The Councill have a cosultation out about Parkland Walk

Ali · July 2023

https://parklandwalkimprovements.commonplace.is/en-GB/proposals/your-opinion-counts/step1

overandin · July 2023

Filled it out. Spend a good amount of time dog walking, is it really that non-accessible? There are many ramps on and off, maybe they could smooth some of the surfaces out.

Ali · July 2023

Dont want pavers just decent maintenance

kreuzkav · July 2023

Right, I'm going to be nostalgist but here goes. I remember when it was fairly wild. In the 90s it felt like you were in the countryside. So there were times of years you couldn't walk it. The last few years living near it (2014-2016), it tunred into a highway. Joggers everwhere, fast walkers. If you want that lots of maintenance. I'd sugest re-wilding it so only the brave walk it.

RobS · July 2023

I agree kreuzkav, I guess they have to remove fallen logs etc but the walk is a thin strand of nature in a heavily concreted borough, so the more natural it remains the better. Unfortunately (not that I am a kremlinologist of Haringey council), the clues suggest they are determined to change something (resurface the path or at least add extra ramps, signage etc).

HolbornFox · July 2023

When I see old photographs of London the main thing I notice is that there are no signs plonked absolutely everywhere, they are an absolute blight on the general landscape (as is most modern architecture of course).

Scruffy · July 2023

Pedestrian barriers, crossing islands, road markings, signs on poles/posts, roundabouts; all urban clutter mainly necessitated by the volume of cars London accommodates. We don’t have architecture any more in the sense of the term including aesthetics. No, we have “form follows function” where the function is to throw it up as cheaply as possible regardless of what an eyesore it will be. Look at any public building built before WWII, libraries, post offices, schools, etc. You can see that considerable effort has gone into making the building pleasing to the eye. I do wonder what changed in terms of doing things as cheaply as possible. I wonder what brought about this change.

HolbornFox · July 2023

America happened.

grenners · July 2023

I have commented on this survey there should be no signs and no paving of the walk.

oddbod · July 2023

Slightly different viewpoint here. I was injured in an accident 20+ years ago resulting in paralysis from the mid torso down. I use a manual wheelchair to get around. More than half of things (shops, pubs, restaurants, nature trails, comedy clubs, cinemas, to name a few, that could be wheelchair friendly, aren’t and when someone has thought to make something work for us it’s amazing and empowering. Emotional actually. I’ve done a number of half marathons over the years, and keep fit by going for a push but to find a decent stretch of good pavement paving without broken slabs, pot holes or dumped rubbish, means that I can’t get into my stride around here. It’s constant stop start. So much so that for training I used to drive over to Hyde Park, 1.5 hour
Round trip) and fly around the serpentine. The thought that Parkland could be smoothly paved for 3 miles, to me, sounds wonderful! I’d use it daily and I suspect that the strength and fitness I’d develop as a result would help to maintain my mobility into the future.

RobS · July 2023

Thanks for your perspective oddbod. I guess that is why it's not an easy issue, there is a trade-off between different people's experiences as well as the impact on nature. I tend to think the answer to a dense, wheelchair-unfriendly urban environment should not be to pave what wild land there is and make that the place to go in a wheelchair, but instead to make existing local facilities better. Finsbury Park for example should be good for a long ride were its roadways and paths better maintained.

grenners · July 2023

I don't mind extra ramps where steps are currently. Paving it and sticking unnecessary signs everywhere will ruin it. As a runner it's one of the very few places where the surface is uneven which makes running a dream compared to regular paved hard totally level sufaces. There is an argument to say too many runners means maintenance is needed but no tarmac or concrete is needed. A bit of mud adds to the fun.

The more signs thing makes no sense to me.

rikki · July 2023

I'm also concerned by the perspective given by @oddbod, but I tend to agree with @RobS response. We are in a climate and ecological emergency, and properly rewilded space is essential. I hate the idea that this means some lesser-abled people cannot access it, but surely if we aspire to make everything wheelchair accessible we'll be 'paving over paradise and putting up a parking lot". A line must be drawn somewhere surely?

So yes we need much better pavements first, and a proper level of accessibility in urban parks like FP, but surely we can let nature reserves rewild themselves even if that means less human access, because we should be concerned about making these spaces a welcoming habitat for wildlife first, and if that involves some restrictions on humans then so be it.

The reason Haringey Council felled so many trees at Stanhope Road, along with the Hairy Oak, is because they want to create a massive ramp (bizarrely at one of the highest access points - although perhaps in an area where richer people have suitable and electric-driven wheelchairs(?)). Campaigners asked what was the point of that if the rest of the Walk is not suitable - this consultation suggests Haringey already had these plans in mind but hadn't made them public.

I am really scared they are hell-bent on literally destroying the nature of Parkland Walk, and I am sure the money could be better spent in many ways to the benefit of all, including wheelchair users, bats, butterflies and bees. I hope that all who feel some resonance with this view will ensure they let Haringey know.

oddbod · July 2023

Believe me when I say the lines are currently drawn over 90% of the world.
If it does get re surfaced and you see a fit grey haired smiley wheelchair user bombing along early in the mort, feel free to say hi.

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The Councill have a cosultation out about Parkland Walk

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