Perils of Democracy

Monday's Harlesden Town Team meeting, which I managed to get to very late in the day, illustrated some of the problems of the increasingly trendy participatory democracy approach.  I joined a team debating the public realm, and in particular a possible upgrade to Station Road NW10.  The hotly contested topic was the colour scheme of the pavements, with an even division between light grey, buff coloured and dark grey.  At some point a choice will have to be made, and it will have longstanding implications for the rest of Harlesden Town Centre.  At the end of the session, there was a vote but it was virtually evenly divided.  If a slightly different mix of people had attended the choice might well have been different.  Yet, if Station Road is to be upgraded, a definite choice will have to be made by someone.