Hit and run near notorious Greenwich roundabout
Police are seeking witnesses after a car collided with a motorbike with the car driver then leaving the scene in Greenwich.
The incident was near the notorious Angerstein roundabout which has seen fatal collisions in the past involving cyclists.
According to police a man in his 30s was taken to hospital where his condition was assessed as non-life threatening or life changing.
Any witnesses or anyone with information is asked to call police via 101, referencing 5896/04FEB.
Neglected and unsafe streets
This area has long been a problem though neither Greenwich Council nor TfL seem intent to do much to improve.
Most roads in the area are managed by Greenwich Council with TfL managing a small section. At last week’s full Greenwich Council meeting one question concerned poorly designed and unsafe roads in the area.
The issue has again entered the spotlight with TfL’s proposed cycle shuttle bus being accessible only via some dangerous and poorly designed streets with decades-old design – and no plan to improve.
That’s despite Greenwich Council obtaining tens of millions in Section 106 and Community Infrastructure Levy income from thousands of new homes constructed in the area and drawing up many reports and issuing statements on active travel, a carbon reduction plan, a climate emergency, green travel, sustainability etc. Lots of talk but little action.
The council’s response to the question was similar to that which we’ve heard for years and saw them state: “we are making some minor local improvements including wayfinding signage for cyclists between the new stop and the existing cycle routes.”
In other words, little real action. Signs won’t create safe roads and places that entice walking and cycling.
TfL have also spent minimal sums on improving their managed roads across Greenwich despite Silvertown tunnel’s arrival nearby with opening set for April.
That’s in contrast to increasing funding for improved streets and public realm by £3.1 million in Newham as part of tunnel-related work as noted in this 2024 report.
Standard fob off by “Royal” Greenwich. Get a mile from the museums and tourist spots and the areas are terribly managed. What exactly are they doing with all the income from new housing? This cycle bus is being designed to fail. The only good way to arrive at the Greenwich stop is from the Thames path or immediate surroundings which shuts out thousands who live south, east and west who may have been tempted to give it a go.
I hope the motorcyclist is ok. On the subject matter of this general area what happened to the money Ikea gave them to improve local streets? We got one new pedestrian crossing from what I can see. All the other promises died a death with no electric bike delivery anymore, the rooftop shut off for years and whatever else they tried to fool us with. They absolutely made a mockery of Greenwich ditching commitments and Greenwich then seemed to do next to nothing with the money they did receive. Many did see it coming sadly. That’s before we get to all the new towers nearby. What’s happened to revenue via Section 106? Where’s it gone? Just being sat on?
A very good question HG. One which Greenwich Council need to answer and be held account for.
Firstly I hope the motorcyclist is ok.
I also hope the driver of the vehicle is caught and brought to justice for failing to stop at the scene of an accident.
The standard of driving for some drivers is appalling and you wonder if they have ever passed a test let alone read the highway code. As seem to have mo clue on the rules of the road
Also drivers driving under the influence of illeagal drugs is sadly on the increase which has recently been reported on some of the programmes shown on TV.
This is a notorious roundabout and the road layout requires urgent improvement has does the surrounding streets and public realm..
Every morning I take the tunnel over to North London and the one inevitable thing I see throughout the journey is someone on their phone. You can usually spot them – their car has a good gap of at least 5-7 cars when every other car is bumper to bumper, or they tune out at the lights, wasting precious time to get clear.
Its not much better with drivers who are unfamiliar with the area: many drivers (especially uber) will follow the GPS display rather than the signage. You often see drivers veering dangerously at roundabouts or junctions when their phone signal hasn’t caught up with them. Only this morning I saw some poor woman debarking from a minicab outside Brenntag (this is a few yards from the tunnel entrance) with suitcases in tow, the hapless driver probably taking the tunnel road instead of going to the Intercontinental.
One thing to bear in mind if you drive regularly – it’s better to memorise routes from a map or book where possible, rather than use satnav. Recent findings on Alzheimers shows it almost completely avoids old school cab drivers, the majority of whom have highly developed parts of the brain called the hippocampus. Because they process the world as something they move around, rather than seeing the world move around them, that part of the brain develops to a greater degree and seems to be a key in keeping one’s memories intact.
Living here, you become used to the road layout and forget how confusing it used to be. It’s an awful roundabout. What these images remind me is just how ugly and unwelcoming the whole area is to new visitors.
With so much history in the area, and visitors heading to the 02. Why does this dangerous eyesore persist? Is it because of the volume of HGV traffic feeding the (never-ending) development work? I understand that you may want to finish the building work, before tidying up the road infrastructure. But that day is never coming.
I like Angerstein rahndabahrt meself. Iss very edgy but thass wot I like abahrt East Greenwich. I’m always nearly it by cyclists nahadays, theirn don’t stop at red lights n zebras. Ere there 1000s more injuries to pedestrians nahadays caused by cyclists, shockin wot they get away with cos cyclists aint registered so them laws don’t apply to theirn n they ave priority on ere.