Just imagine Highgate Village on a summer day – with no bus stand! A beautiful pedestrianised area with no noisy, smelly buses with engines idling – and local people able to stroll happily – stopping to chat with friends and neighbours.

In a period where Mayor Ken Livingstone is about to face the electorate – and having publicly called for improvements to the public realm – this is his chance to put his money where his mouth is.

However, when the Highgate Society put together a very comprehensive paper regarding the possible relocation of the 271 bus stand, Mayor Ken didn’t want to know – Mayor Ken in the form of Transport for London that is.

Despite the well-researched paper the Highgate Society presented, and the many pleas for a meeting – Transport for London resisted all approaches. Even their response to the report failed to significantly address the very cogent points raised by the Highgate Society – points such as danger to pedestrians forcing them into the street to get past the buses, the confusion over whether to wait at the bus stand or across the street at the stop – resulting in people often running across the road at the last minute, traffic congestion, the huge petition in favour of it being moved and really a whole raft of other equally good reasons to at least seriously consider moving the stand.

Ken wants to pedestrianise Oxford Street and Parliament Square and has already done part of Trafalgar Square (which is much improved). It is all in the name of improving the quality of public space and the ambiance for us human beings. Well why should we local people not have an equal right to improve our own local environment? There shouldn’t be one rule for Ken and another for us peasants!

Anyway – I harangued Peter Hendy (Transport Commissioner for London) at Transport for London – and the good news is that they have now agreed to a meeting on site. My office is now in process of arranging for that meeting to take place.

We want to work with Transport for London to really make sure that we can both have a more peaceful, less polluted and pleasant village – AND ensure that the public transport links that serve the village and us are improved!

So fingers crossed that we get Transport for London officers with vision at this meeting. With a bit of vision and good will – Highgate Village could be transformed.

(c) Lynne Featherstone, 2008