Against the Greenwich road barriers
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Council ‘modification’ consultation offers route to scrapping the Scheme
The West Greenwich traffic scheme ‘experimental’ period was covertly extended by executive action during August. This meant experimental ‘modifications’, including the notorious peak hours Hyde Vale opening, designed to relieve displaced traffic that has plagued East Greenwich and Trafalgar Road.
It has also led to the first-ever public consultation opening the way for all local residents and road users to vote on the scheme as a whole as well as commenting on the modifications. The consultation is the only chance to scrap the Scheme and make a fresh start. It could open the way for the Council’s more recent promise of a review of borough transport strategy. Since it was installed in August 2020, the Scheme has increased the daily vehicle tally of 28,000 on Blackheath Hill, causing life-threatening additional congestion and pollution. Scrapping the scheme will help reduce the nightmare of overloaded boundary roads. Government traffic figures show that while pandemic traffic reduced vehicle numbers everywhere, there was no change on Blackheath Hill and heavy goods vehicles increased by 17 per cent. A final Council decision in February may depend on public responses to the consultation, now running. Visit greenersafergreenwich.commonplace.is/proposals/west-greenwich-low-traffic-neighbourhood You can take part even if you do not live in the area. Read more... Council admits falsely claiming Met Police backing for the scheme,A long-delayed Freedom of Information request, FOI-53675, admits Greenwich made false claims that the Metropolitan Police wrote to the Council to ‘back’ the West Greenwich Traffic Management Scheme in 2020. The Met joined other emergency services in condemning the Council's plans as dangerous and impeding services.
The Council kept quiet about the July 2020 consultation held with the emergency services before the traffic scheme was put in. This resulted in a wholesale condemnation of modal filter schemes as endangering life. Repeated complaints by the ambulance services about hold ups to critical emergency calls finally led to a limited opening up, by conversion to ANPR, of just three barriers in the 'low traffic' neighbourhood. The FOI disclosure also forwarded what the Council claims is ‘documented’ evidence of heavy traffic on Crooms Hill. Grainy iPhone shots of traffic queuing to pass residents' parking on a narrow stretch of the Hill do not include verifiable records or reports of accidents, incidents or collisions. Read more... |
Why the West Greenwich LTN must be opposed NOW!
Respond to the consultation: Object to the Hyde Vale morning opening The Hyde Vale modification creates a potential rat-run for the entire area during the morning peak. But there are no signs for motorists about the new peak time concession and there has been no monitoring. So it cannot be viewed as a traffic 'experiment'. There's no improvement in East Greenwich or on Trafalgar Road. This means the modification has not 'worked', while residents in this area have been kept in the dark about developments in West Greenwich. Without open and official information the Council will have no idea of potential future increases in vehicle usage. This means there could be untested and permanent risks to pedestrians - including James Wolfe Primary School pupils. Tell the consultation that the scheme is 'not equitable' and discourages alternative modes of transport Royal Hill has already experienced a year of 'boundary road' traffic in which people shopping and going to work and to school on foot have been threatened by heavy traffic, including large goods vehicles. Statistics show additional traffic in the afternoons here and on Blissett Street. Object to the scheme as a whole Scrapping the Scheme could open the way for the Council’s more recent promise of a broader, fairer borough transport strategy. The scheme causes life-threatening additional pollution and congestion on boundary roads such as Blackheath Hill. (see: Tenants and their children living on boundary roads take the strain on this page.) It holds up emergency vehicles and essential journeys over a wide area and puts pedestrians at greater risk of accidents. Converting three barriers does not necessarily increase access to emergency services. From Creek Road to Westcombe Hill, the West Greenwich barriers cause delays, pollution and extra mileage - harming livelihoods and people dependent on car travel. Pedestrians and people with disabilities have been disadvantaged by the scheme.
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Tenants and their children living on boundary roads take the strain
The scheme deliberately displaces traffic to Blackheath Hill - the worst congested road in the area with the highest accident rate in the Borough. The Hill is home to the highest concentration of social housing in west Greenwich.
Residents of Dabin Crescent and Cade Tyler House on Blackheath Hill, have the least access in the traffic management area to wide pavements, green, open space, and good food shops. They are less likely to have access to a private car or a bike. But they are suffering the pollution fall-out and road risks of the Greenwich scheme. 28,000 vehicles use Blackheath Hill every day, putting residents at risk of accidents and poor health. Read more... |
How the scheme adds road miles, pollution and congestion
The West Greenwich traffic scheme creates a physical barrier between the A206 (from the town centre and Greenwich South Street/High Road) and the A2 along the yellow line. This means that throughout West Greenwich, access to and from either side of the barrier must go via the Blackheath Hill and South Street junction.
The solid barrier removes Royal Hill, Circus Street, Brand Street, Blissett Street and Prior Street from the low traffic neighbourhood, and cuts essential local access required by the Liveable Neighbourhoods scheme, funding that was sought for an area that includes the wealthiest streets in the borough. Detours forced by the barrier add up to three miles to journeys that used to be much shorter, and place extra pressure on the worst congested stretch of the A2, Greenwich South St, Trafalgar Road and on residential roads in East Greenwich. Read more... |
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