It’s D-Day in Walthamstow (not)

In 1996 a footpath was due to be built linking Walthamstow Central station with nearby Queens Road station. This was a condition of allowing the redevelopment of the site for housing. The developers built the housing then reneged on the footpath deal.

And now, sixteen years later, work is finally about to begin.

D-day is the 25th of June!! Should I hold my breath?

Definitely not, where this crap council is concerned. Because there is not the slightest sign of work having started on this link, which remains arbitrarily blocked off by fencing, flytipped crap, and a jungle of overgrown vegetation.

Photo taken on 9 August by the car park fencing, from the Queens Road station end of the link.

Dead end.

Plastered

On November 23 I photographed this fly-tipped heap of plaster, presumably dumped by a white van man builder. It’s just off Walthamstow High Street, on Buxton Road.

Nine months later it’s maturing nicely.

Scruffy

I think we can all agree that the council needs to take action against premises which lower the tone of the neighbourhood. I am sorry to say this was the scruffy street scene outside 23 Orford Road today. The windows are always obscured, so goodness knows what is going on inside. But hang on! This address seems familiar.

Gift-Wrapped

Truro Road, Walthamstow

Did the world come to an end?

Or is this simply the new Tracey Emin artwork? Yesterday in central Walthamstow.

And, hey, don't forget - as Waltham Forest Council has spent lots of money pointing out

It’s the cradle of the ‘cleaner streets’ policy!

Eldon Road E17. Yesterday.

Clean, clutter-free streets. That’s what residents say they want. That’s why the council has hit the ground running by responding with an expensive poster campaign saying that’s what counts. That’s what residents want. And what residents want they will be told they want. Just in case they’ve forgotten what it is they want. Because that’s what counts. People. People saying what it is that counts. On posters. Everywhere.

As for the actual streets…




























(Above) Pedestrian-friendly Willow Walk (such a lovely rural name)

(Below) Welcome to Queens Road station.


























(Below) Spruce Hills Road E17. Not a problem for the able-bodied but if you are in or pushing a wheelchair, using a mobility scooter, or pushing a double-buggy, this represents obstruction of the footway. The roadworks were on the next street, making this sign even more superfluous.




























And don't get me started on those annoyingly obstructive and unsightly advertising panels aimed at distracting passing motorists which the Council agreed to allow to be installed across pavements all over the borough, without the slightest consideration for the convenience of pedestrians. The recession has meant that advertising revenue has plummeted. But not to worry, there's always one source available to balance the books. The Council itself!

Photo credit: George Orwell.

A safe, segregated cycle path in Waltham Forest

Travelling eastbound on Lea Bridge Road (A104) cyclists entering the London Borough of Waltham Forest have the chance to enjoy a safe, segregated 'shared use' path built according to the very highest British design principles.

A continuous white line keeps pedestrians to the left, while cyclists enjoy a red cycle path to the right of the white line. This section approaching Argall Way is particularly impressive.































(Below)This irresponsible cyclist has clearly gone over the line and strayed into the pedestrian area. How are we cyclists ever going to win respect from BMW owners with people like this always letting us down?




























(Below) To complete your cycling enjoyment, why not turn left at the traffic lights and go 'round the bend'. Here you can plunge into the magical world of the London Cycling Campaign's prize-winning 'best new cycle route in London' for 2001. Perhaps there should be a picnic here to celebrate its tenth anniversary and to admire the way in which it has matured with age.

All photos taken yesterday.

Beautiful Waltham Forest – Gateway to the Olympics

The borough’s fame continues to spread.

On Pretoria Avenue E17 things can only get, er, worse. That’s now not one but two cycle stands obstructed.



























But not to worry. Mattresses are placed on every street for those who want to pause, relax, and enjoy life under a Council which is passionate about a clutter-free public realm.

Waltham Forest: gateway to the Olympics

‘It’s happening here!’

And if you plan on coming to the Olympics via regenerated Waltham Forest, just remember to bring a good pair of boots. (Hawthorne Road E17)

You’ve heard of the big society

Now meet the Lidl society. (Blackhorse Road E17. Today.)

This campaign is total rubbish

Do we really need An event to raise awareness of the problem?

And in any case, wouldn’t it be cheaper just to get Clyde to pop along to Atkins Road in Leyton, which most days of the week will guarantee him the kind of backdrop he increasingly enjoys posing by? Or Dudley Road, Walthamstow. Or innumerable others…



































Time for another trip down memory lane, to the poster in the window of Walthamstow Labour Party office before the last local elections...

another reason why Cllr Clyde Loakes should go

I am now into my fourth year of recording the regular obstruction of cycle stands by rubbish sacks, something which the council shows no interest at all in preventing – hardly surprising when staff employed by its contractor Kier are persistent offenders.

This example was outside The World of Catering, 684-692 Lea Bridge Road, yesterday.

Footnote

Obviously the folk at Truth Will Out don’t read this blog. They say

Only a year ago local newspaper comments pages, bloggers (many suspected to be Labour supporters) and Labour leaflets were attacking the man responsible for our streets, former Lib Dem Cllr Bob Belam, for the alleged poor refuse collection and street sweeping services.

Truth Will Out point outs, reasonably enough, that things are no better under the new Labour council, but grumbles that there are now No bloggers complaining of dirty streets

Not true! Take a look here, here and here.

A cycle route in winter

The light at this time of year brings out the sheer quality of Waltham Forest’s prize winning cycle routes.

Essex Road E17.

And on the adjacent footway there’s another little celebration of the success which Kier and the council have in jointly working to bring about clean streets.

Yup, the London Borough of Waltham Forest where even the garbage comes with an uplifting slogan.

Getting plastered in the ‘No Alcohol’ zone

Buxton Road E17, just off the High Street. Someone has flytipped a sack of plaster, which has solidified in the rain, adding to the attractive walking conditions here (you know, pavement parking bays for lazy shoppers, signs stuck in the footway to advise motorists that parking on the pavement is allowed, that sort of thing).

Tuesday.

I am confident that the next time I pass this way the matter will have been dealt with by the council’s superbly efficient and much-admired contractors, Kier Street Services.

Enviro-crime breaking news

Time to go down memory lane. Yesterday I came across fresh examples of what a difference the new Labour council is making. And luckily one local resident has found clear proof of someone dumping rubbish and has been able to name and shame!

(Below) GIVE WAY it says on the sign. And pedestrians don’t have any choice… Pembar Avenue E17.






























(Below) Seaford Road E17.































(Below) Maude Road E17. The suitcase had an address on it. In Poland.

Waltham Forest Council's latest rubbish policy takes effect

BUSINESSES have attacked a huge hike in the price the council charges to collect commercial waste.

From this Friday (October 1) the cost for traders to use the authority's rubbish service will increase by as much as 232 per cent, depending on what type of bin they have.

Which may be why some traders are now choosing to dispose of their rubbish by, er, dumping it across the pavement. Walthamstow High Street, beside the Arcade site, yesterday.

Cans of cooking oil and lots of cardboard boxes labelled ‘pommes frites’. And just across the road is… No, I’m not saying nuffink.

scenes from an off-road route on the London Cycle Network

This is the current state of the London Cycle Network on the off-road route which runs between Cavendish Road E4 and Empress Avenue E4.

My photos show a two-way cycle path with pedestrians supposed to keep to the left of the continuous white line.

The cycle path is overgrown, covered in slimy leaves, with intermittent dog shit and miscellaneous rubbish. A badly-designed piece of infrastructure which is perpetually neglected and just the kind of squalid, isolated infrastructure that gives segregated cycling facilities such a poor reputation in Britain.

Alongside the derelict greyhound racing stadium a series of dripping pipes splash water on the cycle path, which will inevitably result in ice once winter comes and temperatures drop to below zero.

And at the Empress Avenue entrance/exit there’s a white van reg. RK52 CFN parked on the yellow line which has been there for months, committing scores of offences without ever getting a ticket.

Pope’s visit celebrated on London National Cycle Network

The Pope’s visit to Britain is celebrated locally on the National Cycle Network, with this charming artwork by Tracey Emin, specially commissioned by Waltham Forest Council through the Esom Creatives agency. Costing only half a million pounds I think we can all agree this represents value for money at a time when we shall all soon start having to tighten our belts and patch our lycra.

Ms Emin has generously added a ‘bonus extra’ panel which adopts her more traditional style (below).




























You can see these panels on the 'Cyclists Dismount' section of the local National Cycle Network.

From here continue north, then turn east following the attractive cycle-friendly route which links up with London Cycle Network route nine (below).







































On the next section of route which requires cyclists to dismount, further artwork can be seen, encapsulating the values of diversity and inclusion in the enhanced European community.