While some satisfaction can be taken from Haringey Council's decision to make speed humps less severe, the awful truth is that the executive meeting yesterday was a triumph of hypocrisy and self-interest over democracy. That the council can be duped in this way is beyond belief.

The council's decision to continue with the humps programme in all six roads was apparently based on the written responses from as few as 185 residents, with 148 of these from just two roads: Grove Avenue and Dukes Avenue.

It is quite extraordinary that council officers chose to play down and ignore the residents' survey and petition that had signatures from 307 households demanding that the humps be removed and that alternative traffic-calming measures should be used.

Had these legitimate views been taken into account, there is little doubt that the council would not have decided to continue with the humps.

The residents' survey and submission was done by a group of residents from across the area they will be angry that their views were not taken into account and were not made known to the executive.

I challenge anyone to compare the analysis of responses given by the council in its report to the analysis provided by residents and to decide for themselves which is a more accurate reflection of views. It should be transparently clear to any objective observer that the council has, again, been misled into making undemocratic decisions.

Yours still in despair at a distortion of democracy.

Colin Marr
Methuen Park, Muswell Hill