Cheaper fares, yaaaayyy!!
That is all it is about, honest. Nothing to do with the "oh I live in Zone 2" status statement, or drawing yet another line between "them and us". I have long whined on about the divide in SE23, and how important or over played it really is, however it seems that some will not be content until they make it into a whole new place. Maybe it should get its own postcode HOP1 or something? How about that?
While I admire the desire to get changes which benefit the many, I sometimes think the motives, and conversations they spawn are a little more telling.
For the residents of HOP, who bought their houses in Zone 3 pricing, result. A change of zone is sure to have an impact of sorts on the house prices. For those renting, well that is a different matter, they can no doubt expect their rent to rise next time their contract is up.
Parking, because of the close knit of side streets, with quite a few blocked roads, which HOP is made up of, parking is already a bit of a chore. Regularly discussed on local forums, parking outsides ones house is a bonus not a certainty. With some (to the annoyance of others) pave their gardens to get off street parking.
To imagine that other commuters will not be attracted to the area is nothing less than ignorant. For those between Forest Hill and HOP stations, the obvious choice would be to head towards HOP for the preferential travel pricing. Not to mention those who drive in from other areas and park near FH station. The obvious choice would be to head nearer HOP and travel to and from there.
Should HOP get re-zoned, how long before there is uproar and calls for residential parking zones to be extended through the streets?
Another unconsidered side effect is local businesses. many businesses get a fair bit of trade from commuters as they pass the shops on their way to and from work. Dartmouth Road is booming, London Road is getting a Costa, it's all going so well. Perry Vale shops also get a bit of passing trade from that end of the area.
Now take away all those people who could do their foot commute to HOP instead, or indeed park closer to HOP and walk through the back streets. All that passing trade for FH, gone.
The arguments being made about where is the centre of London, how randomly is was chosen, etc seems to ramble on a bit, but the quote below sheds a little light on the matter.
The centre of London is often given as the Charles I statue south of Trafalgar Square. It's a handy convention for measuring distances to and from London. But where is the geometric centre?
Back in 2010, we did a little experiment. We pasted a map of Greater London onto cardboard, cut out the map, and then tried to balance it on a pin-head. The balance point, also known as the centre of gravity, can be said to be the geometric centre of London. Turns out that Lambeth North tube station is the centre of the city.
https://londonist.com/2014/04/where-is-the-centre-of-london-an-update
Interesting eh. It isn't a dart thrown at a dart board, or some cunning person from Forest Hill who wanted to persecute those who he envied as they lived in the modern Utopia known as Honor Oak Park. It was done eons ago, when mapping London's road networks etc was done, and those signs started to appear with how far it was to London. A central point was decided long before TfL came into existence.
Just before I wrap up this latest whine, I thought I would refer back once again to The Londonist. You see this whole re-zoning thing has been done before, the conversations had, and the points made. Read all about it in the comments section of this old post. It also has a somewhat more geographically accurate map of London and the zones too.
https://londonist.com/2014/01/mapped-londons-oyster-zone-boundaries
Til next time, I will carry on observing the threads of discussions on the internet, and watch with amazement as yet another thing which won't really impact me unfolds, and is decided. Something some other people who are not local enough, or involved should maybe consider doing too. #JustSayin
I don’t understand the point of this blog? Why do you talk about yourself so much and why are so bitter about where you live, and new people coming to live there? You seem to have some serious issues and perhaps you should speak to a professional who can help you rather than just spilling it all out on the internet and making yourself look lonely, self-absorbed and attention-seeking. Best of luck.
ReplyDeleteInteresting way to look at it. I talk about myself as its my blog and my perspective of a situation in an area I live in, don't think that part is too hard to grasp.
DeleteAs for having serious issues and needing to speak to someone about them. Again interesting that a complete stranger would make such a judgement based on some blog entries clearly read completely out of context, or from a very different perspective
Maybe you should read it through again, not take it as an attack and more as observations.
If you can't see any truth in it, that's fine. I would not suggest you need to seek help about your perceptions, but simply take it that we do not agree.
Good luck with your attitude of people who don't see things the same way as you needing some sort of mental help. Really is quite a strange and sad way of looking at things
I should also point out that you also fail to really respond to anything written in the blog other than to assume I have issues with new people moving in. Clearly not read it very well.
DeleteMaybe you too should reflect on the quality of what you share on the internet if the only thing you can put together is a personal attack :)