As you may know, Transport for London are building a new Thames tunnel at Silvertown. Early proposals included a separate bore for cyclists and pedestrians but that long since fell by the wayside. What TFL are now proposing is a ‘Cross River Cycling Service’. What this boils down to is a bus shuttle service through the tunnel. Recently TFL consulted on some aspects of their proposals, for example whether it should run a scheduled service with a bus every 10 minutes or an on-demand service and whether users should pay or whether the service should be free.
I replied in my capacity as Redbridge Cycling Campaign Group Coordinator. It was online survey comprised of closed questions and a box at the end into which I could enter text. I could not find a way to get a printout of all my answers but here is the free text I entered.
‘I am filling in this survey with a heavy heart. The proposals for the Silvertown tunnel represent a missed opportunity to connect the South and North banks of the Thames – unless you are the driver of a motorized vehicle. At present there is no provision for cyclists to cycle across the river east of Tower Bridge. A cycle crossing at Silvertown would have been a start.
A ten-minute shuttle service might be of some value to leisure cyclists but will not serve the needs of commuters. Commuters really need the means to cycle under the river. Of course car drivers have this provision – no-one would expect the only way for car drivers to cross the river to be via a ferry. Yet if the Mayor is to meet his climate targets and improve air quality he must oversee a shift from car to cycle commuting.
I have stressed the importance the accessibility of the service. Many of the users will be leisure cyclists and this will include those pulling buggies, using tag-along trailers or riding tandems (like my wife and I). Without good step free access and ease of boarding this group of users will be put off.
What next? Sadly I expect that plans are too far advanced to see a cycle route integrated into the tunnel which means it is a question of making the best of a bad job. So
- The more frequent the service the better
- The Mayor should use his good offices to prevail on those who manage the Greenwich and Woolwich foot tunnels to allow cyclists to ride through these tunnels so establishing two useful river crossings for cyclists. I am aware of the safety concerns that are routinely raised but I am not persuaded that they cannot be overcome. And it should also be borne in mind that cyclists using these tunnels increase ‘passive surveillance’ of pedestrians and so make them less vulnerable to muggings and similar street crimes.
Redbridge Cycling Campaign 