Greenwich Silvertown Tunnel car park construction to begin January 2021
Plans to extend a new car park in Greenwich as a result of Silvertown Tunnel work is due to begin at the start of 2021.
This is a separate plan to 2,000 parking spaces approved this week alongside nearly 6,000 homes. That will follow after. This imminent project is a result of constructing a worksite for Silvertown Tunnel. It means some existing car parking and coach parking moving to a new car park being built which was supposed to see new homes beside the cable car – but new blocks linking up housing to the north and south is now many years away.
To ensure no loss of parking overall (despite Greenwich Council proclaiming the importance of lowering congestion on a regular basis), certain areas of existing parking space that will remain will in turn be double decked.
Construction traffic
Work on the new car park will bring about 40 2-way HGV journeys a day by March 2021. The application from Riverlinx – who are building the PFI tunnel – states: “It is not considered necessary for these short term works to provide a Traffic Incidents Plan due to the low numbers of movements proposed and there being no events proposed in the O2 Arena due to the pandemic”.
This is despite HGV movements expected until June 2021 and a vaccine expected many months before that. The planned HGV route also takes vehicles past two schools on the Peninsula including the recently opened St Mary Magdalene.
A continual lack of action to improve streets for pedestrians in the area despite the new school and thousands of homes places primacy on vehicle movements despite a rapidly changing urban environment.
This week’s approval of thousands of homes again almost entirely ignores improvement work for this area, and we have to wonder if projects like Silvertown are why. Is keeping construction HGVs moving more important than a liveable area for the authority?
We see evidence of hostile design for pedestrians almost everywhere in the south of the Peninsula. There’s fast flowing traffic around large roundabout alongside numerous barriers, guardrails and obstacles for pedestrians plus a lack of crossings, particular on desire lines from homes and schools to amenities alongside poor lighting and dingy environments.
In addition to forthcoming construction work, a large number of trees to the north nearer the tube station and o2 will also be removed.
It will be one of the first major tangible signs of Silvertown Tunnel construction which will bring years of disruption. Roads will be narrowed near the o2, and given Greenwich’s poor enforcement of parking issues could see problems down the line. CCTV has been installed at one point near the bus station, but not all. Narrower roads and forthcoming attractions such as the Design District bringing more visitors could hamper bus reliability without strict enforcement to keep roads flowing.
Plans can be viewed here.
From what I can see, it is now Council policy to make it harder for pedestrians to cross the road by removing traffic islands. Six islands were recently removed to make way for the poor quality cycle lane in Shooters Hill Road. The useful traffic island at the end of Charlton Park Lane was removed to build out the footpath (for no good reason I can see). None of my local Councillors (Charlton) will reply to my questions on the matter.
@mrrunningbear
The cycle lane in Shooters Hill will be a complete waste of money if the council can’t extend it to Academy Road and Old Dover Road. Also, the wands are a bloody liability as they don’t exactly stand out colour-wise.
The cycle lane on shooters hill road is blooming awful and i’ve already sen it cause issue with emergency services in rush hour/traffic, as vehicles can’t pull over to the side to let emergency services through.
It’s got to be said, these bike lanes are a major F up (pardon my French). The bike lanes from what I’ve seen, take priority over bus stops? What I mean, I’ve seen bike lanes placed in front of bus stop shelters. So when you step off the bus at your desired stop, your stepping right in the path of a cyclist tearing along the lane/path as it’s priority over the people getting off at the bus stop!? What bright spark thought up that idea, let’s put the bike Lane on the pavement and in front of bus stop shelter so when people, old and vulnerable and also children take the risk of getting knocked over and possibly be left with life changing devastating results.
HK, I agree with what you have mentioned.
Why is it this site is so against cars? I mean where all in the era of transition towards electronic powered vehicles. So what would be the use of abolishing parking spaces when it comes to new development, where are the spaces for charging points in the very, very near future? Because let’s face it, if you buy an electric vehicle, with your new tower block house you have purchased, situated in a low emissions neighbourhood, what are you going to do with the electric vehicle? I say vechile and not car because of the broad range of electric vechile available… Motor bikes, vans, cars even, just to mention a few. Other means of electrical powered vehicles can be stored in home for example: electric scooter and electric power cycles.
While I’m on the point of cycle lanes and flops… What happened with the great Greenwich super cycle highway, or should I say great Greenwich emergency service life saving blocker, its closed and has barriers right the way along it!?
Must of been reviewed as a major safety hazard for pedestrians and drivers alike.
I’ve seen some very near death experiences happen along that cycle lane with pedestrians, a few accidents also along Trafalgar Road. It’s a great big accident hot-spot. I have noticed there has also been some islands ripped out along it also due to safety.
Every car can be electric but it does nothing about congestion. A city rising by 100k people a year is not going to go on much longer without mass congestion unless changes in travel and pointing that out is not anti car.
After going abroad to see any one of many cities and see how things can work far better its eye opening. If they can do do it so can we. People are happy, healthier and roads clearer for those who need to drive. Also so much scope for car rentals schemes used as and when needed rather than every single home having their own. It’s inefficient use of space.
As for the cycle lane it’s not finished. Cock up about building it and lacking materials – again something this country is poor at but not a reason to not build them. The bus stops aren’t finished.
How do you know? Have you seen plans? If so, please share them as I haven’t found any and my Councillors refuse to answer any questions on the matter.
I second that. I haven’t seen nor heard of anything of the sort when it comes to public consultation or plans.
I understand the point that you made with the rental of cars, it’s a suggestion but not logical. How are you going to use the car for a couple of days if there’s no where to park it for the period of rental? Seems unrealistic, it’s not going to work for the electric generation. Few places to park equals to few charging points, less incentive to go electric. It seems that the owners of cars are penalised too much, especially on here. But if your unable to afford the ever rising costs of public transport, the car is the cheaper option. Compare the cost of annual insurance cost for a car to a yearly train ticket. The changes that need to happen in order to reduce congestion is to get rid of the mass amounts of traffic lights plotted on each and every junction and replace them with give way pedestrian crossings, as much like they have abroad just as you mentioned.
The cycle lane was operational at one point with few users, now as I said, there are barriers ever step of the way closing it off.
It’s not the point of not building and using more cycle lanes, the point is to make the lanes go with the flow of traffic, not against, much like the old widened lanes. They flowed and lead to places. You haven’t got to go far to realise that what has been done in Greenwich is not functional, Hackney have done a great job with building and operating cycle lanes without having to disrupt a main transport road links hard, nether does it effect static traffic parting for emergency services. Win, win situation. These lanes in Greenwich and beyond are more hard hitting as mentioned, here within the comments section, for the police, fire department and ambulance service that’s stuck due to cycle lanes. Where talking about peoples lives here. That’s not right. Hackney have a near perfect cycle links that flow and lead with the traffic and more so allow traffic to part ways and allow emergency services through in life of death situations.
The bus stops I’ve seen are finished, like the one on shooters hill road, the cycle lane has been put on the pavement in front of the bus stop shelter, Greenwich also even has a painted pedestrian crossing on the floor in order to board the bus. Please tell me how that’s not finished? Looks pretty finished to me. It’s like you have got to risk injuries in order to depart or board the bus and hope for the best that you don’t get by a cyclist travelling at speeds of 15mph and above. It’s ludicrous to think that this is an appealing incentive to people travel in the area to use more public transport within the area.
I’d like to ask where are the safety measures in place for pedestrians walking along or waiting at a bus stop? Where are the barriers for children, to protect them from speeding cyclists? Crash barriers for if there is any issue of malfunction of the bicycle? Stop/give way markings for the cyclists? Can’t say that it’s unnecessary, because cyclist’s have the wands in place. Can’t say that unnecessary because cyclists have priority by the looks of things when it comes to road markings.