Sorry for not keeping people updated over the summer, but I’ve been having a bit of a break from it all.
As stated in a previous post, Wharfdale Road was scheduled to be resurfaced, with the work starting on 25th July. This obviously didn’t happen, so I rang the council to find out why. Apparently they don’t have enough money at the moment, but the work may be carried out during the next financial year.
Works to the Wharfdale Road/Caledonian Road junction (including replacement of the traffic lights with pedestrian-controlled crossings) were scheduled to start on 28th September. According to TfL’s website, this has now been brought forward to 17th September.
Joe Cooper, a reporter from the Islington Tribune, came round on Wednesday to interview local people for an article, which you can read here.
Here’s a photo of him taking a photo of the excited residents:
The next major task is to make sure that the lights don’t find their way back here when changes are made to the King’s Cross gyratory scheme. We hope that we can all work together to ensure that this doesn’t happen.
callysouth.co.uk 
Could the next step be to make sure Wharfdale Road is made cycle and access only rather than accepting it should remain a major road? It shouldn’t have this level of traffic on it at all.
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We support the access and cycle only option. I’ve already written about that on here. Apart from the obvious benefits, this option would negate the need for traffic lights at the junction.
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That’s great Lynne, you are a powerful campaigner I’m sure your influence will make a huge difference. It would be great to see Wharfdale Road become the quiet residential street it needs to be. Many thanks for having this as a priority. After all, if there’s hardly any traffic going down Wharfdale Road, there’ll be hardly any queues at the junction whatever happens and that’s gotta be a good thing for everyone 🙂
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I certainly don’t see myself as either powerful or influential, and I’m not aware of anyone else who thinks that either. The LCC gyratory proposals would involve Wharfdale Road being made access and cycles only, and they have more power and influence than I do. We support their proposals for both these reasons.
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I do Lynne, I think you did an amazing job on winning your campaign about the traffic lights, in my head that makes you a powerful campaigner. With that under your belt you can use that influence in more positive ways. I think you sell yourself short! The more people, groups and organisations that campaign for positive change the better. Being a London wide campaign the LCC position is always seen in that context. This CallySouth site and your campaigning skills, being locally focussed are a really important voice to push TfL in the right direction.
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Hi Sophie, you’re mistaken if you think it was ‘my’ campaign. I’m the one who writes stuff for the website, but other people have been doing things as well. A group of residents had already been meeting when I got involved. The people with power and influence are the ones who managed to get the ill-advised scheme implemented in the first place, knowing that it would increase congestion in a residential street. The rise in respiratory complaints that has occurred since the scheme was implemented meant that the Council and TfL had no option but to reverse it.
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I still think you did a good job though! And that the experience you, and the group, have had is a great asset that could be put to good use for the future in whatever you decide to do. I think we are at cross purposes about ‘power’ and ‘influence’ – they can mean many things, the way I was using the terms was to say that you – and the group – made a difference, you were a force for change locally. It was just a suggestion, I am sorry it got taken as badly as it did – I had no intention of annoying you. I’m just a neighbour making a suggestion…
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