A parking sign concreted in place to face the wrong direction on Southwood Lane, N6, has led to a local disabled resident being fined £600.Liberal Democrat MP Lynne Featherstone has taken up the case with the Transport for London commissioner, Peter Hendy, asking for the fine to be reviewed and the signage urgently to be made clearer.

The penalty was incurred after Mrs Elizabeth Bennett, a Highgate Resident, parked at 08:10am on the 18th May 2007 with a disabled badge, not realising restrictions only allow parking from 10:00 to 16:00.However, the sign indicating this, points down the hill, making it invisible from the space where Mrs. Bennett was actually parked.

Lynne Featherstone commented:

“Parking restrictions are a necessity in a busy city, but when they are heartlessly applied without a jot of compassion there is something seriously wrong.

“Having seen the site myself, I can quite understand how Mrs. Bennett believed that she was parking legally. To add insult to injury, £600 is way off the scale of what is fair.TfL must act to right this wrong.”

Councillor Rachel Allison, Highgate councillor, added:

“I have previously spoken with officers from Transport for London who agreed with me that the sign was unclear and that the bay should actually have been white and not red, which would have meant that Mrs Bennett would have been allowed to park there anyway!”

Lynne Featherstone, Liberal Democrat MP for Hornsey & Wood Green, commenting on the Government’s announcement today that four schools in Haringey have been given a warning notices to improve exam performance or face closure said:

“We must challenge underperformance in our schools but threat of closure and job losses is hardly going to motivate the teachers whose help we need to drive up standards.

“I have long fought for fair funding for our local schools, so the extra money is welcome.However, this announcement seems far too much stick and not enough carrot.”

Councillor Gail Engert, Haringey Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Education added:

“I wait to see how exactly much extra money this will mean for our schools. But £400m over 638 schools nationally only works out at about £600,000 per school. This will hardly scratch the surface of the historic chronic underinvestment in Haringey’s schools.”

Shoppers in Highgate will now be able to park at any time of day at a hard-pressed stretch of the Archway Road, thanks to Highgate’s Liberal Democrat councillors. The move will be a welcome boost to local traders, who often struggle due to the busy A1 and its strict, ‘red-route’ parking controls.

The change follows a discovery by Liberal Democrat councillor Rachel Allison, who was elected in a Highgate by-election landslide in March. Ms Allison discovered that the 10 until 4 parking restrictions on the road were not necessary, and following a site meeting with an official from Transport for London, which runs the road, these are to be relaxed from 7am until 7pm. This will allow shoppers to park in parts of the road for up to one hour throughout the day.The existing parking signs have already been blanked out by TfL, with new ones on the way.

The move is a welcome boost for firms like Papa Architects, which is determined to make a success of its offices on the Archway Road. The firm was one of several to raise the issue with local Lib Dem councillors, as it will enable them to have commercial visitors at any time of day.

Highgate Liberal Democrat councillor Rachel Allison comments:

“I’m delighted that Transport for London will be making this change to help the Archway Road traders. In addition to Papa Architects, other shops have been asking for action for two years, so it’s great that a face-to-face meeting with TfL on the Archway Road has finally made this happen.”

Liberal Democrat councillor Bob Hare adds:

“This is great news, but Haringey council should be more on-the-ball when it comes to the Archway Road, ensuring the parking restrictions are the minimum necessary, so that the shops can receive as much help as possible. There are some brilliant shops on the Archway Road, and sensible parking restrictions mean a real boost for traders.”

Highgate’s Liberal Democrat councillors have expressed dismay at the planned closure of Northwood Road in Highgate, due to the need for works on an important bridge. The Parkland Walk bridge is to be closed for a week on 30 June, causing huge inconvenience to Highgate residents while further temporary supports are installed to prevent further movement of the structure.

Local Liberal Democrat councillors are demanding an investigation into the recent maintenance of the structure – and why the use of heavy equipment on top of the bridge was recently allowed by Haringey Council. They also want to know how long the bridge will have to close to carry out proper repairs.

In March, councillor Rachel Allison reported cracking in the structure and expressed concern that heavy equipment being used to renovate the Parkland Walk, which runs over the bridge, might be doing damage. The Lib Dems want an investigation into whether any damage may have occurred and also, assurances that the bridge has had a proper maintenance schedule from Haringey council over the years.

Highgate councillor Bob Hare, who has also been monitoring the bridge, comments.

“Northwood Road is a vital local link, and this will be a real nuisance with closures. It is important that the bridge is made safe, but Haringey Council must also account for how this damage has been done. It really is a sticking-plaster approach.”