High Streets for All

As all those that live in Islington know, we are the borough with the smallest amount of green space available for its community coming in at 61%.We need to love and care for every inch we can.The environment has recently enjoyed an unprecedented level of publicity, with scrutiny falling particularly on the impacts of city living and we need to show the we care and are taking responsibility.Having lived on Petherton Road for over 15 years, I have tried very hard - along with neighbours, to care and tend to what we can. Help keep it a tidy, safe and fun place to be. Over the years the “path” down the middle has become more than just a site for sore eyes. It is now a liability. It is now a popular commuting walk for those traveling to the relatively recently updated Overground line and Canonbury Station. It is a favourite walk and sociable place for local dog owners. It is a common place for teenagers to walk down on their way to the local schools.It is a valuable part of the famous New River Walk of which people walk diligently at all times of year.For over three months of the year, it is hardly useable, unless you have a steady foot and a pair of wellingtons. There was a temporary solution offered in the past of bark chippings, a lovely idea but the reality was that it made the situation even worse as the chippings simply spread wider and wider, were impossible to walk on with a pram or wheelchair and made it much harder for the tender grass to come back though in the warmer spring period.The path is now so wide, there is hardly any actual green left. Even in the summer it hardly has a chance to recover.Re site the seats and the dog bins so that the path can be used by new parents and prams and disabled members of the community. The bins are a fantastic resource, but they really don’t need to be right in the middle of the path making it impossible to walk or be wheeled down.There can be no argument that a path is a successful answer.New benches all the way along