In our recent survey, most members said our campaign focus should be to:
Make busy roads and junctions safe for cycling
We’ve decided to start with Green Lanes, which also runs through both Enfield and Hackney – those councils have already taken significant steps to make Green Lanes safer for cycling, but although Haringey has improved a short stretch, it is lagging way behind!
Green Lanes is potentially a really useful cycling route – it’s fairly flat and direct – but most people say it’s not safe enough in Haringey.
Green Lanes has some of Haringey’s most dangerous junctions, with no protected space to cycle safely.
Some people opt to use Wightman Rd which runs parallel to Green Lanes, but it’s much hillier and often awkward to cycle on due to chicanes and lack of cycling space.
Green Lanes is littered with futile cycling signs and paint that do nothing to enable people of all ages to cycle safely.
Paint alone is not infrastructure.
Even just simple “orca wands” begin to make a safer space for cyclists of all ages. So far, Haringey has only put in a few of these along a short stretch of Green Lanes.
The only space for safer cycling here is the southbound bus lane – and even that only operates 15 hours a week – the other 153 hours sees it revert to a car parking lane, leaving cyclists to negotiate with heavy traffic in the remaining space.
Just a few dozen parked cars take a large amount of room – making Green Lanes significantly more dangerous than if space was provided for buses and cycles.
Painted cycle logos like this appear to encourage cyclists to ride in the dangerous “door zone” – where doors may be unexpectedly pushed open.
Illegal parking is poorly enforced.
Many people choose to just get off and walk, rather than risk cycling through some of Haringey’s busiest dangerous junctions.
Cyclists have to negotiate their way through the “door zone” and heavy traffic.
Even the painted cycling spaces are not coherent.
Below are snapshots from CrashMap showing just the injured cyclists reported on Haringey’s sections of Green Lanes for 2012-2022.
Haringey Council has committed to the London Mayor’s Vision Zero aim – to stop all road deaths and serious injuries by 2041 – we want to see this target reached much sooner.
Meanwhile, Enfield has made several miles of Green Lanes safe for all ages to cycle.
If you’d like to join Haringey Cycling Campaign to make Green Lanes a safer place for cyclists, sign up to our newsletter. We’ll let you know points to stress with local politicians and keep you informed of any actions we have coming up to raise the profile of the issue in the local community.
