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Islington Tribune - by GERALD ISAAMAN
Published: 5 September 2008

A message for London's mayor: Council deputy leader Terry Stacy, Ken Howard of Thomas Judd memorial and Marble Masons, and Councillor tracy Ismail

Keep our Sundays special, say petitioners against Red Route

TfL’s plans for parking ban on Arsenal matchdays under fire from traders

A POSTER campaign has been creeping along Holloway Road and Upper Street against plans to extend Red Route restrictions on the A1 to Sundays.
Unhappy traders have teamed up with Islington Council to fight Transport for London’s plans to ban parking on the busy thoroughfare on football match days.
Business owners fear trade will suffer on the one day when people were free to park nearby.
Ken Howard from Thomas Judd Memorial and Marble Masons, Holloway Road, said: “Most people who come here are distraught, and their minds are on their lost relative, not on where they can find a parking meter.
“Sunday was the one day when we didn’t have to worry about all that. TfL’s plans will be bad for all sorts of businesses on Holloway Road.”
Council deputy leader Terry Stacy and councillor Tracy Ismail walked the length of Holloway Road last Tuesday, and counted more than 130 posters campaigning against the move.
They have set up a petition in the hope of convincing TfL the ban, which will include Upper Street, is unnecessary and unwanted.
Red routes are commuter roads where stopping for loading and unloading is prohibited.
The red route in question is only in force Monday to Saturday from 7am to 7pm.
TfL says extending the ban to Sundays when Arsenal are playing at home is necessary to ease congestion.
Cllr Stacy, who wants the Mayor of London Boris Johnson to scrap the plan, said: “We’ve listened to the shopkeepers who’ve told us that this will hurt their business, and we want to protect our shops.
“While Boris promises to make life in Kensington and Chelsea easier by pulling back the congestion charge zone, here in Islington he wants to make life even harder.”
A spokeswoman for TfL said : “We have spoken to Islington Council about a number of options to ease traffic congestion on Holloway Road when there are football matches and other events at the Emirates stadium.
“These take place throughout the week including Sundays. Resulting congestion can become a significant problem on Holloway Road and the surrounding areas and severely affect bus services.”
She said TfL had been looking for solutions since the new stadium, opened including imposing specific matchday restrictions on sections of routes where buses are suffering the worst delays.
She added: “Discussions are ongoing with Islington Council about the options that will be consulted on.
“No decision has yet been made.
“We have been meeting and talking to Islington Council about this since well before the mayor was elected in May.’’
Petitions are being gathered online at ourcampaign.org.uk/ nosundayredroute

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