park Road.   This photo was emailed to me this weekend by someone annoyed that the bin bags put out by residents on Saturday morning were not collected all day.  Apparently this photo was taken at 11am and the pile grew all day.

These piles of rubbish are not a great advert for shopping in Ferme Park Road and I can understand why people get annoyed.  The root of the problem is Haringey’s contract with the refuse collection company Enterprise, which does not require them to collect refuse at any particular time of the day.  This means that the residents who live above the shops have no fixed time to leave their rubbish out and Enterprise have fixed time to collect it.

The refuse collection contract is being re-tendered this year, so Ihave formally written to Cllr Bevan, the Labour Cabinet Member in charge of rubbish and recycling, asking that the contract be changed so that there are fixed collection times for shopping areas like Ferme Park Road (as there already are now in some areas such as Crouch End Broadway).  This should help solve the problem in the long term.

One even simpler thing that could be done to improve the area is to install some litter bins – as strangely there aren’t any bins by the shops.  I’m pleased to say that last week I got an email from the Council confirming they would urgently put in a litter bin outside Londis.

Today I did a walkabout with Stroud Green’s new ’street enforcement officer’, which was originally planned for earlier in the month, but delayed due to the snow.  It was a great opportunity to find out what progress he has already made and to point out some of the many problem issues that residents have raised with me over the last few years.

The officer had already sorted out one issue I’d raised with him, which was the builders at a house on Mount View Road who had spread all over the pavement, forcing pedestrians out into the road.  Enforcement action was taken a few days ago, and when we visited today the site was immaculate.

One favourite issue of mine which I also raised was the very many phone cabinets with missing doors in the ward.  I showed him a cabinet in Denton Road that I’d alerted the Council to in August (see summery picture) - but which still isn’t fixed.  The enforcement officer agreed to take action with Virgin Media – who appear to be the villain in not maintaining their street furniture very well.

One area we spent alot of time talking about was the Ferme Park Road shops, where residents and shopkeepers are unhappy about rubbish bags sitting around in big piles waiting to be collected by the Council’s binmen Enterprise.  This will be a tricky issue to solve due to the contract with Enterprise which apparently allows them to collect the rubbish whenever they like rather than at set times.

Haringey Lib Dems have long campaigned for officers to be based out in the wards, so they really get to understand and take responsibility for their patch.  From what I saw and heard on this walkabout, this strategy should work with this new local officer.

I feel very sorry for anyone trying to drive or get a bus home in Haringey this evening as there appears to be complete gridlock.  All the main roads near me appear not to have been gritted and are now at a standstill.  This picture shows Ferme Park Road which is stationary and  full of broken down W3 buses.  At the junction of Weston Park a people carrier has bashed into the back of of a W3 adding to the gridlock.

Having spoken to colleagues in other areas this picture appears to be repeated across the borough.  I’ve emailed the Council’s Chief Executive to demand to know why the main roads weren’t gritted and what the Council is planning to do to clear the roads now.  Obviously the snow was bound to cause problems – but its been forecast for days and is less than 1 inch outside my flat.   So I think this travel chaos could have been reduced with better preparation!

Yesterday, we presented Haringey Council will the final results of the Stroud Green Parking Survey.  We got a huge response with over 300 surveys completed either on the doorstep or online.

We started the survey because so many residents in the roads outside the existing Finsbury Park and Crouch End CPZs were contacting us to complain about parking (see post on launching the survey).  The key results were:

• 79% of residents believe that parking has got worse this year
• 61% of residents say they are now in favour of a CPZ , 32% are against a CPZ, and 7% stated no preference.
• 38% of residents say they used to be against having a CPZ but are now in favour.
• 58% of residents believe any CPZ should only operate for 2 hours .

These results demonstrate the urgent need for a proper Council consultation looking at the options for tackling parking problems.  We’ve written to the Haringey cabinet member in charge of parking demanding that he now holds this consultation - and a full review of the existing Finsbury Park CPZ.

As well as setting out residents’ views on CPZs, our letter also sets out other suggestions residents have made to reduce parking pressures, such as:

• Allowing residents who live just outside the CPZ boundary to buy permits to park inside.
• Allowing free parking on stretches of road where there are no houses, such as the Oakfield Road bridge or the covered reservoir.
• Providing dedicated van and truck parking (in appropriate places) for local residents who run vital ‘man and a van’ businesses.

The Council must listen to local residents on parking.

A number of residents have expressed their concern to me about the recent late night stabbing by the junction of Stapleton Hall Road and Lancaster Road.  The victim was attacked at around 4am on Friday 13th according to reports in local papers, and was seriously injured.  No wonder people are concerned when you see the stark headlines outside the Ferme Park Road newsagent - which is facing the scene of the attack (pictured).

I’ve asked the police and the Council’s community safety department to provide an urgent briefing.  Residents want to know whether this incident was gang, drugs or robbery related, so they can get some understanding of why this happened and what the risks are of it re-occuring.  For instance, a resident of Stapleton Hall Road told me she was worried about whether her teenage sons might be at risk – if the stabbing was related to young gangs.

I’ll try to reassure people on nearby streets when I get further information.

Over the summer Ed, Laura and I launched a survey of parking issues in the roads just outside the new Crouch End Controlled Parking Zone – as we were being inundated with complaints from residents.  We felt we had to do our own survey as the Council had broken their pledge to hold a consultation after the new CPZ was implemented.

We’ve now had several hundred responses from the roads bordering the Crouch End and Finsbury Park CPZs.  The results so far show:

• Three quarters of respondents say parking has got worse in the last 6 months
• 62% say they are now in favour of a CPZ – with many residents saying they have been forced to change their anti-CPZ views
• The vast majority of residents would want a CPZ to be operational for only 2 hours

These figures show that local people in roads such as Mount View, Ferme Park, Stapleton Hall, Granville and Quernmore, think the parking problem is getting even worse and want the Council to take action.  We are using the results to demand that the Council conduct a proper consultation with residents as soon as possible.  But we are also pledging to scrutinise any Council proposals for new parking restrictions, to ensure they are focused on solving the problem – not boosting Council coffers.

We will be closing the survey very soon to present the full results to the Council, so if you haven’t yet had your say please fill it out online as soon as possible (link here).  This parking mess is largely of the Council’s own making – and they need to listen to residents views on how to sort it out.