Greenwich Council has voted for the Silvertown Tunnel to be reprioritised for public transport use, with a local councillor calling the project a “ticking timebomb” in relation to traffic and pollution.
The council has voted to call on the Mayor of London to pause construction on the second bore of the Silvertown Tunnel to consider prioritising cycling and public transport use.
The topic was discussed at a meeting on Wednesday, June 28. Labour Councillor Majella Anning, who proposed the motion, said that the tunnel was a “ticking timebomb” given its opportunity to allow lorries to pass through the borough in its dedicated heavy goods vehicle lane.
The councillor also highlighted the danger that particulate matter posed to residents’ health due to heavy vehicles producing it from tyre friction.
Cllr Anning said at the meeting: “When residents see the container lorries and the juggernauts going past their front doors and going very close to their children’s playgrounds at school, they will ask us, ‘Did you know this was going to happen?’… Our residents will pay the price of the Silvertown Tunnel. This is a timebomb waiting to happen in Greenwich, and we must say so.”
Labour Councillor Averil Lekau, Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Environment and Transport for Greenwich Council, highlighted in council documents that the council planned to reduce car traffic by 45 per cent by 2030, as well as reducing heavy goods vehicle traffic by ten per cent.
The aims comes as part of the council’s ambitions for Greenwich borough to become carbon neutral in the next seven years.
Labour Councillor Maisie Richards Cottell said many more river crossings were required in Greenwich, but that they had to suit the needs of local people.
She also claimed that over half of the households surrounding the tunnel’s entrance didn’t have access to a car.
Cllr Richards Cottell said at the meeting: “I was born and raised on the Woolwich Road, and I am very proud to represent my area, but the traffic is awful and this tunnel will make it worse.
“If the question is whether this tunnel will improve people’s lives, I think the answer is no.”
The motion also called for more mitigation measures along the A102 to reduce traffic and pollution in the area. This includes implementing previous proposals from TfL such as restricting access to the A102/A206 junction and removing the Angerstein roundabout on Woolwich Road.
Labour Councillor David Gardner said at the meeting: “The intersection between the A102 and the A206 [is] often referred to as a ‘roundabout of death’ because of the number of cycling fatalities there. It is horrendous.
“While there have been one or two little improvements like the new cycle lane, it is still really, really alien and dangerous.”
Conservative Councillor Matt Hartley put forward an amendment to the motion, asking for a bus route from Eltham to Beckton that was intended to go through the Silvertown Tunnel in TfL’s original plans.
It also asked for a link to be included between Woolwich and Eltham in the new ‘Superloop’ bus network announced by the Mayor of London in March.
Cllr Hartley said at the meeting: “When all vehicles on our roads are electric, which will happen one day, we will still need this kind of infrastructure on our side of London… One thing that is always missed in debates around Silvertown is the fact it will undoubtedly open up markets for small businesses in Greenwich and bring a significant economic benefit to our community.”
Cllr Anning said in response to Cllr Hartley’s motion that it was important not to concentrate on “party politics” regarding the topic.
At the meeting, Greenwich Council voted not to carry Cllr Hartley’s amendment.
The original motion was passed, calling for public transport in the Silvertown Tunnel to be prioritised.
A Mayor of London spokesperson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “The Silvertown Tunnel will transform the way people can travel in a part of London that currently has few options for crossing the Thames.
“In addition to providing new, zero-emission, cross-river bus services, the tunnel will address the chronic vehicle congestion currently associated with the inadequate, Victorian-era Blackwall Tunnel, and give greater resilience and flexibility to the only strategic road crossing in east London.
“A new user charge on both tunnels will ensure there is no increase in traffic overall.”
They said that there will also be a user charge on both the Blackwall Tunnel and Silvertown Tunnel to ensure traffic does not increase overall.
TfL will also reportedly provide enhanced river crossing facilities for cyclists and pedestrians as part of the Silvertown scheme.
The spokesperson added: “TfL is also committed to running at least 20 zero emission buses per hour in each direction when the new tunnel opens, with the potential for this to increase up to 37 buses per hour as demand grows over time. This will provide a significant increase in public transport capacity in East London.”
