The Metropolis

Gate-gate stuns Mile End

Mike Pollitt | Friday 16 April, 2010 00:15

Two new commuters have joined the throng at Mile End tube station this month. Their names? Confusion and Dismay. The reason? The disappearance of the shortcut gate in the pedestrian railing which shaved precious seconds off the walk to the station.

The gate, created by the sneaky removal of the appropriate screw in the railing to allow a section of it to swing back, had been part of the Mile End community for an age. Hundreds of pedestrians made a bee line for it at the start and end of their working day, zooming past the poor mugs who chose to travel the extra distance to the pelican crossing, and feeling a smug sense of superiority at taking advantage of their local knowledge.

But in a mysterious incident in early March, the gate was ripped from its remaining, indeed its pivotal, screw. One concerned local leant the fallen gate neatly against the rest of the railing, presumably in the hope that the authorities would be persuaded by this act of tidiness that the section need not be replaced.

For several day the ruse worked and the shortcut remained – as a gap now rather than a gate. But then, the inevitable happened. The railing was fixed. Properly. There was no longer any gate. No longer a way through.

Ever since, pedestrians have been seen approaching the railing with an expression of hope on their eager faces, only to turn away in disappointment and distress when they find that there is no path through the metal bars. Occasionally, one will wrestle with the metal, as if by force of hand the gate could be conjured back into use. Now and then, a frustrated commuter will vault the railing where the gate once stood, leaping through the air in suit and tie, refusing to face the indignity of being forced to wait at the crossing with the common horde.

Most, though, now that the initial confusion has passed, simply turn and proceed to the crossing. Acceptance has come. Where once there was a gate, now there is none. But questions remain. Where did it come from? Where did it go? And will we see its like again?

Flickr photo by Mike Knell

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