Transforming Seven Sisters

Seven Sisters has a name that belongs to a fairy tale, but it's a newcomer compared to the Hornsey Road. It was started in the 19th century and soon it sprawled for miles with no monuments, no squares I can think of, and precious little written about it. 

Now the traffic rushes by all going in the same direction, and the good things about the road (and there are many - Ocean Wave Fishmonger's at No. 60 for one) don't get to flourish as they should. It is a mess, so when I first heard that TfL had plans to scrap the one way system I was delighted and curious and looked for more. Then I didn't find anything. At all. I suppose I could have tried harder, but almost no-one seems to be talking about this even though it could be as important as the plans to scrap the Archway gyratory. 

Enter Nick Kocharook from San Francisco, who's lived in a few places around London, and became interested in TfL's plans when he bought a flat here. He's a democrat and a Democrat, 'because I'm not insane' and is trying to figure out what people would actually want and how to give them a voice, especially those who aren't in the habit of answering consultations/writing letters to MPs/generally sharpening their middle-class elbows.

We had dinner at Ajani's (update review: it's still great, Patrick's still lovely, I recommend the mushroom/halloumi burger) and talked about how cyclists, cars and pedestrians could fit together. Could cycle lanes with proper barriers help people in motorised scooters? If the north side of Seven Sisters becomes a one-way bus lane, what happens to traffic coming down Sussex Way?

He's on twitter as @K9 and as @t7sisters  for the Seven Sisters campaign. Go say hi.