A Silvertown tunnel gimmick or useful? Looking at Greenwich to Royal Docks cycle bus
News of Silvertown tunnel’s opening date yesterday (it’s the 7th April if you missed it) also brought forth details of a cycle shuttle bus and the location of bus stops either side of the river.
Given the tunnel bans cyclists and pedestrians and active travel is on the agenda, the bus was dreamt up. We have seen similar before elsewhere that didn’t last too long.
The bus will run through the tunnel every 12 minutes throughout the day until 9:30pm with the northern stop located on Seagull Lane.
In Greenwich the bus stop will be located on Millennium Way and as touched on yesterday, this isn’t a great spot to reach by bike for many people.
Approaching the cycle shuttle
Let’s start with the positives first; if cycling from the north east direction there is a dedicated cycle lane and it’s not half bad. This will be the direction those from both the Greenwich Millennium Village and the Thames path will take heading down John Harrison Way along an existing cycle lane.
Cyclists wont want to deal with a large roundabout with high speed traffic en route located just before the bus stop so will likely dive across the road beforehand then onto Millennium Way.
It should be noted this area is pretty abysmal for pedestrians and crossings are located some way from the roundabout requiring long detours but on a bike it’s ok. Not perfect but not the worst.
It is however not of much use to many approaching from Greenwich, Charlton or beyond unless taking a circulatory and slow route. That won’t encourage usage.
Those accessing from the Thames path are likely to be limited too as it’s heavily industrial to the east without many homes for some miles in that part of Charlton. That is due to change one day, but not right now.
Access from the south
Oh dear.
This is the way most existing residents who want to cross the river by bike would approach the proposed cycle bus. If on cycleway 4 from the south or west the most direct route is probably turning north and heading to the Millennium Way cycle bus stop via Blackwall Lane.
That leads to the quite frankly awful road layout and streetscape around this area beneath the Blackwall and Silvertown tunnel approach flyover.
The whole road layout here is designed for cars and motor vehicles with pedestrians and cyclists a very distant second.
Nothing has changed here for decades in regards to design and ample guardrails do all they can to prevent direct routes for the benefit of cars.
As does the lack of paving in certain places and road crossings.
It’s like walking around a car-dominated US city beside a highway rather than an area with thousands of new homes, a new school and near the cycle shuttle stop.
Tunnel Avenue
As an alternative cyclists could turn off before reaching the flyover, turn left and head the longer way along Tunnel Avenue before crossing and doubling back but again, this is hardly enticing. It’s frequently littered and we’re talking no cleaning for months on end.
Punctures from debris are a hazard.
Compounding the problem are many lorries heading along the road with more coming due to a new distribution depot.
It’s also pretty isolated for much of its length. When it gets dark this isn’t a place many will want to be travelling through.
Want another route? If from the east cyclists could also head via Peartree Way and then Bugsby’s Way but again it’s hardly something many will want to attempt.
It means navigating another dismal area beneath Angerstein flyover.
And then navigating those giant roundabouts mentioned before designed for vehicles to use at speed with non-existent or poorly located crossings.
Your hardened cyclist might use it. Beginners or those who may change modes of transport? Not likely. And again, you’ll still meet roads like this en route to the cycle shuttle.
Bugsby’s Way
The abject state of roads is little better via Bugsby’s Way on approach from Woolwich and the area around Charlton station.
That avoids heading below the two flyovers but designed for cycling? Not at all.
This is also an area that isn’t great on foot. See those pedestrians in the image above? They’ll be walking over grass verges given there’s no pavements in places between the bus stop and shops.
Funding
What’s pretty incredible about the state of so many streets in the area either on foot or bike is how neither TfL nor Greenwich improved them despite such a major project on the doorstep, before considering thousands of new homes, new schools and new shops across the area.
TfL somehow managed to green light a £2.2 billion tunnel but offer nothing for numerous poorly designed streets in the area. Even as a basic, token gesture it’s astonishing money couldn’t be found. They have managed it north of the river. See landscaped areas in Silvertown.
In recent months TfL allocated £3.1 million in extra funding for active travel in areas in Newham borough. South of the river? Nothing evident.
Aside from nearby streets, the tunnel approach is as grim as ever south of the Thames.
Council funding
On Greenwich-controlled streets there’s also no investment in improvements despite thousands of new homes either side of the tunnel approach.
If you stand where the cycle bus is to stop cranes can be seen at four developments in the near vicinity. That’s at Blackwall Lane on a former MOT Centre, Greenwich Millennium Village’s next blocks, towers beside St Mary Magdalene school and more blocks to the north.
All sites brought money to Greenwich via Section 106 or the Community Infrastructure Levy. Where’s it all gone?
Greenwich have form in this regard with very poor attempts to integrate new developments with existing communities and amenities.
Greenwich peninsula and surrounding areas are little different. The peninsula is effectively severed from nearby areas through shoddy and dated street design. Reaching the cycle bus from parts of the peninsula in close proximity? Fine. Anywhere else? Awful.
Combined failure
The below image was obtained in recent years via a Freedom of Information request and shows whether TfL or Greenwich Council manages a specific street or road in the area. Since it was obtained the former busway has also became Greenwich-controlled.
Between TfL and Greenwich Council inaction we see the result in no investment, no improvements and a cycle bus that’s a shocker to reach from many directions and most residents.
I’m sure some will pinpoint this little known road or that route but they’re often badly lit, isolated or due to close for construction work in the near future. That isn’t going to lead to any substantial kind of shift to active travel.
The reality is that main approaches including those from existing cycleway 4 are dreadful – and neither Transport for London or Greenwich Council have done a thing about it.
TfL may point to the new footbridge and cycle bridge but the old one was fine on a bike. That was never the problem.
It was those incredibly poor approaches and not a thing has changed in that regard.
Despite PR by TfL that it’s some sort of great improvement the reality is it was only installed to accommodate more road lanes beneath. The impact on cyclists and pedestrians is minimal.
If anything it’s worse as visibility is reduced on approach in this isolated spot. That doesn’t encourage feelings of safety.
Again new developments will marginally help in future but in the here and now it doesn’t. By the time new housing does arrive TfL could well have scrapped the cycle bus due to low usage.
Perhaps the idea is always flawed. Who wants to cycle to then wait around for a bus before being dropped off in a not particularly convenient part of Silvertown anyway?
But even if there is potential, the state of approach roads south of the river does all it can to put people off.
Why is the TfL map stating a future upgrade on the only approach that is decent? That’s crazy. It’s the other areas that need the investment! How are both the borough council and tfl so ignorant about this area? And what’s with the purple line on the tfl graphic saying cycleway 4 as thats not right? I thought cycleway 4 run along Trafalgar Road and Woolwich Road on the other side of the flyover. It’s clear as day to anyone who knows the town that routes on the peninsula which are NOT marked are those that need the improvement.
It’s certainly odd. I recently wrote a post about new housing rising on the peninsula and highlighted the good quality existing cycle lane that already exists along the green dashed line, and then there’s already a segregated cycle lane off the road along West Parkside.
The purple dashed line seems to suggest they want/expect people to head from and to the Thames path which no one is doing when approaching from most directions as its convoluted and indirect – and they’ve completely ignored that. I’m reminded of when hundreds of homes were approved in west Thamesmead recently and rather than put in improved walking and cycling links on the most obvious, direct route to Woolwich Elizabeth line station a modest sum (the only amount for public realm for walking/cycling) went on links to the river path which was already fine and is a longer, less direct route to the station and Woolwich town centre. Like Thamesmead, these Greenwich “plans” and inaction all suggest a lack of basic knowledge and understanding of where people may want to travel and routes they could/will use.
The Tunnel Avenue pictures remind me of why Michael Winner chose to substitute Hackney for the Bronx in Death Wish 3.
Why do people have to be so negative about things?
If it is successful they’ll soon be eating their words