The concentration of social housing on Blackheath Hill and Dabin Crescent is on the narrowest section of the A2, where two lanes of heavy traffic merge to a single lane all day long. Just a few metres separate the neighbourhood’s biggest permanent traffic jam from our largest agglomeration of social housing.
This is precisely the stretch of road on to which Greenwich has chosen to divert traffic from the LTN as a result of creating the Royal Hill barrier. The diversion affects ALL traffic, including all local residents and visitors who need to cross the barrier.
Nearly 1,500 (1,430) social homes are registered on Blackheath Hill, (according to UK Social Housing). Dabin Crescent, only three metres wide, but nevertheless open to two-way traffic, runs parallel to Blackheath Hill. Continuous blocks of social housing flats are sandwiched in between.
To improve the environment for a swathe of affluent homes, Dabin Crescent was left open in the scheme to serve as a cut-through for Maidenstone Hill, Dutton Street, Winforton Street and Trinity Grove. But pavements on the Crescent are only one metre wide, and pedestrians have no protection when passing traffic mounts the kerbs. So much for the council claim that it is protecting the ‘narrow’ hills and vales of west Greenwich.
Local consultation was sketchy elsewhere, but non-existent here. Social housing residents (as well as private tenants on Blackheath Hill) include a higher proportion of children, and are much more densely populated than in all the rest of the area. They face even greater assaults on their health and safety than before as a direct result of the scheme.
They live at the farthest distance from Greenwich Park, and its wonderful children’s playground, than anyone else in the traffic scheme.
Elsewhere, inside the traffic management area, Royal Hill, Blissett Street and Burney Street, hosts to significantly higher social housing than any of the other streets, continue to be completely open to traffic.
Families living on major roads tend to be poorer, and experience the worst effects of pollution from traffic emissions. Social housing residents are more likely to be very young or very old, or disabled, or caring for children. They are more likely to be obliged to walk to work, school, medical appointments and for shopping out of necessity, and in all weathers.
This means that, not only in Greenwich but also all over London, poorer people are bearing the cost of improving the lives of better-off owner-occupiers as a result of schemes like this one.
This is precisely the stretch of road on to which Greenwich has chosen to divert traffic from the LTN as a result of creating the Royal Hill barrier. The diversion affects ALL traffic, including all local residents and visitors who need to cross the barrier.
Nearly 1,500 (1,430) social homes are registered on Blackheath Hill, (according to UK Social Housing). Dabin Crescent, only three metres wide, but nevertheless open to two-way traffic, runs parallel to Blackheath Hill. Continuous blocks of social housing flats are sandwiched in between.
To improve the environment for a swathe of affluent homes, Dabin Crescent was left open in the scheme to serve as a cut-through for Maidenstone Hill, Dutton Street, Winforton Street and Trinity Grove. But pavements on the Crescent are only one metre wide, and pedestrians have no protection when passing traffic mounts the kerbs. So much for the council claim that it is protecting the ‘narrow’ hills and vales of west Greenwich.
Local consultation was sketchy elsewhere, but non-existent here. Social housing residents (as well as private tenants on Blackheath Hill) include a higher proportion of children, and are much more densely populated than in all the rest of the area. They face even greater assaults on their health and safety than before as a direct result of the scheme.
They live at the farthest distance from Greenwich Park, and its wonderful children’s playground, than anyone else in the traffic scheme.
Elsewhere, inside the traffic management area, Royal Hill, Blissett Street and Burney Street, hosts to significantly higher social housing than any of the other streets, continue to be completely open to traffic.
Families living on major roads tend to be poorer, and experience the worst effects of pollution from traffic emissions. Social housing residents are more likely to be very young or very old, or disabled, or caring for children. They are more likely to be obliged to walk to work, school, medical appointments and for shopping out of necessity, and in all weathers.
This means that, not only in Greenwich but also all over London, poorer people are bearing the cost of improving the lives of better-off owner-occupiers as a result of schemes like this one.
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Gloucester Circus contains three open lanes of roadway encircling a private park, and exits on Royal Hill and Crooms Hill. Its exit to Crooms Hill (pictured) was closed three years ago. It is more than 6m at its widest and 4m at its narrowest points, with two-metre wide pavement. Closure of this exit resulted in traffic displacement to Burney Street and the narrower end of Crooms Hill.
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Dabin Crescent, one car’s width, has the narrowest pavements in the traffic reduction area (1m) but is open to two-way through traffic from Greenwich South Street to Maidenstone Hill and Blackheath Hill.
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Research has established that the poor produce the least emissions, but are polluted the most, and in consequence suffer the most ill-health from vehicle exhaust as well as the safety risks of negotiating busy roads. Richer people are more likely to own private cars and they produce by far the most emissions.
Extensive longitudinal research shows not only the imposition of pollution effects by the rich on the poor, but also the additional vulnerability of children growing up in poverty. Young people are most susceptible to the effect of pollution, but have the least say over where they live.
Tell Greenwich Council’s majority Labour councillors, and Matt Pennycook MP that environmental protection should not be achieved on the backs of the poor.
Read more: Joanna H Barnes, Tim J Chatterton and James WS Longhurst, ‘Emissions vs exposure: Increasing injustice from road traffic-related air pollution in the United Kingdom’, Transportation Research Part D: Transport and the Environment, Vol 73, August 2019 pages 56-66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2019.05.012
Extensive longitudinal research shows not only the imposition of pollution effects by the rich on the poor, but also the additional vulnerability of children growing up in poverty. Young people are most susceptible to the effect of pollution, but have the least say over where they live.
Tell Greenwich Council’s majority Labour councillors, and Matt Pennycook MP that environmental protection should not be achieved on the backs of the poor.
Read more: Joanna H Barnes, Tim J Chatterton and James WS Longhurst, ‘Emissions vs exposure: Increasing injustice from road traffic-related air pollution in the United Kingdom’, Transportation Research Part D: Transport and the Environment, Vol 73, August 2019 pages 56-66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2019.05.012
