West End Letters: Regent's Canal | walkway | Cllr Barbara Grahame | Aziz Toki | British Waterways | urgent action

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West End Extra - LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Published: 22 May 2009

Regent’s Canal walkway in need of urgent action

THE condition of the Regent’s Canal walkway from Lisson Grove to Park Road is a matter of great concern to residents in the Church Street area.
The walkway borders Lisson Green estate and is heavily used by families on their way to school, shopping or attending Regent’s Park mosque.
It is also heavily used by cyclists and tourists for whom this should be a safe and pleasant route.
Sadly, because the lights along the route malfunction (on by day, off at night) and there is no closed-circuit TV, the area attracts street drinkers and youngsters,
who can gather there unobserved.
Over the years Church Street Labour councillors have had on-site meetings with Westminster City Council officers urging them to act.
The previous chief executive Peter Rogers stood with us in amazement one afternoon as cyclists whizzed by and mothers with pushchairs struggled to manoeuvre past the ineffectual barriers that fail to slow down cyclists.
He said something had to be done! Yet despite Westminster Council being fully aware of the problem, nothing has in fact been done.
The issue, of course, is money.
Who pays?
The council’s lawyers unsuccessfully tried to establish that British Waterways owned the walkway and must pay for its upkeep.
Now the council has finally accepted that this is indeed council property.
The bridge over the canal and the towpath to Park Road are British Waterways property and the area under the Network Rail bridge is Network Rail’s responsibility.
Surely it is time for the council to take the lead with British Waterways and Network Rail to repair this blighted area for the sake of those residents, visitors and cyclists who must use this route daily?
We will be presenting a petition to the next council meeting signed by hundreds of local residents.
This is the time for urgent action.
Cllr Barbara Grahame
Cllr Aziz Toki
Labour, Church Street ward
Westminster City Hall

Send your letters to: The Letters Editor, West End Extra, 40 Camden Road, London, NW1 9DR or email to letters@westendextra.co.uk. The deadline for letters is midday Wednesday. The editor regrets that anonymous letters cannot be published, although names and addresses can be withheld.
Please include a full name, postal address and telephone number.
Letters may be edited for reasons of space.

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