Web viewContent (identifying or private content removed) Post Code. Business Responding. Congestion around the tunnel is horrendous, especially when coming back across the

The table below provides responses provided to the TfL email of Friday 24 April, titled "Are you affected by congestion at the Blackwall Tunnel?".

This table is provided in response to a Freedom of Information request and content has been edited only to remove identifying or private information.

Content (identifying or private content removed) Post Code Business RespondingCongestion around the tunnel is horrendous, especially when coming back across the river into Canning Town, where I live. I have friends in Kent and often use the Tunnel but there are always long queues coming back, even on a Sunday! New methods of crossing the river are desperately needed.

No Post Code Provided

Personal response

That would certainly alleviate the cross-river bottleneck in this part of London. But what about the A102 / A2? That already suffers congestion at peak hours, wouldn't this make it worse?

SE9 1PJ Personal response

I live in Orpington and often need to take a flight from London City airport. I have to leave extra early (by mini cab) to ensure we are not caught in traffic before the Blackwall tunnel traffic jam building up from 7:00 onwards. To have just 2 road river crossings in the East of London is seriously restricting access to London for people living in the South East and working in the City or Canary Wharf. we have also stopped visiting family and friends in the weekend north of the river due to the semi permanent queues at the Dartford Crossing.Best regards,

BR6 6HR Personal response

Dear Mr Mills, as resident of thr Royal Borough of Greenwich, I am a frequent if not regular user of Blackwall tunnel. I fully agree that there is a real need for more East London river crossings. When crossing the river, we have to allow for traffic hold ups as a matter of course. When there is any major problem, someone breaking down or an accident, the whole area can gridlock. This happens fqr to frequently, causing chaos and frustration, to say nothing of the added pollution.As part of the solution, a 2nd tunnel at Blackwall would help and a bridge further East. This should be in ADDITION to thd Woolwich ferry, not instead of. All these crossings shoulc be free of charge, unless of course, all the West London bridges become toll bridges too. Why xhould only the East London residents have to pay? I know many people who already drive out ofgheir way to avoid paying the Q.E. brige toll.I hope you find my opinion of useYours

SE18 3NU Personal response

Yes get on with it. A bridge would be better instead of the silly garden bridge. SE9 1AT Personal response

Dear Andrew,

Thank you for your email and for giving me an opportunity to share my view.

I feel quite strongly about this topic as for many years I have been bewildered by the relative lack of East London river crossings compared to Central and West London.

The result of relying on The Blackwall & Dartford Crossings is that whenever one is closed (which happens on a surprisingly regular basis) all major routes through south-east London in particular become unbearably busy as motorists seek alternative routes. If this happens during

SE28 0GD Personal response

AM/PM rush hour the gridlock effect is magnified.

Sadly the Woolwich Ferry (which in theory links the North and South circular - two extremely busy roads) just does not cut it in this day and age. Perhaps it was a useful means of transportation in the days when car ownership was rare but in the 21st Century, to me it is an anachronism. The boats have a very limited capacity (especially so when trucks are allowed on board too) and the inevitable queues which result often lead back out on to the South Circular roundabout (which connects 3 busy dual carriageway roads) cause further chaos, queuing and occasionally crashes. It is downright dangerous.

I support building the Silvertown tunnel and making one of the two resultant tunnels in that area tolled. I support moving the ferry crossing downstream towards the less built up and busy Central Thamesmead area and making it used by cars, bikes and foot passengers only. I also support the proposed bridge crossing at Gallions Reach. The more crossings the better, as more options for crossing the river will mean less chance of true gridlock.

And to the green campaigners who say it means more emissions for the area - do they not realise that people will be making their planned journeys anyway, however long it takes them.

The area has been crying out for transportation infrastructure for decades. Now is the time to alleviate the congestion.

Best regards,Hello Miles

Thank you for your interest, or at least I hope you are interested in what I have to say

I love the Blackwall Tunnel. I use it every Saturday morning. At least twice a week between 17-23.00 South going east. Each time it is congested, and this is every day for most of the day and that is because it is the only way out of Greenwich.The Rotherhithe is too far from me. Dartford Crossing, although in easy reach of me in Abbeywood, it is at a cost, and takes the long way around LondonI welcome the improvement to the Blackwall Tunnel but I wouldn't want to be charged to use it. I think we pay enough in Road Tax; and it would be taxing the working man out of a job. The tunnel is used by people going to work.I think the tunnel could do with a better tannoy system. one that can be heard in the tunnel as well as outside. Possibility to transverse lanes to decrease congestion. Better system of retrieving broken down cars in the tunnel. For the moment this process is as archaic as the tunnel

If I think of anything else I shall let you know

SE2 0UP Personal response

Hi Andrew,

Am happy to share my experiences. I regularly use the tunnel. On average, three times a week. It's usually slow and annoying. But regularly, it reaches standstill and its a nightmare. The traffic and congestion is excessive. Clearly, more crossings are needed and I honestly think the Silvertown crossing is a good option. For the good of all, better transport links are required. I think that those who are opposing the plans are short-sighted in their views.

SE28 8DF Personal response

Regards,

Dear AndrewI don't use the Blackwall tunnel regularly but am affected when there are problems at the tunnel, the knock on effect is large and wide spread. It causes congestion in the surrounding roads and alternative routes to cross the river. The Woolwich ferry roundabout gets congested at peak times there seems to be little control of the traffic to stop lorries blocking the roundabout. Several new crossings are needed.Regards

SE28 0JP Personal response

I'm affected by the Blackwall tunnel pretty much any time I use it, particularly going northbound. The only time I ever get to drive through without being stuck in traffic jams is if its very late at night. Its really frustrating that short journeys to east London to visit friends or to leave London at a weekend take so long and you have to factor in so much additional time to get though the traffic.I have use the Woolwich ferry once as an alternative but also found that it had significant delays and took a very long time to get across.I would very much welcome additional river crossings in the area and particularly the Silvertown Tunnel plans which would make a significant difference.Best wishes

SE13 5LT Personal response

Congestion at the Blackwall Tunnel impacts the entire O2 area, Blackwall lane and then to Woolwich road for Greenwich. Blackwall Tunnel congestion occurs to frequently. Now some idiot has agreed to build an IKEA at the exit just before the Blackwall Tunnel. This is madness.

SE10 0JJ Qriosity Limited

I going to north greenwich now but can't pass this car they still not move & you can see it affect the road around the area too SE18 4NB Personal response

This is what happen now :)Traffic again at blackwall tunnel .

SE18 4NB Personal response

I use the Blackwall Tunnel frequently. There is often congestion and the experience is both annoying and depressing. It is depressing because it is the primary river crossing within London (certainly within East London) and it seems extraordinary given its importance as part of London's infrastructure that it is so narrow, slow and has bends. It feels claustrophobic and there is a constant risk of large vehicles moving out of lane and colliding. That there will be congestion is pretty predictable - but the time delay is not very predictable. I appreciate the history - but why have we not done something to improve it? It is hard to believe that any other major city would rely on 19th century infrastructure in circumstances such as these.

The solutions are to build a new tunnel or a bridge. I support the Silvertown tunnel - though my understanding from the plans is that it will relieve rather than replace the Blackwall Tunnel - and will involve a minor diversion. A better model would be to build a bridge or tunnel with three lane carriageway that should avoid any significant congestion because traffic could flow through it. But absent that - and it may be that that would be unaffordable - I support the Silvertown Tunnel.

N19 4QA Personal response

Thank you, Andrew SE18 3RR Personal response

A new tunnel will certainly ease congestion when things are going well.When things are not going well all the tunnels there will suffer, because they share the same access roads.The kick back onto surrounding roads will be no less than currently; and if more people are using the tunnelsthen the kick back could be even worse. I do not use the tunnel for regular commuting but I know only too well when things are awry.It takes less than 30 minutes for local roads to gridlock, and then affect as far afield as the A2, A20, and even the M25. By all means add a new tunnel but you should also be building a large bridge somewhere around the Beckton/Thamesmeadcrossing area. The West of London has 4 or 5 times the river crossings as we in the East.We need more crossings and all the crossings should be as far as possible away from each other, to avoid cross contamination.We frequently use the Blackwall Tunnel to drive to Chatham. We avoid peak times (which luckily we can do most of the time), but sometimes we have to use the tunnel on a weekend, and there is always a queue. If there is then an incident, a holdup soon builds up. There is no suitable alternative route as the Woolwich Ferry is often shut or running only one boat. The route through south London and Greenwich to the Rotherhithe Tunnel or Tower Bridge is hopelessly inadequate for additional traffic to be diverted from the Blackwall Tunnel. The additional pollution, wasted time and increased use of fuel are just some of the disadvantages, which a further river crossing should alleviate.

E1W 2QR Personal response

I can’t believe it is taking so long to provide south east and east London with a faster, more reliable, less-congested river crossing. My journeys across the river have been blighted for over 20 years as the hold ups have become more numerous and longer (length and time).

These days I rarely manage to get through the Blackwall Tunnel without some kind of delay due to congestion. I would estimate 90% of my journeys are delayed. Often I can be caught up for over 30 mins, sometimes longer on desperate occasions. There is no real alternative. The Woolwich Ferry is equally slow and congested. Crossing through central London or at Dartford takes me miles out of my way. Using public transport is not always the solution.

The situation can only get worse with the increasing residential and commercial development on either side of the river on and around the Greenwich Peninsula and in Docklands. I despair!

SE18 3NT Personal response

I travel through the tunnel on a regular basis. We are desperate not only to have another tunnel but also several bridges further down the river to ease congestion. The ferry service in Woolwich is not really a very good option. We need a bridge there and at Belvedere/Thamesmead. Surely the QE2 Bridge at Dartford has paid for itself several times by now with the tolls you charge yet we are still paying! Build more bridges please. Thank you.

SE2 0RZ Personal response

Another Blackwall tunnel closure and more horrific traffic delays in and around Charlton.

We need another crossing now !!

Personal response

Today's misery ! SE9 5NW Personal response

Hello Andrew,

Thanks for your email. I don't drive very often so am not affected by congestion as a motorist. However I live near the Blackwall Tunnel and the amount of traffic running through an area of high population density.

I am in favour of keeping the traffic moving but also removing some motorised transport from the roads and moving motorised transport away from homes and schools.

I'd like to see any new approach roads to a crossing to be concealed or tunneled. I'd also like to see any new roads or crossings have excellent pedestrian and cycling lanes. I'd also suggest average speed monitoring to keep traffic at a moderate but steady speed (no faster than 30 mph).

E14 7GJ Personal response

Dear Andrew Miles

Thanks for contacting me concerning the proposed new road tunnel in East London.


I am affected everyday I go to work or go out for leisure and other activities by the problems of the Blackwall Tunnel.

Firstly, anytime there is a closure of the Blackwall Tunnel, the traffic congestions affects us from Greenwich up to Woolwich. All the adjacent roads become unusually busy causing traffic blockage around Woolwich because all the Blackwall Tunnel traffic are diverted to the Woolwich Ferry which in turn cause a lot of road traffic blockage around the Woolwich Ferry roundabout due to the extra Blackwall Tunnel traffic.

Secondly, due to the heavy traffic at peak times of the day I have resorted to using Trains only during these times. I no more use Buses due to road blockages, heavy traffic etc due to the heavy traffic approaching the Blackwall Tunnel.

I have been late for meetings due to the problems of the Blackwall Tunnel.

These are just a few of my experiences that I encounter due to the blockage of the Blackwall Tunnel.

Thanks & RegardsAs a user of the tunnel one does suffer from reliability problems, in terms of accidents and general congestion on both sides of the river too often. And more so now than twenty five, twenty and ten years ago, I have noted.

The problem is made worse at times due to the tunnels' location. Meaning, once one has committed to driving through it, when a problem occurs traffic levels become extremely high quickly, and it is difficult to leave the area and seek an alternative route.

The levels of pollution, noise and gases, are also uncomfortably high at certain times.

With vehicle use, local and regional, much higher than forecasts for the now ageing tunnels and roads infrastructure, plus the prospect of more car borne residents moving onto the peninsula, and east of the peninsula, the risks of greater congestion and pollution are likely to grow.

New crossings would mitigate some these issues, if integrated into further public transport improvements. It has been noted too often the disparity between the number of river crossings east of Tower Bridge versus those to the west of that bridge.

With London's population at historically high levels, and traffic levels remaining stubbornly high, it is unthinkable that South East and East London's growing population will be left with this current creaking transport design indefinitely. It is not be the case in central and western areas of the city.

The East London and Thames Corridor transformation, first aired by governments from the early1980s and onwards, has delivered huge changes to this part of London. In my opinion, the river crossing part of that story has lagged well behind many of these trophy changes that have resulted in increased problems when trying to move by road or rail across this part of the metropolis.

I hope that answers your questions?

SE187RS Personal response

I am affected by this every day as I live in Greenwich and work north of the river at Becton so have to go either through the tunnel or wait SE10 0DE Personal response

for an hour for the ferry at Woolwich, and I find the congestion appalling. what I find really disgusting is the length of time that it has taken to even address this issue, and we've still not even started construction yet. These delays will be compounded by all of the construction currently underway in the South East (particularly the Greenwich Peninsula). This congestion is now occuring regularly at the W/E as well and I have been caught up in traffic jams of well over 40 minutes trying to get through the tunnel on a Saturday afternoon. with regards to the trafic issues in the morning I still see no reason for one of the South bound lanes to be openned as it use to be, and there should also be a change of the lights just north of the tunnel to allow more cars to go through. RegardsDear Andrew,

I only use the Blackwall Tunnel out of peak hours. The delays at those times, particularly from the southern side, are considerable considering the time-of-day. A relief scheme at Blackwall has been in the planning ever since I worked for the Department for Transport in pre-TfL days. Congestion also spills over to adjoining roads and streets. All very unsatisfactory for those living in the boroughs of Greenwich and Bexley.

The situation is exacerbated when the Woolwich Ferry is operating at below capacity. Whaetever happened to the 3-boat service which used to be provided at peak times. A 1-boat service is completely inadequate yet seems to be the case more frequently. The new river crossing will take many years to come into operation. In the meantime, please divert additional resources to the Woolwich Ferry to help relieve congestion at Blackwall.

Thank you for your kind attention.

DA16 2RP Personal response

Dear Andrew,

Thanks for the opportunity to comment on my experience regarding the Blackwall tunnel.

I am not sure there is anything more I can add to my previous reply to the consultation.

However, I would like to stress the following points:

- Local journeys are frequently disrupted by tunnel problems (breakdowns)- it takes longer to travel from one part of se10 to another on the bus than it does from se10 to sw1 via tube- more flats are rapidly going up in Greenwich but the bus service has not changed to meet increased demands during commuter hours

- more flats means more people, so where are the extra buses to cope with the extra commuters?

_ East Greenwich is the poor relation for its bus service: 2 buses to north Greenwich going in completely opposite directions! What bright

SE10 0JQ Personal response

spark decided these bus routes! See 129 and 422 routes- east Greenwich is gridlocked when there is a tunnel problem-why can't the trains in the Greenwich area run to Victoria. Blackheath has lots of train options, why can't Greenwich?- more tubes needs across south east London generally

- tunnel problems have been going on for decades, it's time to take action

-pollution also an issue in east Greenwich

- creative solutions needed e.g. Tram service and better river crossing with no extra cost on top of travel cards then people will use it

- encourage kids to walk to school instead of parents driving them

- North Greenwich bus station needs upgrading. People waiting for bus 132 need their own bus stop, and more 132 buses in rush hour- bus stop layouts at north Greenwich don't work, it's too crowded and dangerous especially for vulnerable passengers due to people congestion- need bus time indicator for all north Greenwich bus stops, like the one in Walthamstow bus station

Kind regards

Hi Andrew

Yes there are frequent delays which I believe can be significantly countered by simply putting another lane in the existing Blackwall Tunnel. Clearly I expect a cost-benefit analysis was undertaken which determined the Silvertown Tunnel represents better value.

I live in the immediate vicinity of the tunnel and my concern is that a charge that is to be applied would be placed on a blanket basis – it would seem logical to give local residents a significant discount or no charge at all, on the basis that the tunnel is at our doorstep and thus the only pragmatic solution for us to cross into the other side of the river.

Perhaps we should also consider more bridges to be constructed in East London, and a separate corridor for cyclists as well.

Thanks


Personal response

We live in Limehouse basin, to get to our building you have to turn right off commercial road , down branch road as if going towards the Rotherhithe tunnel.

When the Blackwall tunnel is down a lot of pressure is put on the very narrow Rotherhithe tunnel – this then inevitably goes down too.

When either the blackwall or the Rotherhithe tunnel are down, the backlog of traffic on commercial road for cars and busses is terrible. I have on occasion sat in traffic for almost 40mins just trying to turn right into branch road.

E14 7JZ Personal response

Coming back through the Blackwall tunnel on a Sunday evening can takes hours.

I used to use the Blackwall Tunnel regularly but over the last ten years I have noticed the increase in traffic to such an extent that I now try to avoid it. The tailback was frequently as far back as the Sun in the Sand roundabout. On such days, the hold-up affected traffic around the Blackheath/Lewisham area. I felt sorry for the local inhabitants who had to put up with the fumes from stationary traffic. The extra bridge or tunnel should have been built ten years ago.

SE4 1UA Personal response

Good Evening,

Yes the Blackwall Tunnel crossing is a problem congestion wise.

I live off Shooters Hill and to be sure of transiting the crossing in under an hour I have to plan to be through the tunnel before 6am (northbound) or before 4pm (southbound).

The problem is the volume of traffic and the service was massively impacted by the removal of the contraflow at peak times (I appreciate that there may have been safety implications, but the capacity of the tunnel was effectively reduced by a third without any apparent consideration as to subsequent impact on traffic flow or the additional pollution of having a large almost stationary convey for several hours per day).

Obviously the other adjacent crossings are no longer fit for purpose as both the Rotherhithe Tunnel and Woolwich Ferry have limited capacity (although obviously alleviate some of the problems as can be demonstrated by the impact on traffic at the Blackwall Tunnel when the ferry is running at reduced capacity).

The main concern regarding the proposed link at Silver Town is the funding. I think people would accept a toll solution for the new crossing and the Blackwall Tunnel to fund the construction, but I know there is some bitter feeling towards the authorities regarding the Dartford Tunnel / QE2 Bridge links as when the toll had paid for the construction and generated a substantial maintenance balance it was changed to a road charge, effectively becoming a local tax. This had had the effect of pushing traffic through the Blackwall Tunnel as local regular crossing users boycott the Dartford option.

It would be disappointing to see the same thing happen at Silver Town / Blackwall Tunnel.

Kindest Regards,

SE3 8NJ Personal response

It is clear there is an urgent need to build this tunnel at the earliest time. I have watched even on a Sunday how traffic can stretch back to the Woolwich Road Flyover. As a major transport route much will be saved in time and fuel with air quality improvements when this project is completed.

SE9 1PD Personal response

HiEverytime I try to use the blackwall tunnel, this is usually between 7 and 8 am northbound, there are impossible delays


Dear Andrew

We live in Felsted, Essex and own a flat in Royal Arsenal, Woolwich that we rent out. As a result, we are infrequent users of the Blackwall

CM6 3GL Personal response

Tunnel and the Woolwich Ferry. We have however noticed an increasing congestion of traffic, irrespective of the time of day, on both the Tunnel and the Ferry. This congestion becomes almost unbearable at peak times, which we try and avoid if at all possible.

With our experience of this commute over the years, there is no doubt in our minds that there is now a pressing need for additional routes over the Thames in the east of London. With the rapid regeneration of the east of London since the Olympic Games the crossing disparity between east, central and west is now glaringly obvious and needs to be urgently addressed.

Kind regards

HiWe do not use the tunnel on a daily basis, however we expect to experience delays virtually every time we use the tunnel. This can vary between heavy slow moving traffic and full traffic jams, travelling north is the worst affected.This isn’t just at obvious rush hour Mon –Friday times but others as well such as Sundays.

We are aware the tunnel requires significant maintenance therefore increasing the likelihood of the problem deteriorating in future years.In addition the successful growth of east London further increasing traffic volumes , with only three other real alternative river crossings (Tower Bridge – central London heavily congested, Limehouse –very old, very narrow, limited capacity, in an already congested area; Dartford – already congested, can be partially closed in poor weather), urgent action feels overdue if a medium/long term solution is going to be achieved.

Many thanks

E4 7ES Personal response

We use the Blackwall Tunnel usually on Friday morning going south and on Sunday around midday going north. Southbound is usually trouble free with only hold-ups being due to either some type of incident or very heavy traffic.

Northbound though is a very different story, congestion is the norm, some days worse than others. A free run into the tunnel is very rare. A lot of the problems stem from the road reducing from three lanes to two plus traffic entering the left-hand lane a few hundred yards before the tunnel.

As nothing can really be done to improve the situation the new Silvertown Tunnel appears to be the ideal way to solve the problem. In my opinion the sooner it is built the better.

The only problem that I have is that a toll would be imposed on both the Blackwall Tunnel and the proposed Silvertown Tunnel. The amount of money that motorists generate in car tax alone should enable the new tunnel to be funded by central government with no additional cost to tunnel users. The benefits to the UK economy as a whole are obvious.

E18 1QG Personal response

I do not use the Blackwall Tunnel on a daily basis. However, if there is a breakdown, accident or sheer volume of traffic then it impacts on the local area. I live in SE7 and dread the local traffic news in case it reports an incident in the tunnel. Unfortunately it is a regular occurrence and it affects my journey to work and my daughters journey to school.We would welcome another river crossing to relieve the pressure on the tunnel.

Regards

SE7 8PG Personal response

HI there.

Yes I have been delayed by congestion at the Tunnels, weekday rush hour is a nightmare and it seems to be because of the 3 lane slip way that was introduced at the entry of the tunnel fairly recently, tunnel users drive their cars in three lanes only to be funnelled into two at the very last moment, very poor design.

It is no better at the weekend when you’d assume there would be less traffic!

Only close the tunnel for works in the early hours of the weekend!, Get rid of the 3 lane! And lastly DO NOT start charging for the tunnel, the charges levied against the public for the Dartford tunnel were originally put in place to recoup the initial design and realisation of that project and a quarter of a century later we’re still paying for what we pay taxes for in the first place.

Hope this helps.

SE18 7TA Personal response

Thank you. Yes we need more capacity to cross the Thames but should not pay for crossings. West of London has bridges galore for free. East of London has been neglected.

SE10 8QA Personal response

Awful…. These proposals are about 20 years overdue. Tailbacks from the tunnel often reach back as far as Beckleyheath, and the knock on effect of congestion and broken down vehicles in the tunnel cause the whole of the Shooters Hill Road, Blackheath and Greenwich area to grid lock.

The current proposals should be implemented ASAP in full with additional measures to keep pace with the growth in population of London and car ownership which is in excess of the provisions being made.

Rgds.

SE3 7HU Personal response

Hi Andrew,

Using the Blackwall tunnel is a nightmare... I rarely make plans on the north side of the river since getting from Greenwich to Canary Wharf area is a disaster due to long queue times,

Kind regards,

SE10 9FJ Personal response

Dear Miles Andrew

Any river crossing (preferably bridge) would be so lovely to hopefully halve the traffic that uses Blackwall Tunnel. Everyone seems to have a car now so another river crossing would be excellent.

Sincerely

E11 2DB Personal response

I avoid any journey by road that involves crossing the river because you never know if there will be a long delay. I usually travel by rail or tube. I rarely use the bus because buses often get caught in a traffic jam, so the journey time is very unpredictable.

E1W 1AF Personal response

Often affected not even wanting to use the tunnel living so close.108 bus nowhere near frequent enough & the slightest problem in the tunnel they throw in the towel,more imagination needs to ne used when large crowd comes out of the O2.Against tolls,pay too much tax as it is.

E14 0GY Personal response

build new crossings because the congestion is ridiculous. people spend more time stuck in traffic then they do at home. its not good socially to be stuck in traffic for such a long time because of a lack of crossings. the new crossings should be free to use as it becomes unfair for people to pay more money simply to get to one side of the river to another. its like division that gets created by the deprived end in the north of the river and the more comfortable south.

E1 5DU Personal response

It is very hit and miss as to whether I get a clear run through the Blackmail tunnel.The rush hours are getting longer and the slightest problem seems to cause major delays.The quicker another crossing can be built the better.

E3 3AH Personal response

Dear Andrew,

I live just a stone's throw from The Sun in the Sands roundabout and almost every day I see the A102 towards the tunnel blocked throughout the rush hour and other times besides. I rarely use the tunnel myself but the knock-on effect on the area from Shooters Hill to the bottom of Blackheath Hill, from Eltham to Woolwich and Greenwich is devastating. We are trapped in our homes.

SE3 8SL Personal response

Well I don't use the Blackwall tunnel, I've probably been through it less than a dozen times in my life, however I do live and work in Dartford and if anything happens to the Blackwall tunnel Dartford becomes unbearable (frankly thats true if anything happens in any of two dozen places). As soon as the A2/M25 gets the extra traffic load it basically stops and then frustrated drivers try and bypass the problem by going straight through the town center.

What with the stationary cars, buses and lorry's the pollution level becomes simply horrible. I used to commute to central London (train) and across it (tube) for 4 hours a day, come home and blow your nose - that black stuff is NOT supposed to be there, well its there again when Dartford comes to a stop.

BUILD the crossing, build other crossings, east London, and the lower Thames needs them, we all know it, why are you repeatedly asking people when the response to it and other schemes is an overwhelming 'build it' - some people will be inconvenienced, and the y may be vocal that does NOT mean that it shouldn't take 6 years (the shortest time scale form THIS point) to build this kind of infrastructure.

If it helps I'm no doing anything next weekend do you want me to get the shovel from the shed and nip up there and give you a hand shifting some earth?

DA1 1UD Personal response

Dear Andrew

The congestion in and around the Blackwall Tunnel is really bad and can stop the entirety of East London on occasions.

God bless

E1W 3QX Personal response

Hi,

I avoid the area at rush hour whenever possible which sometimes means I use alternative longer routes. I do not have a regular place of work so this is an occasional inconvenience. I also am frequently delayed if going north on Sunday afternoons - very irritating.

E3 4NU Personal response

To whom it may concern,My family and me are greatly affected by the delays at the Blackwall Tunnel which is totally unacceptable and unreasonable. The governments past have been completely incompetent in allowing this situation to occur.Additional river cossings east of Blackwall Tunnel are critical for East Londoners and super urgent. We need at least 3 new crossings across the Thames, not just 1 new tunnel at Blackwall. In my opinion each crossing should be limited to 1 lane in each direction for cars and lorries (toll only in mornings), and 1 lane in each direction for public transport like cycles, buses, DLR, as appropriate.Regards,

E16 3RF Personal response

Hi Andrew

Thank you for your mail. I an concerned by the traffic and the increasing impact in the years to come so I am for more East London river crossings, however. ..

...I an extremely infuriated by the suggestion that motorists need to pay for its construction through tolls on both Blackwall and Silvertown. Why does the Hammersmith flyover, Putley Bridge, Hammersmith Bridge and Albert Bridge get refurbishment without toll impact on locals. Why is the garden bridge getting built without charging users. Why is the East constantly billed for its constructions like the Dartford bridge with false promises to only charge until it is paid off when we damn well know it was paid decades ago and is now just profiteering.

I want it built but share the cost and leave off the tolls. Nobody in West London pay tolls. Why should I if I want to visit the Olympic Park on the weekend, or go to City Airport for a Europe trip.

I would really like to find someone who shares in my frustration.

Rgds

SE12 8BL Personal response

Hi l, unfortunately, use the tunnel on a regular basis and the traffic is getting heavier and heavier. There is always tail backs and last Thursday had a 5 miler going North bound. I have began to dread this journey and cannot understand why this problem was not addressed years ago. Plenty of talk but no action. Believe that there should be at least 2 crossings in the East of London. perhaps one more at woolichRegards

IG62GG Personal response

Apologies, looking at the plans I think you have place the tunnel in a very logical place, with both the North and South side link-ups looking very sound, only concern would be North of the river where ideally the flow should be continuous into the tunnel so avoiding any congestion due mostly due to traffic lights but possibly the roundabout right next to the North side link up, ideally this should be bypassed to ensure that the flow of traffic is unhindered into the tunnel.

E1W 2PU Personal response

I fully support the proposal, however I don't believe the way to achieve this is via a toll on the existing BW tunnel as there hasn't been one to date, if there is to be a toll it should be only levied on freight and lorries and double for non UK plated vehicles as they don't contribute to our infrastructure costs through road tax but equally use our roads.

Yours sincerely,

Dear Andrew,

Thank you for your email.

I’m more of an occasional than regular user of Blackwall Tunnel - my daily commute is from Eltham to Heathrow. I will use Blackwall Tunnel as an part of an alternative routing to/from work and other places in South-West London that has occasionally proven to be quicker than A205 South Circular or A202/A4, and for social purposes. Of course, this depends on the time of day - I am a shift worker, therefore I do not need to use the tunnel during peak periods. But I would seek to avoid using the tunnel during peak periods anyway unless I had absolutely no choice.

During my limited use of Blackwall Tunnel, I have observed a significant increase in off-peak weekday congestion over the last 2-3 years - indeed, I have used the tunnel perhaps 5-7 times over the past 2 months, and only recall two free-flowing journeys. Weekend congestion can be quite severe also, and this maybe worsened still if there's football on at Charlton. I’m not sure that traffic for the O2’s events impacts congestion at the tunnel so much as it does the roads serving the venue from the A102’s junctions.

Despite not being a regular user of river crossings in east London, I do consider a new crossing to be essential and long-overdue - connectivity between SE London/Kent and NE London/Essex is quite constrained, and the congestion that could and usually does occur dictates that travel between those areas may be quicker by going by train into London, and back out again - ineffective and unnecessarily longer than using a free-flowing river crossing. The Jubilee Line at North Greenwich relieves this to an extent but for a limited area. Being an off-peak user means that I may be more likely to undertake a journey when the tunnel is closed - closures that I recall were supposed to end at least six years ago, possibly even eight. I have faced this more often during night-time driving than not, and having to endure the traffic and lengthened journey due to diverting is extremely frustrating. Given the age of the tunnel, the age and occasional maintenance closures of Rotherhithe Tunnel, and the age, limited operating hours and weather-related unreliability of the Woolwich Ferry, potentially there could be a scenario whereby motorists are faced with having to choose between Tower Bridge and the Dartford Crossing.

As with the consultation questionnaires that I took part in, I would strongly support a new river crossing - although as I recall I was more in support of the Gallions Reach bridge. That said, the Silvertown would be a welcome development so long as it could easily facilitate free-flow of vehicles including lorries and busses.

Thanks and regards,

SE9 1HG Personal response

Hello,

Thanks for the opportunity to provide some encouragement for the project. I'm excited about the new development. The blackwall tunnel is the most major bottleneck in our regular journeys and being between the airport and our house, it means we have the least certain journeys at the most important times. Any new crossings or systems to reduce congestion and help to ensure more predictable and speedy

SE13 5NH Personal response

flow would be wonderful.

All the best,

Definitely look forward to a new tunnel to relieve the congestion at the Blackwall Tunnel. I have to travel frequently from my home in Honor Oak, SE23 to my office in March, Cambs. and so have taken to making this journey early in the morning to avoid the congestion. Even then, before 6 a.m., there are still enough early risers to clog up the northbound bore.

Same sort of thing southbound in the early evening, although usually not as bad unless there has been a prang somewhere.

So a new crossing will be welcome, even if – horror of horrors – there will be a toll

SE23 3QR Personal response

Hi,

I have friends south of the river and the tunnel congestion is always a problem. Delays and more delays just volume of traffic, not really breakdowns although that can also be a nightmare as the routs doesn't allow space if there is a vehicle problem.

I try the ferry, just as bad. Often just one.

Please do something and build another tunnel or bridge.

IG10 3RJ Personal response

Hi,I agree with the Silvertown crossing as it will (hopefully) ease congestion on the Blackwall Tunnel.A previous survey discussed tolls for either or both, I absolutely believe there should not be any charges to drivers to use either. In west London there are plenty more river crossings/bridges than there are in east London and none of them are tolled, so that should be the same for east London. In fact, perhaps TFL could go further than Silvertown and consider more river crossings for east London (including for example updating Rotherhithe tunnel).Thanks,

SE13 5PA Personal response

Dear Sir

The Blackwall Tunnel during most times is horrendous to use, mainly because it's always "choker blocked". And of course at week-ends it is usually closed for repairs, etc.

We desperately need the Silvertown Tunnel to help ease the above situations.

Regards,

E5 8RP Personal response

Dear Andrew,

Living in Kent, I need to get north to Essex or North London on a fairly regular basis. Driving that way is always a challenge, as one faces the

ME4 4JS Personal response

difficult decision as to go for Blackwall tunnel or Dartford crossing. While the latter may be without congestion it is not free, and there have been many instances where it was actually the toll-boot system that was clogging it all up. The other option is to go for Blackwall tunnel, but that generally suffers from delays, even when it is not peak hours, it just seems illogical that this tunnel is still “limited” to two lanes, where all before and after are at least 3 lanes, no wonder there is congestion. Whatever, choice you make between the two, you always feel like you miss out … and you certainly have to count in quite a bit of extra time to compensate for what may be the case. Considering that I also need to get to Greenwich quite regularly, it is often even the case that the Blackwall tunnel congestions prevents smooth traffic to Greenwich itself, so the knock-on effect of congestion at this tunnel is much bigger than only for those people who want to get through.

Considering that on the west side of London there is no need for tunnels or rivers crossings in general, there should be no reason why people living on the East side and therefore, for whom it is more appropriate to travel along the east side of the town to suffer from such inconveniences of having to pay, suffering from congestion … or both (as I have been there quite a few times too). This problem has grown over the last decades and nothing has been done about it, therefore, I don’t even believe that one extra bridge/crossing will solve the problem, it will simply “spread” the pain a bit more, but multiple solutions need to be implemented.

Hope this helps,

Regards,

Dear Andrew,

I am a regular user of the Tunnel as I live in Blackheath and work at Canary Wharf.

In recent times (c. the last 2 years of the 18 years I have used the crossing) the congestion has got a lot worse travelling from Blackheath into tunnel – and with no timing pattern to the blockages.

I am a supporter of another SE crossing but adamant that we should not be charged to use this. I pay so much of my income to the Inland Revenue and we only have a limited ability to cross the river.

We need desperately to address this issue.

With kind regards,

SE3 0LE Personal response

We seriously need a new tunnel , possibly two as the amount of traffic is continuely increasing . In this day and age tunnels are being bored and quite quickly . I have to travel regularly between Essex , Kent , E. London and S.E. London and find the crossings available at the moment quite insufficient . Lets have a new Silvertown tunnel , and another at Thamesmead . You need to get this sooner rather than later .

SE18 6SE Personal response

I use the Blackwall Tunnel several times a year. I am often delayed unless I time my passage outside rush hour. However,even on Thursday I was delayed because a vehicle had broken down in the outside lane on the approach road going North. Are there not cameras to spot this type of occurence? I would oike to see the retention of the Free Ferry at woolwich and NO tolls on any crossings. Motorists are charged enough already NOT all of which is spent on roads and ioimprovements!

SE18 2TT Personal response

Hi Andrew

I live in East Greenwich and the congestion at Blackwall Tunnel affects me in the sense that I try not to drive after midday at the weekends as the traffic is so bad. We desperately need more river crossings in East London, but I object to tolls on the crossings, unless these are put in place in West London as well.East London is the poorest part of London and it seems to me unfair to charge people to cross in the East but not in West London.

I support a tunnel and bridge crossing, but Id also like to see public transport improved in East Greenwich (Maze Hill).Firstly, Trafalgar Road is completely congested. The crossroads at blackwall lane/trafalgar road/vanbrugh hill needs improving. That area is already a bottle neck and i would suggest removing the pedestrian crossing there and possible widening the road to help with congestion.

An extension south east to the jubilee line would help also.

But to go back to your main point, i feel the tunnel is desperately needed and the sooner the better

Regards

SE10 9PP Personal response

Hi Andrew,

I get the 486 bus daily from Shooters Hill to the O2 arena. At 7.30am it should take about 30 minutes. Earlier this week it took 80 minutes due to a breakdown at Blackwall. This is not uncommon as traffic clogs Greenwich Peninsula & Charlton areas.

The slightest problem with the tunnel or the ferry or Dartford and the roads become gridlocked.

We need another crossing desperately.

As more and more flats are going up near the O2 things will only get worse. The Jubilee line is already heaving mornings and evenings and despite what Boris says the Emirates Airline is a vanity project and not a commuter route !!

South East London deserves better.

Regards,

SE18 3JB Personal response

Hi, I live in Charlton and am so regularly disturbed by congestion/blockage of the Blackwall Tunnel when journeying into Central and North London that I am using the Jubilee Line less and less because the bus connections to North Greenwich from Blackheath Standard are often badly disrupted by problems with the tunnel. Although I am provisionally in favour of the proposed Silvertown Tunnel I am both concerned at the increased air pollution on the A102 which currently feeds traffic into Greenwich peninsula, and seek clarification about how this pollution will be reduced in order to get the

SE7 7JG Personal response

new tunnel through planning (as I understand it the EU fine for pollution will be paid for by Greenwich Council so Charlton residents will be both polluted and have to pay for the privilege via my council tax). Yours Sincerely,Dear Andrew,Yes I am affected by the tunnel and its congestion. I feel that another tunnel would benefit the South East of London and make it quicker to get across. Central and west London have a lot of bridges whereas the blackwall is the main way over in the east.My only concern is the approach to the new tunnel appears to use the same road as the blackwall and this is where the majority of the congestion is already. You can sit in the road for a long time on the approach to the tunnel, especially with 2 major roads trying to get onto it and also the fact it goes from 3 lanes to 2 to get into the tunnel, this is something I think you should look into further.Regards

SE6 1QZ Personal response

I'm not a regular user of the Blackwall tunnel, although I do head southward through it about twice a month at around either 0730 or 0900 in an attempt to avoid congestion. It's always better at the later time, but, to be honest, it's never truly awful, even at the earlier time.

What is awful is the huge queue I see waiting to cross Northbound whenever I emerge from the tunnel. It's always there and stretches for miles. Being in that on any basis, let alone on a daily commute, must be exceedingly frustrating and I imagine every one of those drivers is keen on the Silvertown tunnel.

I time my run back to the East End to go through the Northbound bore after 2100 and even then there's sometimes a short queue in the immediate tunnel approach, partly caused by the slightly quaint way that the left-hand lane is dealt with to manage high vehicles.

I'm keen to see the Silvertown tunnel bored for two reasons: a) the regular Northbound congestion needs a solution, especially as the East End spreads Eastwards and b) a big infrastructure project will boost the area's economy. These views have already been expounded in TFL's literature on the new tunnel, so I'm not sure that that my view will add to the argument, but I will always support the new tunnel proposal.

Yours sincerely,

E1 5BH Personal response

Hi Andrew,

We live in Isle Of Dogs, and this is the main reason why we are affected by the congestion at the Blackwall Tunnel. To cross the river we do need to use the Blackwall Tunnel which is a proper nightmare too often.

And we are afraid that this is going to get worse pretty soon, with the new shops to be open in the Charlton area, and all the new residents in Isle pf dogs. Because of the queueing for the tunnel, coming in or out the Isle of Dogs at certain times of the day can delay your journey up to 2 hours, which is far too much.A year ago, we were leaving in Kennington, SE, and commuting around London was a lot easier then.There are plenty of bridges in central London.East London has a huge problem because the lack ofBrigdes to cross the river, not only by car, walking is sooo hard.The river bus is terribly expensive, and is not very useful for locals. There are not bike lanes in our neighbourhood, ...

In my opinion there are a lot of

E14 3RU Personal response

Improvements which could be done to help with travelling and commiting in East London.We really need the Silvertown Tunnel, but this is going to happen any time soon. So in the mean time, many things could be done:1-bikes lane2-low fares for river bus and discounts for loclas3-free river bus services for cyclist and mums/dads with young kids.4-pedestrian tunnels, the Greenwich one is far not enough

Please let me know if there is something else we can help with.

Have a nice weekend,

Dear Andrew,

We use the tunnel on a regular basis. My wife and sometimes I use it to drive to work on the north side of the river two days a week and we also use it frequently at weekends to visit shopping facilities in Canary Wharf.

We live very close to the Sun in the Sands roundabout that links the A2 and the A102 leading to the Blackwall tunnel. During rush hour, when my wife uses the tunnel to commute to work, the traffic from the tunnel is backed up at least to the Woolwich flyover between 7-9am and in the most extreme cases to as far back Sun In the Sands or beyond.

Her average time for the 3-mile or so journey during the morning rush hour stands at approximately 45 minutes, the majority of which is spent driving on the south side of the tunnel. However, from time to time, when the tunnel is subject to temporary closure due to broken down vehicles or oversized lorries, this journey has been known to take up to an hour or more, which implies that the journey was effectively completed at walking speed.

Rather than joining the queueing traffic, many road users including commuter coaches resort to driving along residential roads in order to bypass the often stationary traffic on the A102. This increases already significant congestion on the local roads due to school traffic, but which is obviously seen to be preferable to almost stationary traffic on the Blackwall Tunnel approach road by those vehicles that try to bypass it.

Return journey times during the evening rush hour tend to be slightly quicker (averaging approximately 35 minutes), presumably because the returning commuter traffic is spread over a longer time window than in the morning, however significant congestion is experienced on the north side of the tunnel.

Over the past year or so, we also feel that the tunnel has experienced increased usage during weekends compared to previous years. This appears to coincide with the increased toll charges at the Dartford crossing. It is not now uncommon to experience congestion similar to that during the morning rush hour on the A102 on the tunnel approach, although the effect on the local roads is not significant. This is probably due to 1) lack of local school traffic and 2) users of the A102 not being the seasoned commuters who have learnt to optimize their journey

We would hope that progress on an alternative crossing is made as soon as possible. We are not concerned by long-term environmental concerns for a number of reasons:

SE3 7JS Personal response

1) Even if the number of road users using the tunnel(s) increases as a result, there is likely to be far less stationary traffic than now and so it does not follow that there would be an increase in emissions2) Cars are projected to have a significantly smaller environmental footprint in the future. Proliferation of electric cars would result in a dismissal of increased emissions concerns altogether

Best regards,If the Blackwall tunnel suffers even the most minor incident, breakdown or similar the consequences to those on the approach on the A102M are dire. It's impossible to see there's a problem until you are already on the motorway meaning you are stuck there for up to an hour. Consequently, the risk of this often stops me using this road at all, even if I don't want to cross the river.

When the O2 kicks out, the tunnel is congested with hundreds of cars driven by people not familiar with the area adding to the problems.

A second crossing would give an alternative to take traffic away from tunnel problems making the road system in this area much more attractive to locals without the risk of being stuck on the motorway.

SE3 8JF Personal response

Dear Andrew

Thank you for your email. I am in total agreement with the fact that we need another tunnel. However not if that means that the Blackwall tunnel starts to be a toll . Why does west London who holds people with much more money pay nothing for their river crossings, while those in East have to pay heavily (Dartford crossing)this is a tax on the poorer Londoners. This is immoral.

E6 1DQ Personal response

The Blackwall tunnel is so out of date now for London. It wasn't built to accommodate the increasing flow of traffic that it now experiences on a daily basis. This problem should have been addressed years and years ago. The whole experience of using the tunnel is so unpredictable, closure, breakdown, roadworks - this makes any journey unpredictable 24 hours per day 7 days per week. Come on you know a new FREE (no tolls) bridge/tunnel is needed sooner rather than later.

E138LQ Personal response

I live in Walthamstow east London and frequently use the Blackwell Tunnel.I also frequently use the Blackwell Tunnel Approach Road on the north of the river to get to work/friends in the Isle of Dogs or travelling into London even though not using the tunnel.

In both instances the tailbacks and congestion can be ludicrous, even out of rush hour. Weekends are also a problem as I have frequently been stuck in a long tailback coming back from my parents from south of the river on Sundays. The alternatives crossings at Rotherhithe and Dartford are simply not an option.

I ride a motorbike so can filter through traffic, but even then the narrow lanes in the tunnel and the approaches mean I take as long as a four-wheeled vehicle.

The problem with the Blackwall Tunnel and it’s approaches from both sides is not just a rush-hour problem. The narrow lanes in the tunnel mean that traffic crawls through the tunnel even when the traffic is at its lightest. I have travelled through the tunnel at 3 in the morning when all other roads are empty and been delayed by this slow moving bottle neck.

E17 4NQ Personal response

With the second tunnel added to the Blackwell Tunnel 50 years ago (?) it seems mind-boggling that another crossing is only now being thought about.Oh and if the Silvertown Tunnel is built can it be wider than the current Blackwell Tunnel please? The narrow lanes of the tunnel means even fairly small lorries have to take up both lanes when negotiating the numerous bends in the tunnel slowing down the traffic.

Your sincerely

HiMy experience is the same as many in that we need more crossings to ease the congestion but we do not want toll crossings as all this does is make road users go to where the crossing is free

RM11 3SG Personal response

I have had problems with Blackwall Tunnel for more than 40 years and it has become worse since the tidal flow was scrapped back in 2007. We definatly need alternative crossings but they should not be tolled as motorists are taxed to death to use roads. West of Tower Bridge there are lots of crossings bur East of Tower Bridge we have never been privilidged with crossings. It is unreasonable that in West London you can cross the river but in East London you expect us to pay to cross the river. No way I would like many head for other congested crossings rather than pay any unjust toll. Money should come from taxation not drivers.

SE9 1QJ Personal response

Dear Andrew,

We use the tunnel at Blackwall occasionally, possibly twice or three times a month. Thankfully, we are not dependent on using the tunnel in rush hour periods. We try to time our use when we think the traffic will be at it’s lowest - but rarely at night. There are times when we choose not to use the tunnel, even though we have an elderly aunt in Stratford who we would like to visit more frequently. When the traffic is flowing well we can reach her from our home in less than half an hour. By public transport it takes about three times as long.

Our experience is that the busyness of the tunnel is very unpredictable. There are times when we think it could be quite busy - and there are no queues. On other occasions we have queued for over half an hour - and we aim for the least busy times!

We have noticed that the format of the road layout towards the tunnel seems to cause more delays. Three lanes are reduced to two, but strangely, there is a lane to the left that leaves the main road and then rejoins the carriageway into the tunnel. As the traffic has to re-filter back into the flow, everything slows up.

The height restrictions on vehicles - although well publicised - do not seem to have any physical limitation until just before the tunnel itself. We frequently hear on the radio or TV traffic news of overheight vehicles causing a problem.

Hoping these comments help.

Yours,

DA7 4LG Personal response

Sir,I welcome the Silvertown Tunnel .However,Removal of charging at Dartford Crossing ,by itself as was promised , would greatly reduce congestion in SE London and at Blackwall.Given that SE London has practically no Underground access the imposition of charges at Blackwall should be a criminal offence .

DA16 3RH Personal response

What should be simple journeys from Bexley and Bromley in particular become a nightmare . A charge at Blackwall would be insult added to injury.regards,

I don't use the Blackwall Tunnel regularly but would always avoid it if travelling at weekday rush hour times. However, I have on several occasions experienced long delays when using at weekends. Rarely has this been due to a broken down vehicle usually just the volume of traffic using it. This has happened in both directions.

SE4 1YE Personal response

Hi,There is always a delay going northbound in the Blackwall tunnel. It would be great to get an additional river crossing.Thanks,

E14 6FA Personal response

I think everyone in south East London is affected by blackwall tunnel. The traffic is very solid even on weekends and when it closed is another nightmare. It will make everyone's life easier if we have another tunnel or bridge. We need to leave really early to arrive on time plus the extra petrol we use while waiting in the traffic, so please build another tunnel or bridge and stop consultation everyone in London knows how difficult to cross the tunnel.

Thanks

E14 2DS Personal response

yes, I fully support this SE18 2ET Personal response

Dear Mr Miles,Living close to the Blackwall Tunnel and using it regularly it is obvious that extra crossings are absolutely necessary, indeed if the London Mayor had not stopped the building of a tunnel / crossing when he first came to power we would no doubt have a tunnel/crossing already.Virtually everyday there are problems with the tunnel and the effect on the surrounding roads...for miles, ... is obvious if you live and have to travel around.The issue is that we are going to be charged to cross the river. Why is this? We in SE London have already had to pay to cross via the Dartford Tunnel/Bridge. Across every bridge throughout the rest of London crossing is free. Why is there a stealth tax to SE Londoners? We are told that payment will be through registration number recognition and therefore will be quick and produce no extra holdups. If this is the case then surely every bridge / crossing in London could/should be charged so as to make the system fair. It would also mean that the costs re building the new crossing would be met far quicker.Make for a fairer London...build the new Tunnel.... Charge every crossing or none of them.Regards

SE3 7UG Personal response

Hello Andrew

Yes the Blackwall Tunnel can be a nightmare I live on Canning Town so you get bottlenecks at 3 river Lea crossing which backs up from the bottle neck at the Thames River crossing. The new properties being built which are needed because of the housing shortage will only exasperated these issues.

As an Eastender born and bred who has also lived in West London it is obvious that we are short changed compared to our compatriots in the West with their plethora of bridges with a garden bridge to come no less. But on a serious note an extra tunnel or bridge could encourage transport and communication between East and South East London and relieve congestion. I think the cost of the bridge should be shared across the city as the whole city will benefit.

E16 4NU Personal response

The Woolwich Ferry is a bit of a joke never has more than one ferry running them you've got mile to go until the Dartford crossing. So when something goes wrong or a tunnel is closed it's chaos so nobody wants to cross the river if they can help it.

Anyway Ive had my say. Happy to contribute further if required. I also work in regeneration and am in contact with local community organisations so happy to provide any assistance with focus groups consultation etc. Have a great weekend. Good luck with the consultation

Kind regards

Dear Miles

many thanks for your recent email

ive commuted thru the Blackwell Tunnel for aprox 30 yrs

i did this mainly on a motor bike

it was too congested to commute by car thru the tunnel

i think that both bores should have a dedicated motor cycle lane

Kind Regards

DA5 3NN Personal response

There is an urgent need to build the Silvertown crossing. I live on the Blackheath Standard and I can tell always if there has been an incident in the Blackwall Tinnel as the traffic round the Standard will have increased greatly. You don't need me to tell you that there is an incident that causes traffic mayhem round here at least once a week. Buses can't move. People can't get down to North Greenwich. People can't get to their work on the other side of the river. Output suffers, prosperity is affected.Go and stand on Tower Bridge looking at the Tower of London. To your left there are bridges across the Thames - dozens of them. Look right and what can you see? The Dartford Bridge 15 miles away. In between, the antidiluvian Rotherhithe Tunnel and Blackwall which is dangerously overcrowded.How can anyone doubt the need for at least 5 more river crossings to link two productive sides of London which struggle every day with


inadequate communication links? The only question we all have here is why wasn't Silvertown started 5 years ago? Why does it take you planners so long?? This is the 3rd time I've been consulted personally about this issue. Why is it taking so long??!

Hi

Yes the Blackwall Tunnel is an issue, a new crossing is a great idea.

HOWEVER, I strongly feel that the Woolwich Ferry needs to remain and that'll three crossings should be free of charge.

The bad feeling currently over the Dartford Crossing is running very high.

Kind regards,

SE18 6RU Personal response

Hello,

The simply facts are the tunnel was constructed in 1897 That’s “ 118 years ago “

We have had two wars since then, but regardless of this the population has continued to increase beyond the ability for this tunnel to cope with the level of traffic we have today.

The entrance to the tunnel is limited , which results in delays on a daily basis. On occasions it can take up to and more than 40 min’ waiting to travel from the South to the North. The amount of vehicle fumes this creates, apart from any other consideration is clearly damaging the environment and the health of local residence.

The problem is, we have done too little and too late.

The question we need to ask is will Silver town resolve the problem and for how long ?

I wish you the best of luck in making this decision.

Regards

TN16 3LU Personal response

Dear Andrew

Thank you very much ,for sending me this e-mail , well I am often delayed on mornings and afternoon between 4-6 and yes I am often delayed by the congestion at Blackwall Tunne two to 3 times a week.Regarding the second question the lack of river crossing affect my journey when there are multiple closed roads creating congestion and time delay .

regards

NE1 4SP Personal response

Has to be the strangest of questions. There is ALWAYS a very long queue morning/evening. How do you think this affects users?! You either sit in traffic or leave at a stupid hour to avoid it. Does TFL really need anymore justification. Look at the CCTV. Sometimes - things are just obvious.Thanks for asking.

BR3 3HY Personal response

Well, I basically hardly ever travel back to Lincolnshire as every time I do it takes for ever to get through the tunnel. I'd like the discussion to not be able 'everyday' travel but recognize that it is a route needed by many different types of traveler.

SE20 7BE Personal response

Andrew,This is long overdue. The Blackwall Tunnel is a nightmare for much of the day on most days. We are almost always delayed in getting through the tunnel, particularly going north.The cost to the economy of the endless traffic queues to access the tunnel must be significant.There is an absolute pressing need for increased vehicular river crossing capacity in south east London and north Kent.Kind regards

SE10 8AR Personal response

Build another crossing by all means but don't charge people to use it. The Dartford tunnel was meant to be free by now but it is just a cash cow. Provided it doesn't cost me anything to use. and it doesn't blight the environment in the borough of Bexley then I have no objection otherwise count me out.

DA163JP Personal response

Dear Andrew,

Recently I had builders in the house (North of the river) who had to use the Blackwall tunnel during the day to purchase materials in Greenwich. Perhaps, on average, we spent 15 mins per journey queuing, each way. Sometimes this might be twice a day if a second trip was necessary. So that's an hour an day wasted (and polluting) although I was avoiding rush hours.

I hope this is helpful. Mercifully, I can usually avoid the tunnel. But even at weekends, returning from Kent, 15-20 mins is not unknown coming northbound.

Kind regards,

E14 3EA Personal response

Dear Andrew,


I use the Blackwall tunnel to get to my work at London City Airport, so the proposed routing of a new tunnel would be beneficial.

I tend to travel outside of peak times, which in my experience are 0700-0830 & 1600-1800. Consequently I am rarely delayed in traffic, and if I am, it is usually only a for a few minutes, or because of an abnormal situation (accident, roadworks, etc).

My principle concern centres around the proposal to charge for use of the tunnels. I will see little benefit as I don't have a problem as it is, but the charge would double my travel cost, going on the numbers banded around earlier in the consultation. It is making me pay for something which was once free.

I do believe that the Silvertown tunnel is a valuable infrastructure project. However I believe that the nation will benefit, so the nation

ME16 8BB Personal response

should pay for it. As a user, I don't drive through the tunnel for fun; I drive through it to provide a service, do business and play my part in the wider economy. A charge would increase my cost of doing business at a time when business is marginal, meaning I would have to make decisions which would have knock on effects elsewhere in the economy.

Whilst I appreciate that the building costs will have to be found from somewhere, from previous experience of the Dartford crossing, it would seem probable that even once the costs were recouped from a 'tunnel charge', a charge would remain indefinitely.

Therefore, I would support the project only if it were not at the expense of the direct user.

Kindly,

Dear Andrew,

Thank you for your email.Well, it affects a lot, especially when is closed for any reason, or dartford is closed and consequently all the traffic for the east part of london goea through blackwall tunne/woolwich ferry. Last time it took 2 hours just to do 1.5 miles, a disaster. You need more than 1 tunnel, you need an extra tunnes AND bridge. The community, jobs, etc would improve so much you would even imagine. Sometimes I avoid going around for fear of getting stuck for hours for this issue. Instead of wasting money in garden bridges etc, should regenerate east London with a better transport system.If you counts home many cars are registered in east London, you would see how much do we need extra bridges and tunnels.Thanks for the opportunity to express my point of view.

Regards

SE7 8BH Personal response

Thank you for your message re the new road tunnel.

However, I am unable to help you with comments regarding using the Blackwall tunnel as I no longer commute.

But living in S E London for 50 years I am well away of the congestion - if one tunnel is closed - then it is hell for the public having to use the other one.

Likewise - the Woolwich Ferry is always very busy - thus there is a desperate need for another tunnel - if not 2.

Good luck.

Regards

SE12 8DZ Personal response

Hi

I use the Blackwall Tunnel only occasionally. I try to avoid peak times in the rush hours but even then the delays can be long and frustrating. I usually only travel to Canary Wharf for either work related meetings or shopping/restaurants. I rarely travel northwards during peak times but often have to return southwards after 4:00pm - this is usually very congested and juts getting to the entrance to the tunnel can take ages - the access roads simply do not appear well designed.

DA15 8WL Personal response

If I could avoid the tunnel at all I would but there is simply no alternative today. I wish the Silvertown option would proceed with haste.

Hello

I moved to Woolwich in South East London six months ago. As a fresh set of eyes on the matter, it is painfully obvious that the East needs more river crossings. London has a growing population and eastern areas will take a lot of those people because there is a lot of room here for development. That means we will need not just the proposed Silvertown tunnel but others as well. I don't even own a car and I can see that. However, although I am sympathetic to essential travel I am not towards people who only drive because they think public transport is beneath them or they can't be bothered to cycle. I am getting regular air pollution warnings sent to my phone and am advised to stay in doors. So I, having done extremely little to create that pollution am punished and drivers are free to do what they like. That doesn't makes sense and is breeding resentment.In conclusion, I think we need more river crossings, but non essential car travel should be heavily dissuaded.

Sincerely

SE28 0GE Personal response

Andrew, London is one of the fastest growing cities in Europe. It needs more of any form of transport infrastructure. There are 2 river crossings east of Tower Bridge, incl. two tunnels that were built in the Victorian era. How many more arguments does one need...

SE4 1TF Personal response

Dear Andrew,I live in Narrow Street in Limehouse.The only real disadvantage to living there are the many delays I suffer going through the Blackwall Tunnel.These are caused primarily by huge congestion , exacerbated by vehicles breaking down or running out of fuel in the tunnel.The most severe problems tend to be encountered on the North bound approach road where it is not uncommon for the last two miles of the journey to take 30 to 45 minutes. This is especially severe in the late afternoon or early evening.I can't wait for another tunnel to be built and would happily pay a reasonable toll fee if this helped finance this long overdue project.Regards,

E14 8BF Personal response

Good Afternoon Mr Miles,

I use the Blackwall Tunnel every two weeks both southboaund and northbound of a Saturday and Sunday. Going Southbound it is not too bad, but coming back Northbound is where the problem starts when it is 3 lanes down to 2 lanes. It can also have a very bad traffic problem if there is a breakdown in the tunnel, and it shuts which then causes gridlock in the surrounding area.I would have thought that a bridge across the River Thames would have been a better option rather than another tunnel.

What ever is decided it must be done quickly to stop any more congestion.

E6 2LD Personal response

Hi, I'm not using the tunnel daily but have passed at different times of the day on weekdays and weekends and it's always bad. The cars are barely crawling at 5/h before the tunnel and inside the tunnel I usually drive at around 20 m/h or less. I usually travel from Charlon and join a13 or A12 on the other side and back . All my trips go through the tunnel pretty much.

SE18 5QL Personal response

Dear Andrew,The Blackwall tunnel has long been a nightmare for drivers.An additional river crossing has been urgently needed for many years.For several years I used to travel from home in north west Kent to work in Newham.There is no reasonable rail link, so driving was the only option.I used all three options (Dartford crossing, Woolwich ferry or Blackwall tunnel) but mainly the Blackwall tunnel. All three were heavily congested during peak periods.Most of my relatives live in north London. I drive there frequently. It is always a lottery at any time because there is almost always serious congestion at the Blackwall tunnel. The congestion is even worse when there is a premiership football match in north London.The occasional accidents and consequent traffic delays at the Blackwall tunnel cause mayhem.The air pollution in the area must be terrible.A new crossing is urgently needed. Even a toll crossing would be good so long as the payment system is automatic and does not cause delays.Yours sincerely,

E16 2SP Personal response

I am often delayed when using the Limehouse Link by traffic delayed by problems with the Blackwall Tunnel.This occurs a few times a month.

Regards

IG11 7DW Personal response

Very good but the time it is finished so will I and it will not be free DA5 3BT Personal response

I use the Blackwall Tunnel regularly because it’s my only sensible route to most parts of London north of the river from Chislehurst – at least I used to but it’s now so congested that I often use the Rotherhithe Tunnel instead – which is of course even more dangerous than the Blackwall Tunnel.

It is enormously inconvenient not to have a Tunnel or Bridge that one can rely on, and where there are not long delays that result from the most trivial accidents.

Clearly the capacity of the Blackwall Tunnel is totally inaqequate for the volume of traffic that now wishes to use it.

BR7 5YB Personal response

I live in Bow, E3 and use BlackwaLl Tunnel often.

Rush hour and weekends tend to he horribly gridlocked in that area - the new tunnel can't come soon enough.

It should not be a toll tunnel as this will just add more slow moving traffic trying to pay or going through barriers - and we already have the Congestion Charge. So NO to more road charges - we'll all just use the Blackwall instead and block the roads again. This are has lots of people on low incomes as it is.

Build it!!!!

E32NY Personal response

Yes, I am affected as I use the tunnel each week day. Usually there is a 5-10 minute delay on the northern approach in the evening, but all it IG1 3QT Personal response

takes is one incident and the gridlock results. It could be issues at the Dartford Tunnel which cause more traffic to divert. It could be an accident in the tunnel or a breakdown or both somewhere between the Eltham tunnel and Blackwall.There IS a need for a new crossing, but I strongly object to this being charged for – we already have this situation at Dartford, a crossing that has long recovered its construction costs but continues to charge and make profit for its new owners.

I think it is essential to build the tunnel as soon as possible to relieve congestion. Other than the Dartford crossing there as no other crossing linked to major roads until you get well into west London.

SE23 3QQ Personal response

Dear Andrew

I have lived in Hackney for most of my life and currently use the tunnel around six times a week. I am now retired but my experiences at work which covered peak hour travel, are also relevant.

As a local I am aware of such "rat" runs as exist. Using these during the peak allowed me to reach the tunnel in around 30 minutes from home. Otherwise time to the tunnel usually doubled. But over the years that target became less and less attainable as successive authorities installed lane restrictions and traffic lights along the way. Many of these, such as the now discontinued contra flow greatly restricted the southbound flow which doubled journey times. But the biggest delays have been caused by traffic lights which are a present day handicap. I think these were put in for partly political reasons since they were switched off for the 2012 Olympics and the flow sharply improved.

Nowadays, travelling off peak, the tunnel normally takes fifteen to twenty minutes. But the provision for delay (accidents, breakdowns) has never been adequate and I have sometimes waited hours. Only a second tunnel could take care of that. The other main problem comes late at night as oversize lorries try to use the northbound tunnel. Their drivers often speak little or no English yet the tunnel authorities assume that they do. They use a tannoy and never come down in person. Coupled with the red traffic lights which come on at these times delays can be prodigious.

There are plenty of reasons in all of this for another tunnel and I hope my comments help.

Yours sincerely


Personal response

Hi, my experiences at the Blackwall Tunnel are always horrendous, with delays, congestion, people losing their temper etc, always present. To travel through the Blackwall Tunnel is to experience misery of the most obscene kind. That this is still prevailant in 21st century Britain is ridiculous. Support and attention should be given to all alternative means of crossing the Thames.Best Regards

E125JH Personal response

I use the Blackwall Tunnel as our main river crossing when travelling by car. It is very often congested particularly at peak times, and other bridge or tunnel river crossings are desperately needed to alleviate the traffic problems created by having such a limited way of driving south to north and vice versa. I would support both a tunnel and a bridge crossing, and if the Woolwich Ferry can continue as well, this would provide a much wider range of options for river crossings.

SE18 6GZ Personal response

Yes yes & yes. No Post Code Provided

Personal response

We are badly affected by congestion if there is a problem at the Blackwall tunnel.I won't waste my time & yours giving you example after example because the data is already there.A tunnel or bridge is long overdue south of Blackwall tunnel which cannot & has not for more than a decade been able to deal with the volume of traffic from north or south traffic, one over hight lorry, an accident,brakedown,fire,and the resulting tailbacks are a nightmare, not to mention the cost to the economy.The only problem I have is that a charge will be interduced to use the crossing (ref DARTFORD CROSSING )we all know how that ended, if that is the case,I think it should excule local residents .Let's get this crossing build quickly, on time, and on budget.

Kind regardsYes you have my full support for additional river crossings as the roads to both black wall and dartford tunnels are usually queuing most days and at morning and evening times its at least, half an hour long on good days.

DA7 4SP Personal response

I regularly use the Blackwall Tunnel to get from where I live in Bethnal Green to the A21 en route to my elderly mother who needs 24 hour-care which I have to organise. I am routinely delayed by traffic queuing northbound on my return journey - the queuing delays range from a few minutes to an hour. The problem became much worse a few years ago when traffic lights were installed to create a junction of the A12 with Zetland road. This interrupts the flow on the A12, often causing knock-on effects all the way back to the Blackwall tunnel exit.It should be a principle of tunnel design that the exit roads allow uninterrupted traffic flow from the tunnel exits.The A12 is a major dual-carriageway route and its only traffic lights are in the section from the A13 to A11, interrupting the flow of traffic northbound out of the Blackwall tunnel. The new junction at Zetland road benefits a small amount of traffic in and out of an industrial estate, but cause disruption to the much larger amount of traffic flowing on the A21.

I fully support a new tunnel, and it will ease Blackwall congestion when it arrives in 6-8 years time, but could the new tunnel plan also include interim works to reduce the worst of the current congestion by removing the junction with Zetland road and making other improvements to the traffic flow northbound out of the Blackwall tunnel?

E2 9AE Personal response

Dear Andrew

I rely on the Blackwal tunnel most days to reach my work at Gallions Reach near City Airport. A typical commute is 40 minutes on a reasonable day and at least half that time is spent sitting in traffic before the Blackwall tunnel. In non-rush hour times with a clear run I can do Blackheath to Gallions Reach in 15 minutes! Obviously some days are worse than others, and the Blackwall tunnel delays (accidents etc) can extend my travel time to well over 1 hour, or I will return home if possible, abandon the car and take the bus to North Greenwich, tube and DLR, or walk to Cutty Sark and take the DLR.

I believe that a new tunnel to Silvertown would be a great help to many people commuting or trying to get to Stansted Stansted Airport from the SE.

I also believe that improved (safe) cycle lanes through Greenwich to Woolwich combined with functioning lifts and a cycle path through the Woolwich tunnel, and then beyond to Silvertown, would encourge many local people to commute by bike.

Kind regards

SE3 0AA Personal response

Dear Mr Miles, SE2 9BB Personal response

As a disabled pensioner living in Abey Wood, the only times I would use the tunnel are by a 108 bus or if taken by car. The occurences are rare.

However, how blockages of the Blackwall Tunnel do affect me are by causing great holdups along the lower road through Charlton even as far back as the Woolwich Ferry.

This cause a disruption of the traffic and buses which are involved with part of the route.

Hope this helps.Hello,

Thank you for your email. We live in Deptford and have a car. We often travel through the Blackwell Tunnel to get to North and East London,but are also residents in the area.

My own personal view on using The tunnel is it is horrendous. There are always traffic queues,even on a good day. Bad days, in terms of driving mean you can be waiting for a long time (with the engine running) before getting through the tunnel. This also has a knock-on effect on surrounding roads and causes significant disruption to local drivers not wanting to cross the river.

On top of the issues with driving I also live near/on Evelyn Street in Deptford which means that as soon as there are issues in The Blackwell Tunnel it causes terrible traffic jams all the way to the Rotherhithe Tunnel. This impacts buses and causes significant extra fumes as people sit in their cars in jams around our area.

We definitely need more East London river crossings and I also feel we need to either expand the Blackwall Tunnel or have a complimentary tunnel to help with more throughput of traffic, especially when there are issues with the crossing.

I am worried we funnel too many cars through the North Greenwich area and we should try to spread out the ability to cross in East London, however the current Blackwall Tunnel is not fit for purpose and needs to either be upgraded or supported by a new tunnel.


Personal response

This tunnel should have been built years ago!I fact there needs to be more bridges between this tunnel & the dartford crossing to ease traffic & more importantly to generate business for the crossing areasPlease build more!

SE13 7SP Personal response

I live in Aveley which is adjacent to the Dartford Crossing. Basically my only routes south entail using the Dartford Crossing or The Blackwall Tunnel. The removal of the toll gates have made a significant improvement to the south bound journey of the Dartford Crosssing but Northbound is still hampered by the tunnel approaches being re directed and here lies my criticism of the Silvertown Tunnel proposal. The reason the Southbound Bridge crossing works is because the only real hold up was the barriers. When you use the Blackwall Tunnel the roads that exits it in both directions at rush hours are highly congested as it is, adding another crossing at the same point will only make that worse, especially on the south side which starts at 3 lanes then narrows to 2 lanes at a point where the South Circular feeds into it, it can be bumper to bumper for several miles and often stationary. Any new crossing between the Dartford and Blackwall crossings should have included a new road out to the A2 at a point where it is already 3 lanes or to the current spine road that feeds to Woolwich widening it through Erith and to the M25. the current roads need to be widened, otherwise I cannot see how it will help the flow of traffic Southbound at all at rush hour.

RM15 4SR -

RegardsHi, I live in Eltham. For work I am a haulage contractor with trucks based at Tunnel Avenue, above the tunnel on the south side, Silvertown, north side of the river and in Stepney also. My work involves me visiting these locations and generally I always spend time stuck in constant traffic. In order for me to get where I need to be in the morning I have to leave my house at 5:45am. A journey that should only take 20 minutes is generally about an hour. I have no other route to go and I am sure all the other people stuck in traffic are in a similar situation. Things were better when the contraflow was in operation. People moaning about the additional pollution I don't get. Cars and trucks are getting cleaner and cleaner and if an additional tunnel can make traffic move then it should reduce pollution. A tunnel will take some time to build so work needs to start sooner rather than later. On a few occasions I have tried to go to use the Woolwich ferry but when I have its been out of order for some reason or another and is too unreliable so would have to divert by the Dartford tunnel. Now considering the increase in journey how does that factor into the pollution figures. It wouldn't be by my choice. Also people will say why cant I switch to public transport but the network is not there to support me. I'd spend more of my day riding around public transport and not get anywhere. Talk of additional river crossings has been going on for 30 years plus, I'm fearing I'm looking at another 30 years of talk before something is done. Thanks

SE9 2LQ Personal response

We live in a tower block beside the Royal Victoria Dock. The cable car has solved the problem of pedestrian access (we purchase the books of 10 tickets) with the facility to accept bicycles.

We use public transport within central London, but travelling further to the South of the Thames means we have to access the Blackwell Tunnel with its associated traffic Jams. We try to avoid rush hour where possible.

We accept the fact that both the Silvertown and Blackwall tunnel will be toll, the only other options being travel into central London and paying the congestion charge or using the QE2 bridge with a toll.

The bus routes could also be improved as these appear to be either North of the Thames or South.

From our apartment we can view the traffic Jam forming at the Southern end of the Blackwall Tunnel from early through to midmorning.

There are various building projects in progress which will further exaggerate the problem – City Island and the Thames development by Barrier Park and also the future commercial development by the Chinese alongside the Albert Dock area.

We are therefore in agreement with this scheme.

E16 1BW Personal response

Regards

I travel to work from Dartford to Poplar every morning and return home to Dartford every evening.

I have done so for the past 10 years.

In that time the congestion has become awful...

Year on year I have to leave earlier to get to work by 7am. The return journey around 5:30pm is almost unbearable.

It is 13 miles door to door but is still quicker than using Public Transport! So I persist.

Breakdowns and accidents near the tunnel opening causes chaos as there is no 'escape' route.

I now use a motorcycle rather than a car which is quicker but is fraught with danger - especially from other inconsiderate motorcyclists!

Another route to get across the Thames is not convenient or lengthens the journey in distance and time.

Building another tunnel would be a wonderful thing!!!

DA1 3NE -

Sir,

The need for further river crossings in South East London is overwhelming. Transport infrastructure in general in this part of the capital is extremely poor. I have personally spent huge amounts of time wasted in traffic queuing to go through the tunnel.

I find it difficult to imagine it taking to 2021 to finalise this crossing. We need more than just this tunnel and we need it now, by 2021 we will be well on our way to 10 million people living in the capital. Much of this growth will happen in South East and east London, there are active developments in lewisham, North Greenwich and Kidbrooke as we speak.

We also need more rail and bus development in this area, cross rail goes some way but only covers a fraction of this area.

In conclusion then: I will personally benefit from the new tunnel. But, it is too little and taking far too long.

Kind regards,

DA15 7JW Personal response

Dear Andrew,

Two comments.

I live on Vanbrugh Hill, a familiar rat run used by heavy vehicles and buses on the days there is congestion at the tunnel. Large commercial vehicles/buses come off the A102 at the Sun in the Sands, come through the Standard then down Westcombe Park Rd, speed down the Hill at over the speed limit, which is 20mph and in a residential area, turn into Vanbrugh Hill then across the traffic lights into Blackwall Lane. Apart from the danger to pedestrians and particularly school children going to and from John Roan School, the road seizes up sometimes in the rush hour. The effect is to increase the clogging up of the A2203 at Blackwall Lane.

SE3 7UE Personal response

Second, a large number of vehicles try to jump the queue into the Blackwall Tunnel by coming off the A102 northbound via the slip road leading to Blackwall Lane. They then go across the yellow box and to the right, so they can join the slip road onto the Tunnel Approach. This affects all the traffic coming from Greenwich direction, particularly the buses. The bus lane ends just before the traffic lights (which in turn is just before the slip road onto the motorway going north) and the volume of traffic is such that the buses are frequently held up on their way to North Greenwich. At the same junction, some come off the A102 and turn right towards Bugsbys Way, go round the roundabout and approach the northbound slip road to the tunnel from that side. All in all, it increases the congestion for minimum gain in my opinion.

I am in favour of the Silvertown tunnel.

Sincerely

Hi Andrew,

Many thanks for your email and giving me chance to explain how important for new bridge in the east London area. I am a residence of West Thamesmead (SE28 0JF). On regular basis we need to go Becton (E16) and Barking area. Becton is only one mile from our home. Ferry service close in the evening (although very slow) therefore we need to use Blackwall tunnel it make us 14 miles journey instead of 2 miles if new bridge would be there. Bad congestion and therefore pollution is a regular picture of the Blackwall tunnel. Some time for accident or other reason if Blackwall Tunnel close we need to use Rotherhithe Tunnel that means instead of 2 miles journey it will make us almost 20 miles return journey.

This extra journey not only taking extra hours of journey and fuel cost. It’s effect badly environmentally and increased pollution.

I would say new crossing long overdew and need urgently (tunnel plus bridge) without any delay.

Yours sincerely

SE28 0JF Personal response

Dear Sir

I used to use the tunnel regularly 10 years ago, and only spasmodically recently. The queues, congestion and bad behaviour of motorists have all increased dramatically.This seems to be the case whenever one travels - so more tunnels and bridges are VITAL and QUICKLY.I think twice before embarking on using the Blackwall Tunnel now.

TN13 3TN Personal response

Dear Andrew Miles,

I was a regular user of the Blackwall Tunnel during the rush hour for my Journey to work. That journey takes me from Eltham to Basildon and back each week day.

When the Blackwall Tunnel 'Tidal Flow' procedure was abandoned due to safety issues my South/North journey time was almost doubled and became prone to major hold-ups. As a consequence I transferred my primary crossing route to the Dartford Tunnel at considerable

SE9 2SB Personal response

expense despite the dart tag and Dartcharge schemes. Even though at that time my regular journey was Greenwich to Dagenham and back. At various times I have attempted to switch to public transport, but typical journey times more than double.

From my perspective, whatever the crossing charge is called, I simply see it in cost/benefit terms - How much time I can save compared to the cost.

My South/North Journey via the Blackwall Tunnel became something to avoid when the typical journey time exceeded one hour. Using the Dartford Tunnel it takes about 35 minutes (crossing at about 06:50).My North/South journey via the Dartford Tunnel has recently improved with the changing of the charge mechanism. The increased charges have been offset by a more reliable journey time of about 50 minutes (crossing at about 16:00). The Blackwall is typically 1 hour 10 mins, but also more likely to suffer much longer congestion delays. I don't want to pass Dartford and then find an issue at Blackwall so I usually opt for Dartford, unless there is an issue that I am aware of, and then I use Blackwall instead.

For me, the use of the new Silvertown Tunnel will depend on a combination of the cost, journey time and reliability. I will also be interested to see what happens regarding special rates for local users as is the case for the Dartford Crossing. I doubt that such a scheme will be offered for Silverton, so to make it 'fair' I suspect that the end of the local scheme at Dartford!

I do not use the Blackwall Tunnel on a daily basis but between myself and my husband we use the tunnel at least a couple of times a week, generally traveling from North to South in the morning and back in the afternoon or evening. Even though we tend to go against the flow of traffic we still have to plan when to tackle it, the congestion is awful and as we live close to the tunnel entrance, if there is a problem with a breakdown or accident in the tunnel it affects our access to home, as the knock on to the traffic encompasses quite a large circumference.Additionally, I would add that we also use the Rotherhithe Tunnel, which although seemingly marginally safer, (with the pavement emergency run off), both tunnels would appear to be an H&S nightmare. Driving standards have worsened with congestion and these two bottlenecks seem to magnify the potential for disaster.Any additional crossings North to South and vice versa between Tower Bridge and the Dartford crossings must be a priority henceforth in a city the scale of London; if you don't "set the wheels in motion" soon, then any development will be too late.

Hope these comments help, kind regards

E3 4PE Personal response

Dear Andrew,

I'm most often affected by the congestion at the Blackwall Tunnel when I go to visit my parents, who live north of the River. It's often difficult to visit them, epecially on weekdays, as we all work and inevitably get caught in traffic on either side of the Tunnel during rush hour. Public transport's no better, as I have a young child (turning one soon), who needs to be taken in a pushchair or carried. This is very difficult on the packed trains and buses!

I basically agree that Silvertown and other new crossings should be built but I'd also like to hear more about increasing bus services at all the river crossings, as well as making sure cyclists can use some or all of the crossings safely, with proper cycle lanes on both sides of any new crossing. I don't consider the Emirates 'Airline' an adequate choice for cyclists!

I also think any tolling that is used at any crossing should be low or non-existent for people using electric cars and motorbikes, to encourage lower CO2 emissions locally.

SE10 9EZ Personal response

Yours sincerely,I fully support the need for at least one more river crossing in East London. I don't use the Blackwall Tunnel every day but I do use it at least twice a week in each direction. It is very rare for the tunnel to be queue and congestion free even in off-peak periods. The Northern approach is now worse since the new traffic lights appeared about 300mt from the tunnel. Whoever thought that was a good idea? If there is a serious problem at the tunnel or on the A2/A102 then the congestion spreads like an infection throughout East London and the City. I live near Victoria Park and the traffic in that area can come to a standstill at peak times even when there is not an incident. South of the Tunnel is just as bad with Blackheath and Greenwich particularly affected. The tunnel also suffers when the Dartford crossing or the M25 in that area has a problem as people head for Blackwall as an alternative route. When I commuted through the Blackwall tunnel on a daily basis I was frequently held up, often for hours at a time. I don't suppose it is much different now, judging from my current experience. We need at least one more crossing if we are to get traffic moving properly in East London.

E2 9LY Personal response

Yes I do use the Blackwall Tunnel although less now that I am retired. It was very frustrating having to que from way back down the A2 for what seemed like hours. Also if there was an emergency such a breakdown in the tunnel matters just got ten time worse. It really did appear that if another set of tunnels were to be provided next to the existing ones then the problem would be alleviated to a large extent. It is so different to what it was in the 1960's when I was a regular user of the tunnel. Luckily I don't have to use it at all now. Best wishes


I live in Thamesmead and work in Barking and can clearly see Barking across the river but I either have to endure a delayed Blackwell tunnel northbound at 6am or pay to sit in roadworks over the dart ford crossing.

It's only south that has an issue with going north of the river. Every day someone breaks down in the Blackwell tunnel and it is already slow and congested at the best of times.

Something definitely needs to be put in place promptly.

DA18 4BQ Personal response

I live in South East London and travel everyday to North London, apart from Saturday morning there is always heavy traffic at various time of the day as it only take one vehicle to break down or an accident to cause long delays due to the volume of road users with no real alternatives on offer, this happens every day. It takes me about 20 – 30 minutes each way to get through the tunnel, which is ridiculous considering the short distance... Even last Saturday morning, there was more traffic than usual, assuming a the tunnel had to be closed for some reason.

More bridges or tunnel crossings are needed East of the Blackwall tunnel, it seems that the road crossing infrastructure in East and South East London has not been kept up with the area’s development over the years and having to wait for another 5-6 year for one new tunnel crossing is poor management by transport bodies... I can only see delays getting longer and worst at Blackwall tunnel which will lose peoples’ and businesses time and money.

By the time, the new tunnel is actually built and running, the demand would have increased due to the South East development and growth, unless other crossings in the East are also built sooner.

I’m not sure my email or comments will actually make any difference to the time it will take for any new crossing to be built, I appreciate there are stages to go through to built a new crossing but 5-6 years!!! A solution is needed now, not 5-6 years time when traffic volume would have increased yet again!!

DA17 5AP Personal response

Best Regards

Every time I travel northbound through the blackwall tunnel there are tailbacks. I don't use the tunnel for commuting but probably travel through 4-6 times a month and there is always traffic, irrespective of time of day or day.

there is a very pressing need for an additional river crossing in east london, the sooner one is started the better for all concerned.

As for the daily commuters - I have no idea how they cope. The morning tailbacks are ridiculous

E3 2RD Personal response

Hello,

Yes my experience with the Tunnel is seldom a good one -specially Northbound- almost regardless of time but particularly bad from Monday to Friday from 6 to 9 AM and 3 to 6 PM.

I tend to use the Southbound mostly during the evenings and except Fridays I could say it is ok compared with Northbound.

I'd suppose that there are more than a couple of factors influencing the Northbound crossing:

- one, there are roads feeding into the A102 very close to the crossing. When congested, people who know the area get on the game of pulling out from the A102 for then re-enter into it, causing more congestion even closer to the Tunnel.

- There is naturally no way to proceed a journey at half decent speed from the A102 Eastbound. The roads are mostly built to urban/residential standards so they won't help to relieve the London-bound traffic, this is particularly bad around Greenwich/Blackheath then Depford and all the way to London. In fact, after 7.15 AM the whole area of Greenwhich and Blackheath becomes a big car park (I know this is a separate issue from the Tunnel).

- the South Circular going up to Woolwich is completely and utterly useless to relieve the traffic otherwise heading to the Blackwall Tunnel. In fact, that road coming to an almost dead end at the Woolwich Ferry makes congestion even worse towards the Tunnel as traffic piles up at Charlton (so it does from Greenwich).

SE18 3JB Personal response

- I can't see much of a logic with HGVs allowed to travel at any time of the day - In other places in the World they get allocated times for their deliveries.

Hope the Silvertown Tunnel helps to resolve some of these issues. I must stress though that as a ball park figure the traffic through Blackwall might be 50% of the problem, the congestion around Greenwich/Blackheath is very bad too.

Best regardsThe main cause of congestion when I use it around 6:40 Southbound and 5pm Norhtbound are breakdowns and overhight lorries but the new traffic measures seen to have stopped a lot of overhight lorriesThe traffic Northbound in the morning is bad but again can be made a lot worse by breakdowns I dobt a new tunnel would solve that problem.

E18 2DE Personal response

everybody knows that when the blackwall tunnel has a problem the whole of the east end comes to a grinding halt.why do we still only have one way to cross this river in the east of london? and the rotherhithe tunnel is useless regards

E13 8RN Personal response

Dear Sir/Madam,

I use the tunnel at least once a week to cross the river.It is a great idea of having another tunnel to ease the congestion at the Blackwall Tunnel.However I would not want an additional tunnel, if I have to end up paying for both of them.It is understandable to charge for the new tunnel, but forcing people to pay to cross the river because no other free routes are in close proximity is not justifiable.

Kind Regards,

E6 2HS Personal response

Dear Andrew,

It's imperative that we have several new crossings and tunnels from the Blackwell tunnel to Dartford.

I use both the Blackwell tunnel and woolwich ferry, both are over stretched. We need a new crossing at Woolwich not just a ferry. We need another at Thamesmead.

Compared to central London that has several free bridges and enjoys free trade across the river. This needs to be extended to South east


London to create better links and jobs.

Kind Regards

Dear Andrew,

Since the change to the road layout I have personally noted that the traffic is worse than before the new layout was introduced. in particular to the left lane merging in to the middle lane (near the tunnel) with no indication of priority.

The silvertown tunnel should ease congestion but the road layout in front of the tunnel needs to be improved.

Regards

DA8 1BE Personal response

Dear Andrew,I am not a regular user of the Blackwall Tunnel but I do use it from time to time to get to north London, or even further to the north of England, as my sister lives in Cheshire.It has been my experience over many years that the congestion at the tunnel has got much worse, and it has become quite unreliable. We always allow extra time, just in case there is a hold up, and invariably there is.Quite often I also collect, or drop off friends at North Greenwich Station, and frequently I have been delayed getting there because of the huge traffic jams going back from the tunnel approach,with queues going back and back!I am sure my experience is not unique, and I am only thankful that I don't have to use the Tunnel on a daily basis!Something radical needs to be done to improve this situation, and some of the ideas about a new tunnel, and more bridges across the Thames are well overdue.Regards,

SE9 1RD Personal response

Re: Blackwall tunnelThank you for your email , I regularly travel from kent into North East London for both work and leisure.Despite not being time constrained in that I don't have to travel in rush hour, I am still subject to frequent lengthy delays, often caused by overheight lorries or broken down vehicles, the 'knock-on' affects of which can be horrendous.Any improvements to this crossing will be long overdue and most welcome.Regards,

CT6 7BH Personal response

Dear Andrew,

We live in Blackheath and because the tunnel is often closed, this causes a huge amount of traffic to be diverted off the A2 in Blackheath and surrounding areas. This is particularly difficult between 8-10am in the morning - during the school run and when trying to get to work.

The A2 across Blackheath into London is often at a standstill between 8.30 and 9.30am during the week.

I hope this is helpful.

Kind regards

SE13 7PP Personal response

Dear Andrew,


I am very interested in the Silvertown Tunnel project. I have lived on the Isle of Dogs for nearly 30 years now and every time there is a problem at the Blackwall Tunnel the whole of the East End comes to a total standstill and I spend hours trying to get home. Unlike West London there is no other viable option. This is the most rapidly expanding borough in London and we desperately need the infrastructure to support that development.

Kind regards,

E14 3EP Personal response

Hi Andrew,

I predominantly use the Blackwall tunnel at the weekends only (although am aware of the congestion issues during weekday rush hour) and regularly expect to be delayed for around 15mins anytime after mid day running from South to North.

My concerns with the initial proposal were that it didn't seem to do anything to alleviate the traffic james caused along the A12 (think this is the right road) approaching either tunnel. While it would separate traffic on the North Side - I've very rarely had issues with traffic once I am on the north of the river currently.

There also seemed to be a big lack of access for bikes - currently the only realistic crossing options for cyclists are the rotherhide tunnel and greenwich foot tunnel. Neither the cable car or boat service from woolwich are practical. With cycling becoming increasingly popular I would have expected any new construction to factor in bike facilities.

Hope this helps,

SE9 6NJ Personal response

Hello, Andrew,

I am retired so do not use the tunnel very much. I used it when they had "tidal flow" which was fine. When this stopped, the congestion in the morning from South to North is a hopeless waste of money (Social Cost) with engines ticking over for ages in the long, long queue. Extra river crossings would help, I suppose.

Regards,

Daniel

SE10 8JD Personal response

Hi

What a question. There is lack of crossings big time in East London.Blackwall tunnel is always congested.Driving to Stansted airport is always stressful as to how early we need to leave.

SE10 9FQ Personal response

I don't understand all this opposition to the new tunnel.Hope all is progressing well..Many thanks

As a resident of Charlton - yes, every day the Blackwall Tunnel effects me .. and building another tunnel that comes out in the same place and with the ridiculous Ikea coming there creating even MORE traffic I am solidly against this proposal.

Traffic and air quality in the area are bad enough without encouraging more. Ikea, massive M&S, Bigger Sainsbury's are all going to create more traffic on the Woolwich Road and another tunnel entrance just where we don't need it is not going to help.

I appreciate another route could be a helpful good thing - but it doesn't have to come out where it's already awful.

Regards

SE7 7NX Personal response

Hi TFL, Everyone knows we desperately need more river crossings. Try travelling to work through the tunnell during rush hour, it's a nightmare. I waste at least an hour a day sitting in traffic. My bigger concern is funding, one of the tunnels has to be free of charge. I can barley afford to live as it is. Kind regards,

DA16 1NJ Personal response

Dear Andrew


Unfortunately I no longer drive and do not use the Blackwall Tunnel but I can assure you that friends have experienced considerable delay due to the congestion there.

I do hope the proposed Silvertown Tunnel goes ahead.

Best wishes,

IG1 2QB Personal response

Yes I am affected by congestion. The major issue is that there are only two crossing points for the whole of East London resulting in significant traffic either travelling into London or out of London in order to cross the river and then repeating the exercise once on the other side of the River to get to your destination . This causes significant traffic congestion on the A2, A12, A13, A206, A2016. Which is rapidly

RM14 2AE Personal response

made worse if there is any incident at either the Blackwall or Dartford Crossing.If there were more crossing points by either bridge or tunnel the pressure on the major arteries and crossings (A2, A12 A13 &M25) would be reduced keeping local traffic more local rather than it having to access the main national road network to undertake a local journey.

hello,

we live in Blackheath, 2 miles from the Blackwall Tunnel,

every morning we hear on the traffic news that the Northbound queue comes back to the Sun in the sands roundabout, it starts queueing from about 6am!

this can cause knock on problems to the A2 on the Heath itself and the whole surrounding area,

there are only 2 real crossings East of Tower Bridge, I don’t count the single lane Rotherhithe tunnel or the Woolwich ferry which only serves to choke the South Circular roundabout to death,

The Blackwall Tunnel & The Dartford tunnel, that’s it for 70 miles to Dover, or 50 miles to The Isle of Sheppy; the West side of London is strewn with river crossings.

so yes, we’re desperate for another crossing here, but I’d say at least another one if not 2 further along please,

thank you,

SE3 0QL Personal response

Myself and my husband get delayed most days when trying to use the Blackwall tunnel. The queues go for miles and there is no warning of this before you are already on the road and have no choice but to sit in it.

Kind regards


Personal response

Dear Sir / madam

Thank you for this email and concern. I have been living in SE London since 1977. Never seen like this before. last 10 years has been terrible. My daughter uses Blaclwall Tunnel daily.

For me got fed up with Tunnel . last 10 years we have suffered a lot worst than M25

Wish Bridge was constructed years ago when mayor of London scrapped the idea to save money. having said that Public was against as well, now they realised how hard is it to cross from SE side.

Please start new tunnell as soon as you can

Thanks

SE12 8UU Personal response

I have been using the Blackwall Tunnel since moving from East London to Kent 30 years ago. My parents still live in East London and I regularly make the journey, however congestion happens daily and there should have been another crossing between Blackwall Tunnel and Dartford many, many years ago. Regularly there is only 1 ferry working.

Of a weekend there are miles a tail backs due to volume of traffic, not any particular problem. Build another crossing urgently (preferably one with no tolls) like the people who live towards the West of London have.

DA4 0BD Personal response

Good afternoon,

Yes I am a regular user of the Blackwall Tunnel and at times of the Woolwich Ferry crossing. I am glad to see plans for additional river crossings nearby to allow congestion to be eased at these pinch points. However I'm not very happy about the prospect of paying for river crossings. If these crossings were free to use, I am all for them. Would also be interesting to see how further pinch points at the Connaught Bridge and Roundabout and the Canning Town roundabout would cope with the much increased traffic flow.

Regards

E16 1FT Personal response

Hi Andrew, I am affected by the delays at the Blackwall Tunnel on a daily basis, I live in Erith and work in East London. I use my car on a daily basis both to commute to work and to do my job and on a daily basis I am delayed by the congestion along the A102 tunnel approach. If there is a breakdown or an accident at the tunnel, invariably I am late for work, also the delays at the tunnel often do not clear until almost midday!! The Dartford tunnel which is near to me is no good as it would add miles to my journey and my costs also its the same with the Rotherhithe tunnel as I would have to go out of my way to use it. The queues at the Woolwich crossing means that its not a viable option either especially in the winter when the boats are liable to be docked due to bad weather, etc. There are not enough crossings over the Thames in East London which is pretty evident by the delays at the Blackwall Tunnel on a daily basis. I have to check the traffic report every day just to judge how long it will take me to get to work and my employers are fed up with me stating the Blackwall tunnel as the reason for me being constantly late for work!! PS the delays at Blackwall Tunnel is a permenant fixture in the traffic reports. Leaving home earlier is not an option as I have young children to take to school etc and in any case the delays at the tunnel often start from before 7:00 meaning that I just sit in traffic for longer anyway. Something needs to be done to address this shambles!! Regards

DA8 1EH Personal response

Dear Andrew Miles

Thanks for contacting me concerning the proposed new road tunnel in East London.

I am affected everyday I go to work or go out for leisure and other activities by the problems of the Blackwall Tunnel.


Firstly, anytime there is a closure of the Blackwall Tunnel, the traffic congestions affects us from Greenwich up to Woolwich. All the adjacent roads become unusually busy causing traffic blockage around Woolwich because all the Blackwall Tunnel traffic are diverted to the Woolwich Ferry which in turn cause a lot of road traffic blockage around the Woolwich Ferry roundabout due to the extra Blackwall Tunnel traffic.

Secondly, due to the heavy traffic at peak times of the day I have resorted to using Trains only during these times. I no more use Buses due to road blockages, heavy traffic etc due to the heavy traffic approaching the Blackwall Tunnel.

I have been late for meetings due to the problems of the Blackwall Tunnel.

These are just a few of my experiences that I encounter due to the blockage of the Blackwall Tunnel.

Thanks & Regards

Hi Andrew,I regularly travel to visit customers in boroughs such as Bexley and Woolwich from where I am based in Hertfordshire. Owing to the amount of materials and equipment required for use on customer sites, it is not feasible to use public transport - I can imagine a lot of workers in fields such as construction and buildings/grounds maintenance have similar issues.

It is all very well for the green lobby to suggest improvements in public transport, and incentives to walk and cycle over improvements to our road infrastructure, but they forget that people have to build and repair their houses and offices, and transport goods, products, and mail by road.

The congestion and difficulty in trying to reach customers in south east London is a significant cost and barrier to doing business in the area - we currently actively operate a policy of recharging customers for expenses incurred, so people within the congestion charge zone have to cover our congestion charge and parking costs (where appropriate). Being based in a rural location, we also have specific vehicles to travel into the London green zone, which cost more to operate and store (there is a significant problem with theft of diesel cats from commercial vehicles stored in rural areas surrounding London) - again, these costs are recouperated from London customers.

We currently attempt to have staff leave early from home in the morning, and early from customer sites to reduce wasted time sitting in traffic, however, this is not always possible. Similarly, should any traffic incident occur at Dartford or Blackwall, the entire area comes to a standstill, with the resultant queues for the Woolwich ferry backing up for some distance. The road network definitely needs further investment to avoid wasted man-hours sitting in traffic at Blackwall or Woolwich - both a bridge at Galleon's reach and the Silvertown tunnel will go some way to assisting with this, as would an M25 in Essex to M2 link motorway and river crossing east of Tilbury - which would free up capacity at Dartford. Again, if road pricing were introduced, we would just recharge our London customers this cost.

My final point is that northbound crossings for Heavy Goods Vehicles are very few and far between, especially those travelling with dangerous goods. Tower Bridge has an 18T weight restriction, The Rotherhithe Tunnel has a Width restriction. The Blackwall northern tunnel is old and has a height restriction, and both Blackwall Tunnels have restrictions on dangerous goods being carried (cat E). Dartford meanwhile has cat C goods restriction, and the woolwich ferry is subject to controls on certain goods being carried. Vehicles travelling north


Personal response

over the Thames therefore have to take a route around via West London. A D3 bridge at Blackwall for medium distance traffic would resolve this issue (the tunnels could then be used for local traffic only.

Regards,Dear Andrew,

Thanks for your email.

I have been using the Blackwall Tunnel to commute, by car, from Petts Wood to Blackfriars for the past 15 years. It is a very miserable experience. On days when I want to avoid the misery, I have to leave home at 5.30am (arriving at work at about 6.15am), even though I needn’t be in work until 8 am or later.

The stretch of road on the A102 (northbound) between the Sun in the Sands roundabout and the entrance to the Blackwall Tunnel is pure gridlock during ordinary commuting hours in the morning, Monday-Friday. The precise hours of gridlock vary from day to day, though it is virtually guaranteed between 7.30 to 9.30, and often much earlier (until much later). In those conditions, it takes 1 hour or more to move from Sun in the Sands roundabout to the Blackwall Tunnel. Progress is painfully slow. It is made worse by cars and other vehicles attempting to move from the left hand lane to the right hand lane just as they are about to enter the height-restricted filter lane, forcing traffic to brake just as it is about to flow into the tunnel.

Once through the tunnel, many vehicles head straight on towards the A12/A13, rather than turning left towards the City. As I know from my own occasional attempts to get to areas in East London or Essex (e.g. Beckon, Ilford etc), drivers are forced to take the Blackwall Tunnel due to the lack of river crossings between Blackwall and Dartford and the wish to avoid becoming stuck in gridlock on the M25. If the Silvertown Tunnel is built, one would expect it to alleviate some of the pressure by allowing a significant proportion of the traffic to divert off towards Essex etc a good distance from the Blackwall Tunnel.

Good luck with the project!

Kind regards,

EC4Y 7DS Personal response

Dear Andrew

I am a resident who lives in central Greenwich and I also work in an office on Greenwich Peninsula.

I am regularly affected by the Blackwall Tunnel congestion in both a commuting and non commuting perspective.

In terms of commuting if I either drive or catch the bus from Greenwich town centre to the Peninsula both modes of road travel are regularly impacted by the delays which the Blackwall Tunnel suffers from. For instance if there is a closure the tailbacks jam up Blackwall Lane and the Old Woolwich Road and adjacent junctions so much so that traffic which is not travelling through the tunnel is severely impacted. It is not uncommon for a 10-15 minute journey to become a 45 minute journey, or on some occasions longer as the alternative is to jump off the bus and walk!

In addition to my travels to work I drive through the Blackwall tunnel and have experienced long delays so much so that I regularly change my travel times to avoid any congestion and this can be at any time of the day / night weekday or weekends.

SE10 9LD Personal response

Finally I sit in an office on Level 9 on Greenwich Peninsula and I overlook the Blackwall Tunnel and virtually everyday I look out of the window and see the traffic tailing back along the A102 (as it is now at 10.37am). This view is, to me, more than a little annoying especially when I take into account that your proposals have a protest group against you and for the life of me I cannot fathom out why a perfectly acceptable solution would be further infrastructure investment through the construction of a further tunnel. London is growing and needs its infrastructure and I whole heartedly support your proposal so much so that I am thinking of starting a 'YES to Silvertown Tunnel' group.

Good luck and if you need anything further from me just let me know.

Hi,

Firstly I would like to thank you for the opportunity to comment on this topic.

I work in Greenwich in an office in Blackwall Lane that overlooks the A102. I live close to Ashford and commute Monday to Friday. There is no easy public transport links; I would have to train into London and back out and the cost would be prohibitive and journey times longer.

Whilst I do not use the tunnel I am greatly affected by it. The drive from Ashford to Greenwich is exactly 54 miles. The first 50 miles takes less than 1hr, the remaining 4 miles takes 30 minutes mainly due to the congestion caused by the tunnel. This is on an average day not taking into account the utter chaos caused by accidents and over height lorries. During school holidays, and assuming no problems with the tunnel, the full journey takes just over an hour meaning that traffic congestion from the tunnel accounts for 30 ish minutes or a 1/3 of my journey time.

From my office I have a very good view of the A102 and one thing I have noticed is that the congestion lasts far longer than the rush hour (often past 11am) which suggests that the tunnel is at far over capacity for much of the day and not just rush hour. I also notice that Police response times to accidents and incidents are impressively quick but the impact of even a minor accident is often huge.

I have worked in Greenwich for 25 years and I think that the traffic in all that time has remained reasonably consistent (or at least journey times have). I have always wondered why there are no tolls for the tunnel (although I appreciate that space may be limited) as it is likely that a great deal of the traffic is to avoid paying tolls on the M25 crossing. This traffic can only get worse with the number of developments taking place in and around Greenwich even if car parking is to be limited.


Personal response

Dear Sir,

Thank you for your email re the River Thames Crossings.

I am retired, and I live in Woodford Green. Most of my relations live in the East Susses area, so if I want to visit them (and we are all getting on, now), it means that my wife and I have to cross the Thames at some point.

We used to use the Blackwall Tunnell most of the time, but over time, traffic has built up to such an extent that it makes the whole journey a very long affair. At one stage, admittedly some years ago, it used to take us 2 hours to get down to Hastings, but it is usually more like 3 or 4 hours nowadays. You can, of course, be lucky and it might only take 2.5 hours or so, but that is not the usual way it happens.

IG8 9DD Personal response

Since the Dartford Crossing opened, the queues for traffic crossing southbound have , at first, become less, but that soon changed, and we now use the A406, down to the A13, where we turn left and motor along to the M25 where we turn right and start our crossing of the Thames. This is now a particular headache (or was until very recently) because of the tolls holding up the traffic - wherever there are tolls, there are delays. Even the most recent filming of traffic with the tolls either pre-paid or paid within 24 hours cause delays.

Returning at night from Sussex, the picture is even worse. There is almost always a queue for at least 5 miles (often as far as 10 miles in not unknown), and after a long day driving first down to Sussex and then back to London again, makes the whole journey impossible. Nowadays, I rarely see my brothers in East Sussex, simply because the whole journey has slowly become a nightmare. Once you are on a motorway and in a line of slow-moving traffic, there is NO escape. On occasions, we have left Bexhill before 6pm and not got home until after v10.30 or 11.00 at night.

Why on earth would anyone want to put up with that?

The answer to the problem is to create more crossings, WITHOUT TOLLS, so that traffic can keep moving along smoothly - it is the stopping and starting that holds everyone up, and causes tempers to rise. The Government had made sufficient money out of the Dartford Crossing to pay for at least 2 more crossings since its inauguration.

I hope this does not sound too much like a rant, but it does get my hackles up when you see hundreds and hundreds of cars and lorries, queueing to cross the Thames, and knowing what it costs each driver or owner in toll fees.

Regards,

Hello miles Andrew :

Sorry it take me so long to reply this email ,I have been thinking how to write & how to start , I think today God giving me an idea to write this and how to Explain.Hope is not too late .

We live in shooters hill road , if on weekday you try to drive pass the tunnel you very sure will be late for work so ppl live this side of area will just take tube or park around north greenwich to get the tube.For the weekend is the road around this area is crazy , if you wanna go pass the tunnel we knew better get up early or leave house before 11:30 or 11 (sunny day) to avoid all the traffic, last time we did leave at 11:15 from our house to the tunnel only takes 4-5 mins, don't kno why tunnel is all pack and block , stuck for over 20 min saw lots police car passing by can tell was " An accident " again! And we won't be able to make the family gathering so half to call everyone cancel or change plan and waste our half day stuck on the road + baby crying and we Suffering by no breakfast or lunch . Living here over 5 yrs so our family or friends they understand but not very peaces with this. You can say there always other way to drive like :1)woolwich free ferry crossings2)can go pass greenwich -> new cross to go rotherhithe tunnelIf you only live here for a month u won't tell how stuck is live here. When we ask friend move to this said all the reply is : area live style is nice but no !the blackwall tunnel is pain in the ass! ( I kno that not very nice but that's what everyone said)Let's talk about how I feel the other 2. Way of getting out this area :If you say ferry is nice and easy ? U re wrong very wrong ! Aren't you no Security Awareness? If yes then go ahead , I won't follow you ;P

SE18 4NB Personal response

Everytime we try the ferry crossing on weekdays or Saturday (worst day to go this route ! ) yes the everyday has long queues and there not enough space for all the car queueing ! End up fighting with all those lorry &some cars ,it always start queues over the big roundabout then follow on the road ahead , it is not just blocking the road is very dangers ! First time pass that area cus we Tho Blackwell is block we try this route but we don't kno which way is the queue start and is very scary to try get space with all the lorry around you . So we give up , just went home. Last time we pass the ferry crossing was 4 years ago , we still can queue inside the waiting area .Then is the Rotherhithe tunnel !That's no way we can get to that point when the Blackwell tunnel is Close , cus will taking forever . If we want to get to Rotherhithe first need to pass new cross or greenwich market.Greewich (market )town area ( Tourists ,UNI area ) is always full of traffic , and full of bus as all the bus going this route ! So next choice is drive up to blackheath then go down to deptford bridge the to new Cross . Driving on the road is like women with fashion ! When you can want that everyone can too! So end up you will start stuck on blackheath all the way to new cross , don't think after new cross will be free , is not !!! New cross is an " traffic red zone "is 24 hours busy traffic full of cars !!!So you will start the second park of traffic jam sitting in the car for other an hour if Blackwell tunnel is open just pass new cross waste us 30-40 min always . If blackwall is close we will just stay home as after year & year life experience we learn not to go out if something happen on Blackwall tunnel .

Last few years our grandma start having Dementia ，she was living by herself Feel times she walk out forgot how to go home ,eminence fround her on the road mid the night , calling us to go over but we can't all because the blackwall tunnel is got some leak problem and doing refurbishment . So close one link lol ! So we need to drive pass Rotherhithe but can't be there as soon as we can will need to be an hour late cus is going a big detours in 2-3am! And we need to get back to work next morning , get to hospital at 3 am , waiting in hospital for all the paperwork and by time get grandma home was 5~6 am we can not go home as by time get home soon will be 7 need to get change & go work , so will need to go to near FDs home to rest a bit then go work , after surfing 2-3 yrs , road is not changing only getting worst & worst more busy then ever , we decide put her in care home . Is sad but she get the best look after from other people.And now at the Charlton is building new ikea & more shopping area , it will just get even more traffic , more crazy in this area .Young People will just move out of this end . Cus around my friends group if they gave a choice will buy over the river cus don't want the trouble with the tunnel , people left here is all because family (mum&dad) is this side & they getting old better live near easy to look after them .We did think of move but we also don't want driving back pass the blackwall tunnel on mid of the night ...

You can check how many car by register in this end , see each year the number of ppl increase in this area . Is not as same as 2 years before . Even greenwich UNI kno student is getting too much knowing need to increase their campus ,and why the tfl or Government don't ? Is it because there can't see any business or opportunity?

It looks like living here have many way out to london but what you think is not what you see , is like Checkmate! The outside option is not an option :(Hope this can more clear , & help you & other people understand what problem in this end.Have a good day .

I frequently use Blackwall Tunnel en route to the M1. Although my journey to Northampton is just 85 miles, I have to allow a minimum of 3 hours in case of problems on the motorway. This is exacerbated by the strong possibility of extraordinary hold-ups at the tunnel. In order to be able to negotiate the tunnel and its approach within 30 minutes, I have to arrive before 0600 hours. Hence to arrive in Northampton for 10:00 a.m., it is necessary to leave home (approx 6 miles from Blackwall Tunnel) around 05:30 a.m.


It is quite ridiculous to have to allow 4 ½hours for a journey that consists of 22 miles through London via the Tunnel and North Circular and 60 miles of motorway; a journey that should take no more than 2½hours.

Regards

Yes we are at times severely impacted by the blackwall tunnel. We live in Greenwich and the tunnel impacts our lives daily.We have to approach the tunnel via blackwall lane and at times this can be queued back to trafalgar road. The issue here is we used to drive to the North Greenwich jubilee line station and the this 2 mile route can take 45 mins when the road is bad and this has made us late for appointments.I have also personally walked along blackwall lane when the traffic was crawling and the air pollution was very noticeable. The worry is here there are schools along this route.Once you are on the A road going into the tunnel, although slow as the 3 lanes convert into two, you generally do keep moving.When the tunnel is closed then it is near impossible to get to the other side. The roads gridlock everywhere be it rotherhide or even the ferry approach and you may as well not bother. In west London there are at least 10 other bridges you can use, east of tower bridge it is nightmare.We do need at least one more crossing although I do not think using the same approach road south of the river will work as this road can get congested as far back as kidbrooke

SE10 0GA Personal response

Re:River crossing

I use the Blackwall tunnel daily for commuting and have done for about 4 years. I travel from Welling to Poplar. I am GP and need to be in at work before 8 most days. In order to make this time i need to leave home at 7. The same journey in non-peak hours will take me 20 mins. Sometimes my morning commute can take 50mins to an 1hr and 45 mins. It is the sheer congestion along the A2 and the tunnel approach which causes problems, but on the days where there are breakdowns, accidents, tunnel closures or bad weather driving is incredibly difficult and often dangerous. Due to frustration and need to get through the tunnel, other motorists will often make sudden lane changes and there is also the added problem of motorbikes weaving in and out of lanes at speed.As an example this morning (1/5/15) i left home at 7am, it took 45 mins of waiting at the sun in the sands round about waiting to join the traffic on the A2. There was a broken down heavy goods vehicle and some sort of car accident. My total journey time was 1hr 30mins.

Some interesting observations are during the summer months the congestion does seem to be better, but we have noticed that in recent months even this has changed. A few years ago during school holidays the A2 would be clear and traffic would flow well, this is not always the case now.

The unpredictable nature of the tunnel does affect your day to day activities as you need to allow considerably more time to get to work. Also i worry about the cost of petrol whilst sitting in traffic.

Some years ago the police used to monitor the traffic which would help the traffic move better but this has not been the case for many months. I wonder if having a regular police presence would be a cheap way of easing the traffic.

I think introduction of another crossing is vital to growth and development of south London. For me personally if the congestion continues at the same rate then i will have to consider changing jobs to avoid it.I think introducing a toll charge for peak times would be a good way of reducing the congestion at the tunnel and i would be happy to pay for it. I also wonder whether heavy goods vehicle could only use the tunnel before 6am and after 10am.

I hope these comments and experiences help the consultation process.thanks

DA16 2EP Personal response

Andrew,

Thank you for your email and giving me the opportunity to provide feedback regarding my experiences.

I use the Blackwall Tunnel two or three times a week to visit my elderly parents in East London. These journeys are made outside of the

DA16 1SA Personal response

morning peak. I travel from south of the river to the north and my experience over the last couple of years has been a nightmare frankly.

Obviously an increase in traffic is a major factor regarding the congestion at the tunnel but the problems started when the contraflow was withdrawn and the Police were handed responsibility for managing the tunnel. I really cannot understand why the tunnel has to completely close to recover broken down vehicles - a single broken down motorcycle results in a complete closure! With every minute the tunnel is closed, tens of cars and lorries are backed up. Often i have crawled along from the Woolwich flyover and indeed on a few particularly bad occasions from the Sun in Sands roundabout.

My other observation regarding traffic build up at the south side is to do with the overheight vehicle lane. Driver unfamiliar with the road layout here quite often cut in to the right when traffic merges from the left hand lane. I often see cars that do not need to enter the overheight lane enter. Better signage may possibly alleviate some confusion. Perhaps signage could be placed further up the road indicating that only lorries should use the left hand lane 1 and that cars and vans should use lanes 2 & 3.

Lastly, the installation of traffic lights at the junction with Lochnagar St has been a disaster. This causes unnecessary tailbacks. Very few vehicles appear to make a turn into these side roads. Again, I have witnessed countless occasions when vehicles drive up an empty lane 3 only to cut in at the traffic lights because they are too impatient to wait in the queue of traffic. Has consideration been given to install a kerb between lanes 2 & 3 to stop people cutting in?

I have been making this journey for the last 20 years and nothing has been achieved in terms of infrastructure improvements. Different mayors have come and gone with promises to improve traffic flow and air quality in this part of East London but no progress has been achieved. This area desperately needs at least two new crossings in order to accommodate the growth this part of East London is forecast to hit.

Kind regards

Miles,

The problems with congestion at Blackwall are very different depending on time of day, day of the week, or direction of travel.

Since the removal of tidal flow a few years ago, things have improved for morning north/south travel. For example, I can leave home (Wanstead) at 7.30am and usually travel via the A12/A106(M) though the tunnel without too much delay. However, there are always queues at this time on the southern side. The new tunnel needs to address these load balancing issues.

Sunday evening is another problem, since we often visit an elderly relative who lives in Deptford. Returning through the tunnel from South to North is not an option due to congestion, so we usually use Rotherhithe.

Perhaps the biggest problem in East London is the lack of redundancy in the system. Any problems on M25 at Dartford Crossing, or Woolwich Ferry, invariably results in huge flows on A406 and through Blackwall. Unfortunately such problems happen much too often these days.

Regards,


Personal response

Dear Mr Miles

Thanks for your email of 24th April. I am affected by the Blackwall Tunnel delays on a daily basis. My journey is normally 40 minutes without any delays in the Blackwall Tunnell but when there is congestion at the Tunnel my journey time is between 50-60 minutes. On some occasions the congestion is so bad at the Blackwall Tunnel that I abandon attempting to go through the Tunnel and take some other route normally through the centre of London. If I do that my journey sometimes takes up to 2 hours instead of 40 minutes. On a weekly basis my journey time is extended at least 3 out of every 5 days. On an annual basis I sometimes have to abandon going through the Tunnel at all four or five times a year.

There have been proposals for an East London River Crossing since the 1970’s if not earlier and consecutive governments have done nothing about this at all. There is now a proposed vanity project of building a garden bridge in Central London. A garden bridge is not required at all in Central London and will probably affect the beautiful views of the river that are currently enjoyed by tourists. However, what is required is another East London River Crossing which is desperately required as thousands of people on a daily basis suffer delays on their daily journeys. These daily journeys are exacerbated when there is a problem with the M25 crossing at Dartford where all the traffic then diverts to the Blackwall Tunnel in order to try and cross the river.

There is more than a pressing need for another river crossing particularly because the decision to build one has been deferred for at least 40 years. A crossing is either required in Thamesmead or as close as possible to the existing Blackwall Tunnel. Having another crossing near the Rotherhithe Tunnel is not going to alleviate problems as generally only local traffic tends to use the Rotherhithe Tunnel as there is no major arterial road by the Rotherhithe Tunnel other than the A11. The advantage of the Blackwall Tunnel is that the A12/A102M is a major artery into London from Kent which then leads up to the A11 and the North Circular.

Regards


Personal response

Hello

Here are a few comments with respect to your email about Blackwall Tunnel experiences.

1. Planning a meeting at a specific time is always difficult as a smooth journey cannot always be guaranteed due to unexpected delays at the tunnel. Leaving early, without problems being experienced, results in driving around wasting time at the destination or paying exorbitant parking fees.

2. If a problem at the tunnel just affected tunnel users that would be more bearable but the areas around the tunnel are also affected. My 20 minute drive to work has taken up to three hours on a couple of occasions. That was due to roundabouts being blocked especially the one near the Holiday Inn close to Blackwall Lane in Greenwich.

3. Things have been worse since the contraflow in the south bound tunnel was ended several years ago.

I am sure I could think of other problems but the inability to plan something within reason is the main problem.

Cheers.

SE28 0HQ Personal response

Hi

We live in the East Greenwich area. The congestion in the area during the weekday peak hours paralyses the roads. In particular woolwich

SE10 0DG Personal response

road, Trafalgar road and Blackwall lane are bad. Although not the only culprit, the main source of this congestion is back up from the Blackwall tunnel. If there is an accident or other problems, the congestion is worse.

My wife works in Canary Wharf and the bus ride down to North Greenwich, which should take 5 mins, regularly takes up to 30 mins. The only public transport option in the peninsula area is buses, and the congestion cripples the services.

A new river crossing for the peninsula to relieve the congestion is essential, especially now that ikea has been approved and will likely mean that the congestion at the weekend worsens. TFL should also consider addressing the junctions onto the A102. The Blackwell lane junction is not the best and the junction with woolwich road is archaic. The lights are all wrong and the junction is dangerous. It's only a matter of time before there is a serious accident here.

Hope that helps.

Regards

Andrew,

Some examples from us - we live in E16 2ST in North Woolwich

(1) we used to use a childcare provider 'Camp Beaumont' who operates during school holidays from Colfe School SE12 8AW - however this year we have decided to make other arrangements north of the river as the tunnel makes the short journey too hard for all but especially kids in the summer (and we are not the only parents we know who have given up).

(2) we attended the Blackheath Conservetoire for a piano exam scheduled at 11am - we arrived at 10am as there turned out to be no traffic - we had to pay extra parking fees and wait around for an hour - so even when its clear it has to be planned for and causes wasted time and money.

(3) we return from holiday in France by car - channel tunnel is 45 minutes - UK motorway is 1 hour - but then just before reaching home one hits 'the tunnel' and sit around the corner from home for an hour after a long day's driving across the continent.

(4) we find it painful to visit friends across the river in Shooters Hill even on a Sunday (we can see them from our window across the river) as there will always be a delay coming back home on a Sunday evening - so even nipping around the corner to see friends is too much.

(5) we don't shop in Woolwich (M&S, Costco and so on) even when their internet branch finder reports them as the nearest branch - their route finders can't factor in the tunnel.

The tunnel is a big psychological barrier which affects every aspect of movement in East London.

Yours

E16 2ST Personal response

Hi; E14 9UP Personal response

I stay in docklands (e14 9up) and my son goes to a school in blackheath (SE3 0NJ) and the distance is 6.2 miles!

route 1: if i decide to take a car the drive from dockland to blackheath is 15 mins while the drive back is minimum 45 mins to an hour. that too if you are lucky!!

route 2: i go by the local transport and the travel is dlr from mudchute to lewisham --> bus 89 (which never arrives as per schedule even though its the starting point) --> get down at st germans place --> drop the kid --> take 108 to north greenwich --> jubilee line to canary wharf. it still takes me an hour but at least i am not the one driving!!

something needs to be done and done fast. sorry about the grunt but i have been doing this since the past 3 years and hence the frustration.

Best Regards.Hello,

Thanks for contacting me about this.

I live in east London and I am greatly affected by the traffic for the Blackwall Tunnel.

On a normal day there are usually lots of delays during the rush hours but if there is any problem in the tunnel or the surrounding approach roads for the tunnel, the whole of east London can come to a complete standstill. I know that this is not the case if any of the crossings in the west of London were unavailable, there are many alternatives in the west of London that the east do not have.

Personally, I have been greatly affected by the problems with the tunnel. Due to a problem with an accident near the tunnel approach the roads in east London were heavily congested. I could not get to my university in south London on time and I even missed a deadline for coursework submission which affected my final grading. This is a real example of the effect of congestion related to the Blackwall Tunnel. I am sure there are many others with more critical situations.

To the east of Tower Bridge there are two road crossings until the M25 in Dartford. To the west of Tower Bridge there must be around two dozen. This greatly affects the flow of people from north-east to south-east London.

Another example is that people in east London would not think it is wise to cross the river for leisure or shopping and vice versa. For example, I live only on the other side of the big shopping centres in Woolwich and Thamesmead but I would never go there and would rather make the longer journey elsewhere in east London like Stratford or Ilford to get what I need. I am sure that the number of people crossing the river for shopping or leisure purposes would greatly increase in the area.

I hope that this information is useful.

Kindest regards,

E13 9BT Personal response

Hi Andrew, SE13 5TA Personal response

I live very close to the Blackwell tunnel and yet I rarely use it because the traffic congestion is SO awful I'd rather pay the congestion charge and drive over Tower Bridge, which is also horribly congested but unbelievably still take less time than waiting to get through the Blackwell Tunnel.

If I could use the Blackwell Tunnel (or another crossing) without queuing for up to an hour to get through it in the morning & evening it would totally change my commute/life. I would be able to claw back up to 2 hours of wasted time a day, I'd save money on fuel & maintaining my vehicle, I'd save money on childcare and actually see more of my children.

Pretty compelling reasons to pursue the new crossing I'd say....

Thanks,

My family live across the river. If I wanna visit them, it takes ages to get there and therefore we cannot see each other often. I love my family and I would love to spend more time with them and support in hard times, but it is so difficult. It is faster to fly to France than to get on the other bank of the river.It is important to enable pedestrians the access as well. The very first option is Tower Bridge which is bloody far away, hours and hours to walk. Why the West has so many bridges close to each other and we on the East do not have a single one? Why don't we have an opportunity to cross the river?I find it very unfair.

E14 8SN Personal response

Andrew,Whilst we do not have to use the Blackwall Tunnel on a regular basis, I have turned down lucrative design and build contracts just the other side of the river due to the congestion and difficulty accessing the tunnel which is no longer a viable crossing. We desperately need not one but two additional crossings and a tube link to open up the south east corner of London to the City and beyond.

SE9 1HH Personal response

Thank you for your email inviting comments with regard to the proposed Silvertown tunnel. I am in favour of this being developed asap and also for the other proposals for further river crossings to the east to also be developed.

Some specific comments:

As a resident of North Woolwich I feel that my capability will be enhanced to not just cross over to south London, but to also avoid jams in north London due to the current limited Blackwall tunnel capacity when the new tunnel is progressed. Examples being:

Although the Woolwich ferry is conveniently close, it is often subject to long delays, only operates one boat on Sundays and closes at 8pm. Thus it is not a viable and reliable way to cross the river for residents in this area.

I often visit parts of SE London and have been delayed for over 2 hours if the Dartford crossing is suffering from delays. As I then head across S London the traffic increases leading to serious further delays getting across the river at Blackwall. A problem on one crossing just leads to serious issues across the whole eastern river area, highlighting the current severe lack of capacity.

Trips to NE London can also be delayed if returning home in the afternoon, as the A12 S/bound heading to the Blackwall tunnel becomes

E16 2RT Personal response

jammed thus affecting all other traffic

If pricing is introduced to the new tunnel then the Woolwich Ferry should also have a fare imposed. I would suggest a high fare for commercial vehicles as this would move them toward the new tunnel and allow many more cars to take the ferry. Local residents either side of the river should be offered a certain number of free passes per month. I also feel that the ferry capacity should also be increased with later running in the evenings and two ferries in operation at all times.

One concern with the new Silvertown proposal is the roundabout at the north side. This needs to be carefully managed as the flow to / from the tunnel should not adversely impact current east - west traffic using that route, ( a vital link into the city from North Woolwich)

Although not directly linked, something must be done about the evening congestion heading north from North Woolwhich up to the A406 and A13.

Again I would stress my support for the new Silvertown tunnel but you must also ensure that the next bridge to the east is progressed in parallel

Finally an oddity that should be taken into account - when using major retail stores 'store locator' functions online, they will all tend to show stores south of the river as the closest for North Woolwich residents; even though the capability to get across the river from here is severely limited!

Hope comments of some use

With best regards

Thankyou for your email.

From 45 years ago, my father used BT every day to commute to his working place in Rainham, Essex. The route was congested then and has not improved since. The urgency of providing a new tunnel is pressing and has a far greater priority than any other infrastructure project in the UK. This is because there is congestion EVERY DAY,off peak as well as weekends. Yesterday (saturday) is typical. I used the tunnel northbound at 16.00 and southbound at 20.30. This is not peak travel time at all but the northbound tunnel was severely congested at both times.

I use the tunnel 6 x weekly and I estimate that I lose 2 hours every week, AS A MINIMUM, because of the congestion. This is simply not acceptable in a world city like London. The northbound tunnel is an embarassment and it should be a priority project.

I am personally offended that there should be any talk of charging, The cost of congestion to me is £200/week = £10,000 per year. That any Government would consider HS2 or Heathrow expansion before Silvertown is a travesty of fairness.

Together with the new tunnel, the connecting road system needs to be thought out properly. The original idea to use a series of roundabouts from the A12/13 needs to be revised.They will inevitably become bottlenecks.

I am very willing to be involved at any level of consultation.

SE3 7JU Personal response

I am a professional engineer with expertise in ferry systems.

Brgds

Hi Andrew,

We live in South East London but have family commitments north of the River in Essex and the North West. It is rare that we can cross the river without difficulty, especially going northbound through the Blackwell Tunnel always involving queuing for some considerable time. This is especially worse when there is an accident which frequently happens and we have to wait patiently to cross the river.

The difficulties in crossing the river by car has meant that I turned down a job in Essex as I did not want the worry as to whether I would have a crossing without issue.

More tunnels and bridges are required. I use public transport a lot however vehicle crossings need to keep pace with the rail links.

Kind regards,

SE6 4TR Personal response

Dear Mr Miles,

I have been driving to the City every day since 1992 and suffer the consequences at the Tunnel every day. I only use it in the mornings I couldn’t bear the thought of evening use which I’ve always found worse probably the filtering of so much traffic from major feeder roads. i guess that gives me plenty of experience to relate.

In my view we definitely need a new tunnel and the Silvertown proposal seems to be the best option otherwise there is too much upheaval in the surrounding areas and extra traffic on suburban roads with all the knock on effect that brings all of which I’m sure you’ve heard before. I join the A2 at the Danson Interchange usually around 7.45 and unless there is an accident or previous problems somewhere between there and the Tunnel the journey to the lights at Kidbrooke is usually straightforward as it is to to the Sun in the Sands and that is where the queue usually starts. From there if the traffic is moving and there are no problems with breakdowns in the Tunnel or the Woolwich Ferry isn’t working for some reason it will usually take me another 30 - 45 minutes to get through. So by that stage it has taken me between 45 minutes to an hour to travel 8 miles. Not very good is it ! This is a daily occurrence, not once or twice a week - daily.

I have tried over the years various other routes but sad to say the Tunnel is still the best option to get to the City in my view. It was easier when the contraflow system was operational and I cannot see why that was stopped. The reason put forward about the Police wanting to stop it in view of accidents in the Tunnel was complete rubbish. I have a friend who was a senior policeman in that area who told me that which was borne out by my own experiences. Driving through every day I saw none, not even a close shave. The decision was clearly political - shame on Boris Johnson who as part of his electioneering as Mayor collared the Bexley and surrounding area vote by promising to reverse the decision because he too thought it perverse but having got in he sat on his hands and when challenged he said it couldn’t be done. OK rant over.

The situation has got worse over the years as more traffic uses the Tunnel and as traffic numbers aren’t going to diminish another crossing or two is essential and to me the Silvertown Tunnel makes perfect sense. For me though time has run out as I retire at the end of June so no more time spent in queues with all that that entails. This new Tunnel should have been built 20 years ago. The traffic at the Tunnel in 1992

DA5 1DD Personal response

when I first started to use it daily was as bad then as it is now so my final question is why has it taken so long for TfL or whoever was it’s predecessor to do something about it. It would have saved me a lot of time, trouble, fuel costs and wear and tear on 5 cars if they had.

Happy to give further input if you require.

Regards

Dear Andrew Please find my responses below. Are you often delayed by congestion at the Blackwall Tunnel? Yes - every day there is heavy congestion. And this delays me on my journey into North Greenwich, whether by bus or my husband dropping me off in the car. However the real issue is when there is a breakdown or some other incident - then the roads are GRIDLOCKED and it can take hours to just get around the local area. The last time this happened to me I arrived at North Greenwich to catch a bus home at 17.30. I had to go to back on the Tube to Canning Town as I couldn't queue for a bus to take me home as there was so many people and the buses were just crawling around. I then had to take the DLR to Woolwich and from there I had to walk home on pollution chocked streets from stationery traffic. I arrived home at 19.05. My husband who had got on to a 422 arrived home at 1930. Absolute chaos and a horrible end to the day. It is an embarrassing fact that all guests that travel to ours for visits have a fear and phobia of the Blackwall tunnel - there was a time not long ago that guaranteed there was some works or closure that would affect people getting to us. Sitting around the dinner table waiting for guests for dinner and 2 and a half hours later they arrived stressed up to their eyeballs as they've had to go back onto the M25 to then come via the A2 to us as something was wrong with the Blackwall. My parents were delayed to return by train from Kings Cross due to congestion and the taxi couldn't get them there on time - luckily their story held some sway with the ticket office there and they gave them a pass to travel even though their ticket stipulated a time of travel. How does a lack of river crossings in east London affect your everyday travel?The volume of traffic of everyone cramming into the tunnel affects my every day travel. If there is one Woolwich ferry service this makes it worse - if there is no Woolwich ferry due to fog this makes it horrendous. If there is a breakdown in the tunnel or an incident it's worse as detailed above, but everyday congestion adds time to my journey - up to 20 minutes EXTRA to make the journey to North Greenwich from Charlton. Sometimes I get out of the car due to being stuck in traffic in Bugsby's Way so that my husband can return via the Sainsbury's retail park and I can try and get on a bus in Millennium Village. This adds 20 minutes to my journey and I've already been travelling 10 minutes to get to the dome. It used to take 15 minutes to get on the 486 to the dome in the mornings twenty minutes maximum. Now the buses are full and even then with less stops it can easily take 30 minutes. I do not even consider taking the 422 in the mornings now - but that's as much to do with congestion heading into Greenwich as it is the Blackwall tunnel traffic. Kind regards

SE7 8ED Personal response

Dear Andrew, SE10 9PD Personal response

Thank you for your email. We use the tunnel regularly, four times a week mornings and evenings, to get to Bethnal Green to look after our granddaughter. We find the congestion in the Tunnel is always bad at the times we need to cross the river. We have to travel northbound to arrive no later than 8.45am and for this journey we need at least an hour, for a journey which under normal traffic conditions should take no more than 20 minutes. Our southbound journey at 6pm is also congested, with traffic tailing back beyond Bow roundabout. This journey also takes an hour. If there is any problem, eg an accident or breakdown in the Tunnel, this has a serious knock-on effect for traffic in the Greenwich area, particularly Trafalgar Road and Bow. Sometimes, when congestion is bad, we are forced to use Rotherhithe Tunnel as an alternative river crossing. We are concerned that if a charge for Blackwall and the new tunnel is levied, drivers may opt to use Rotherhithe, causing further havoc to already heavy through-traffic in east and central Greenwich. If you levy a charge on Rotherhithe, where do you stop? Clearly East London with its rapidly increasing population is in desperate need of further river crossings, a tunnel and even another bridge above the Blackwall Tunnel, linking the A102 north and south of the river.Thank you for consulting us.Yours sincerely,

Hi

In response to your previous correspondence I would like to state how the Blackwall Tunnel affects me.

I have lived 'south of the river' virtually all my life (so far!) and have worked in North/East london for the last twenty five years.I think I know how the lack of crossings affects the area.

I have seen a gradual, steady decline in the speed of my journey, from approximately 1 to 1.25 hours in 1989 to around 1.5 to 2 hours on average today. This is for approximately the same journey. I must add that now I have to leave home 2 hours earlier to achieve these times. If I were to leave home at the 1989 time, then the journey would undoubtedly be around 2 hours daily.So you can see the deteriation of the journey times for yourself.

I have seen differing attempts to increase traffic flow withvarious levels of sucess. For example, There used to be a 'contra-flow' from south to north at certain times during rush hour and this was an unqualified sucess - traffic really did flow so much better when this scheme was in operation, but it was deemed unsafe and was stopped in about 2007, I think.Another idea was to have Police officers controlling the flow of traffic near the Blackwall fly over. This worked locally but had the affect of slowing down the flow further back.During the Olympics in 2012 and the lead up to them, the Kidbrooke traffic lights were altered to achieve a much slower pace of traffic to the tunnel from the Sun in the Sands. It did just that, but the traffic, way back past the Eltham tunnel every morning, was the result.

In my view there are FOUR major reasons why there is congestion at the Blackwall Tunnel every day.

1. There is no other FREE driving route to cross the riverfrom the southeast london area, apart from the heavily congested Rotherhithe tunnel.

2. The punitive Tolls/Congestion charge at Dartford force drivers to use the free Blackwall.

3 The london Congestion charge forces people from south london over to Blackwall.

DA1 2JF Personal response

4 Lack of any real alternative for the commuters from south east london/North kent to travel in. Rail costs are prohibitive.

Unfortunately, by 2021, I will, hopfully, be retired, so I will not personally benefit from a new, shiny tunnel but it would i am sure, transform peoples journey in and out of london.Obviously the knock on benefits for the environment would be very beneficial as well as possibly inticing business investment to the area.

Thank you for contacting me, and I look forward to watching the development unfold.

This is the closest we have been to a new crossing for years and it rather exciting.

I do hope it happens!

Regards

Hi Andrew,

My experiences with the Blackwall tunnel depend on whether I'm heading northbound or southbound. Northbound, I always experience delays of at least 15 minutes, more often 25 minutes, to enter the tunnel. This is at off peak times and generally at the weekend. Traffic starts to slow through Blackheath (I head from Forest Hill).

The delays are mainly in the approach on the A102 and often start from the junction worn the A206.

Southbound is generally not an issue and the delays I've experienced are generally up to 20 minutes.

There is a lot of lane changing going northbound and the I think this would be improved by the proposed additional tunnel.

Thanks.

SE23 2XP Personal response

I use the Blackwall Tunnel everyday - to and from work and, at times, on weekends. On a good day, the congestion at the tunnel adds at least 20 minutes to my journey time; it is usually longer whenever there is an incident in the tunnel. I live in Woolwich (south of the Thames). The only means currently available to me for crossing the river is the Blackwall Tunnel and, to some extent, the very unreliable Woolwich ferry. On a working day, the Woolwich ferry is not an option at all. Any project that would really ease the congestion at the Blackwall Tunnell will be a most welcome development - provided this does not impose an addition financial burden, by way of toll fee, to the already overstretched family finances.

SE18 5QX Personal response

I use the tunnel a few times a week to get from Eltham to the Isle of Dogs to visit family. They, and other family & friends, are reluctant to travel south of the river due to congestion at Blackwall.Even outside of rush hour a 20min journey door-to-door north of the river can take an hour, very frustrating. Weekdays, I try to leave after 10.30am (using the BBC traffic camera website to check first) & always try to cross back to south London before 4pm due to traffic buildup

SE9 6BF Personal response

around the A13 & surrounding areas towards the tunnel.

Family members north of the river avoid shopping & visiting SE London & vice versa, I avoid going north due to the unpredictable traffic at Blackwall.

Mainline trains are far from my home & too irregular at weekends. There's no DLR in Eltham or Kidbrooke & the bus that crosses the tunnel is always stuck in traffic. The Woolwich ferry is often down to one service & even then, takes a long time to board.

I work as a private hire cab driver. I've had passengers abandon journeys with me and also had to detour to public transport stops instead. Flights have been missed. Journeys are made at ridiculously early times because of the unreliability of the tunnel.

For the staff and recovery service to be stationed to the north of the tunnel is farcical. I've had to leave my vehicle, by request of the staff, to explain to a foreign lorry driver that he has to divert for being over height.

Traffic at Dartford is also detrimental to the region and this is exasperated by the blackwall unreliability.

Please do remember to make any new crossing a toll crossing so as to tax the people of East and South East London. I look forward to the toll on all the other river crossings and on the M25 outside Heathrow.

My thanks to Boris and the team for doing so very little for so long.

DA4 9DT Personal response

It's almost Dickensian that the Blackwall Tunnel can cause such a huge delay to pretty much any journey from North to South or vice versa. During rush hour you know it is going to be dreadful but it's the uncertainty of travel times that is so painful. On a weekend you have no idea if you are going to sail through in a couple of minutes or queue for 30 minutes or more. There's little point in checking the travel news before you leave as it's often inaccurate, delays can happen at very short notice and, even without these issues there is very little alternative so you're delayed either way.

The sheer volume of traffic on a weekday rush hour surely proves the need?

SE3 0TP Personal response

Dear Andrew,

Please find below some of my experiences and issues with the lack of river crossings in East London: (we currently live in Thamesmead, Greenwich, London)- we almost never access shopping areas and services to the north of the river as it takes a very long time to get there and come back, traffic at the tunnel is very heavy all the time and there has been a stand still every time I tried to cross in the past couple of months- the congestion also stops us from using other London services in the weekend and on days off- I almost lost a flight at Stansted Airport due to the congestion there- access to our nearest airport: London City is very bad because of the lack of crossings and the DLR doesn't always fit all needs- we have had to take Tower Bridge on several occasions as Blackwall itself gets shut over some weekend nights and other periods - we have always found this out as we were trying to enter the tunnel and it was shut leading to at least 1 extra hour of driving via central London in order to cross the river - AMAZING for 2015 I have to admit.. in a city that want to be among the world's first- East, north and Central London are very had to access from the South-East of London - especially places beyond Woolwich

SE28 8EP Personal response

The lack of river crossings in the East of London is, according to me, a serious lack of elementary infrastructure. I cannot understand how this situation came about but I believe it is an infrastructure emergency that needs tackling immediately. As far as I can tell East and South-East London are the highest opportunity growth areas in London because of large areas of undeveloped land, how are the tens and hundreds of thousands of new homes going to be serviced with such a gross lack of infrastructure?I don't believe I am overstating this by any means, I don't see how it can be possible to have sustainable and constant development in these conditions.

I believe that several road and rail river crossings are required as soon as possible, besides Silvertown, a new bridge at Gallions Reach and potentially one at Belvedere would make the situation better especially for the Thamesmead/Abbey Wood/Dagenham areas. Also a London Overground extension down south into Abbey wood station would link these areas much better on a rail connection as well.

Hope this helps if your efforts to understand the implications of the lack of essential infrastructure in London.

Kind Regards,Hi I used to work in South London in the Maudsley Hospital and surrounding area and it would take well over an hour on public transport changing transport at least 3 times.I was only able to manage this for just 12 months.A colleague of mine used to drive to Kings College Hosp and every day would complain about the tunnel congestion and would often extend her journey and go to Thurrock and cross to avoid the Blackwall tunnelI am now disabled and often cannot use public transport. I feel that I cannot apply for any jobs South of the River because of the congestion at Blackwall morning and evening. Therefore as a senior nurse I am kited to jobs local to me. If I have to go to South London or Kent then I will try and avoid the tunnels in the morn and eve. If the weather is hot or humid then it is stifling in the tunnels full of exhaust and smog and no or poor ventilation. With so many people living in east London /Essex and in east South London and Kent it is a disgrace that there are so few crossings for a modern Cosmopolitan city that is rapidly expanding east along the river.It is my opinion that there should be crossings at least every mile.What is absolutely essential is that the A406 /M11 is continued across the river as the bottom this is also a congestion spot if huge nuisance. Lots of traffic local and national come to this point and then must turn east or west contesting both the ways to Thurrock or Blackwall.I suspect that there is a huge amount of discrimination and racism connected to the fact that there are so few crossings in the areas of greatest poverty , congestion , pollution and ethnic minority communities.I work currently in Barking and Dagenham and meet adults born there who have never been to the other side of river in their lives !!Need I say more.

E12 5EN Personal response

I live in eltham road and work as a highway engineer for Waltham forest council. I drive past the tunnel both direction 5 times a week.In the morning my journey is approximately 1 hour provided that there are no accidents, rain, and other variables. On off peak times my journey is only a mere 25 minutes.I commute roughly 8am at which point when there are any accidents, breakdowns either on the approach to the tunnel or within the tunnel this extends the tailback as close to my house as possible and extends journey time fro 1 hour to 1.30 and beyond.

Same applies in the evening southbound which takes approximately 40-1hr around 4.30 and over 1 hour around 5 pm.

I hope the information i have provided is of use to you.

SE9 5LN Personal response

Kind regards,

I work as an IT consultant that requires I travel to a number of different customer sites. Where possible I take public transport but often customers are not near train stations.

I live in Eltham – when I need to go north of the river it regularly adds 30min to my journey in the morning (at any time after 5.45 up to 8.30) and at least the same in the evening (between 4 and 7). I had an assignment in Hatfield for a year – it meant that every day I spent over an hour sitting waiting to get through the Blackwall Tunnel – that is 5 hours a week, 20 hours a month or over 200 hours per year (i.e. over a week of my year was spent waiting at the Backwall tunnel).

Anything you can do to fix this misery will be greatly appreciated.

Regards,

SE9 1HQ No business name provided

Dear Sir,I am happy to give you my view on the Blackwall Tunnel which I use every day.The long delays each morning is so time wasting and costly in time and fuel, it is impossible to know how long it will take any morning. If I have an urgent appointment in east London or Romford for 7.30 or 8 am I am forced to travel through the Tunnel before 5.30am and just wait in my car until 7.30.The danger from all motorcycles that just overtake on the inside, ride on the centre line in the Tunnel causing traffic to slow down and in some cases stop or hit of the side. With the use of Camras the police should enforcer highway code, and the Tunnel should have signs to make it clear they should stay in the lanes.Any type of new crossing would be good for businesses and help to reduce pollution with the traffic just stopped for so long with engine running.Some of my colleagues just refuse to travel across the river as it just takes so long.

SE18 3PA Personal response

Dear Andrew,

Thank you for this opportunity to comment on the impact of the serious congestion at the Blackwall Tunnel. I first address your two specific questions, then I make some additional comments.

I am very often delayed by congestion at the Blackwall Tunnel; in fact, I cannot recall any occasion on which I have not encountered some congestion when using the southbound tunnel . When I use the southbound tunnel at peak times on weekday evenings to visit family, I typically encounter delays in excess of fifteen minutes. Furthermore, I note that the delays are significantly longer for those approaching the tunnel from the north via the A12. I very occasionally do not encounter congestion when travelling northbound through the tunnel late at night on a weekend, although traffic is still heavy.

The serious lack of river crossings in east London inevitably affects me whenever I travel to destinations to the south of London. I currently live in Westferry and, therefore, to reach most destinations south of London I need to travel to the M2, M20 or M25. To do so, my only realistic option is to travel southbound through the Blackwall Tunnel. Each of the available alternatives is entirely unsuitable for the following reasons:

E14 8SA Personal response

The Dartford Crossing

1. This would constitute a very substantial detour;2. The southbound bridge is itself often highly congested (and closed during high winds); and3. It is reached by the A13, which itself is often highly congested; and4. There is a substantial toll in addition.

The Rotherhithe Tunnel

1. It is itself often highly congested due to its very low capacity, being only one lane and having a 20mph speed limit and width restrictions; and

2. It is not connected to any high capacity southbound routes and therefore my journey time would be significantly lengthened from having to travel through low capacity, highly congested roads around Surrey Quays, Lewisham and Blackheath.

Tower Bridge

1. It is itself often highly congested due to its very low capacity, being only one lane, having a 20mph speed limit and periodically opening, even during peak times;

2. It is not connected to any high capacity southbound routes and therefore my journey time would be significantly lengthened from having to travel through low capacity, highly congested roads around Bermondsey and Lewisham; and

3. It is within the congestion charge zone and therefore I would incur the £10 charge if I were to use it on week days.

This serious congestion has major economic, health and environmental consequences across the whole of east and south London and beyond. It is completely absurd that the capital city of a very rich country is hamstrung by a major lack of basic transport infrastructure.

The consequences of this congestion are significant and far reaching. Its impact includes, but it not limited to:

1. Major knock-on congestion on other important routes, affecting large numbers of vehicles not crossing the river. These routes include, but are not limited to: the east and westbound A13, the southbound A12, and the northbound A102.

2. Major health risks for the local population - particularly the young, the elderly and those with respiratory conditions - arising from the increased atmospheric pollution from the from emissions from queuing traffic, particularly diesel vehicles.

3. Major economic damage to flagship commercial enterprises supporting economic development due to the lack of access. These include: London City Airport; the Olympic Park; the Westfield Centre at Stratford and the O2 venue, to name just a few.

4. Major economic damage to all other existing local businesses from lack of access for deliveries and customers.5. Major economic damage from the reduced incentive for new businesses and individuals to locate in and around east and south

London, which would support much needed redevelopment schemes. This has knock-on consequences for the rest of London where there is significant overcrowding and very high property prices due to demand.

6. Major economic damage across the whole of London and the rest of the country arising from delayed commercial journeys both for road freight and business travelers, who are affected by congestion at the Blackwall Tunnel or knock-on congestion at other crossings, particularly the Dartford Crossing.

7. Environmental damage arising from the increased emission of pollutants from queuing traffic, particularly diesel vehicles.

It is entirely clear that a new river crossing in East London, downstream of the Blackwall Tunnel and upstream of the Dartford Crossing, is urgently needed. The economic case for building the Silvertown Tunnel as soon as practically possible is unarguable and I consider that it should be given top priority, ahead of other transport infrastructure for which the case is often not so clear cut.

Yours sincerely,

Andrew, good afternoon

When I used to work the journey from home to Kent via the Blackwall Tunnel was always unpredictable and having to attend meetings/visits were difficult to judge in terms of timings etc., I am no longer a regular user of the Blackwall Tunnel however when I do use it coming back from Kent I always find that our 45min journey is extended up to 2 hours, we usually return from Kent around 14:00pm and sometimes we don't get back to East London until 16:00pm.

I think its important with Rotherhithe Tunnel being so small and old an additional crossing to South of the Water would not only benefit those that live north of the water but what I hear from family members it would also improve their day-day journeys to and from work especially when the M25 is not moving smoothly.

Hope this helps.

Regards

E1 0SF Personal response

Yes, the constant congestion prevents us from visiting, at normal times, friends and family who live just on the other side of the river. It would be a 15 minutes drive with normal traffic. However, when there are cues at the tunnel, we would rather Skype than face the congestion. It does have an impact on family/social life, for sure.

E6 5XE Personal response

Hi Andrew,So pleased to reply re the Blackwall Tunnel. We have family, friends and contacts north of the river. We have missed weddings, funerals and business meetings due to delays and closures of the tunnel. We have never, ever driven south or north without hold ups. We have never been informed of hold ups, congestion or traffic at a complete standstill. Are the loudspeakers at the entrance ever used ? More than once we have been diverted going north back south again without any police or signs as to why. It is not before time that something is being discussed about this stressful problem . We do hope in time a new tunnel will be built to alleviate this bottleneck for all concerned. We consider this matter to be of the UTMOST URGENCY.

We look forward to receiving further news regarding the tunnel.

BR3 3AS Personal response

In response to below:-

I live in SE18 and attend University in Mile End. I am also disabled and am unable to use public transport so am reliant on the Blackwall

SE18 1PN Personal response

Tunnel to get to university each day. The journey in the morning on a normal day takes roughly an hour. Which considering if I take the journey Southbound at about 12noon will only take about 30mins; as you can see this is excessive. The main hold up on my morning journeys is access to the Blackwall Tunnel. On the occasions when there has been an incident of some sort (breakdown/crash/so on) the journey can take anywhere upto 5hrs which has caused me to not make the trip if I am able too. To make sure I get to a lecture at 10am in the morning I will leave my home at 7:30am in case of incidents at Blackwall. This is the only way I can normally guarantee that I am not late for a lecture. This is obviously not suitable. I should not have to give myself 2.5hrs for a trip that ideally would only take 30-45mins. I cannot stress more the need not only for the Silvertown tunnel, which is FREE, but also another FREE crossing somewhere between Woolwich and Abbey Wood.

As someone that is reliant exclusively on road transport the need for more FREE road crossings in the East of London.Thank you for asking.

'Are you often delayed by congestion at the Blackwall Tunnel?'I am often delayed by congestion at the Blackwall Tunnel. I live on Victoria Park Road E9; the obvious route in and out of London is the A12/A102. But the Blackwall Tunnel can be awful at the times I often need to travel.

'How does a lack of river crossings in east London affect your everyday travel?'Example 1: If travelling to even the West Country (and certainly to anywhere South or South East of London), I would by far prefer to get out of London and use the M25. But, because of the Blackwall Tunnel congestion, I drive through central London instead, causing congestion where you least want it -Kings Cross/ Baker Street etc. Example 2: I'll sometimes avoid the Blackwall Tunnel by trying the Woolwich Ferry, but have recently found myself queuing for 30/40 minutes there. Example 3: this Easter I missed a channel ferry because of an accident on the Blackwall Tunnel approach. Accidents happen, of course, but without other viable crossings all of East London came to a halt and there were no ways round. We tried for a while (we had left plenty of spare time) but in the end had to go A12 to the M25 and then over the Dartford Crossing. We missed the ferry, had to pay to re-book, and for the Dartford Crossing, and were significantly late for our ongoing travel.

I also think that the risk of a serious engineering problem, or a terrorist incident closing the Blackwall Tunnel for a period would leave East London in massive trouble. We need a second crossing urgently.

Thank you,

E9 7NA Personal response

Hello Andrew

Many thanks for your email, I’m happy to give you a bit of insight into the problems I have experienced.

Background

Just to give you a bit of background; I live in Bexley, just off the A2 and work in Eltham, just further along the A2. My parents live in Gants Hill; my dad turned 100 last year and my mum although younger at 86 has osteoporosis and having suffered a spinal injury has to have regular pain killing injections to retain any mobility and so has regular trips to the hospital.

DA5 3BY Personal response

Commuting

In theory my commute should be an absolute pleasure being just about 2 miles away. The reality though is somewhat different. If you watch any of the local news programmes on morning TV you will know that the A2 from the Blackwall Tunnel backs up all the way to the ‘Sun in the Sands’ roundabout every morning just because of the sheer weight of traffic. On most days this continues to the Kidbrooke turn off and with any breakdowns or incidents either north or south of the tunnel frequently goes all the way to Dartford which is well beyond my Bexley junctions. It’s now a case of not even contemplating using the A2 for a morning journey into work so instead I use the smaller streets of Bexley and Blackfen Road which just adds to the school run traffic that happens every morning.

The return journey for me normally starts at 5.00pm so just early enough to avoid the worst of the traffic coming through the tunnel southbound on their way to Kent. If I leave just a few minutes late the traffic builds up to such an extent that it’s a slow crawl all the way home even though for a good part of the journey, the A2 has a slip road for my turn off.

In my view, this is simply because having just the one free crossing each way servicing the commuters at Blackwall that want to cross the river is completely insufficient.

Parents

The reason I mention my parents is that my dad is understandably quite frail and has had a few issues where literally I have had to drop everything and go straight over. I won’t tell you about all the journeys, but I will tell you about two that caused great concern to both me and my parents. The first was a Sunday morning when my dad was feeling unwell; I started my journey on the A2 and got no further than three hundred yards when the traffic just came to a standstill. So I decided to turn off at the Falconwood interchange and try the Woolwich ferry. Just my luck only one boat working and a queue for the boat that stretched 500 yards in either direction. Having got stuck in that traffic with no room to go past or turn round I had no choice but to wait. So leaving my house at 10.00am I finally arrived at my parents’ house at 2.00pm. Thankfully my dad was ok.

The second occasion was for a hospital appointment for my mum. She needed to check into Queens hospital at 07.30am so I left my house at 06.00 and guess what, the A2 from the Danson interchange had backed up already. Unfortunately you can’t see this before you enter the slip road so again I was stuck until I could turn off at the Falconwood turn off. Having turned off I headed back down the A2 and went through the Dartford crossing only just making it in time for my mums hospital appointment.

I know I’m not alone with this, so many people have a nightmare journey daily and it’s just unfair that if you live on the west side of London you have a number of free options to cross over but the poor relations only have one free crossing and one very expensive one. In addition to that can you imagine how much standing or crawling traffic adds to the overall level of pollution to this side of the capital.

Dear Andrew,

I am not a regular user of the tunnel, partly because of the unpredictable nature of the congestion affecting it but I do use it on occasions, as a resident of nearby Blackheath Standard.

I know if I try to use it as early as 6.30 in the morning, an hour before rush-hour traffic usually causes jams there can be tailbacks to the Woolwich Road flyover and a long wait to get through. Sometimes by joining at the Sun In The Sands roundabout to get off at Woolwich

SE3 8SX Personal response

Road flyover to go to Sainsbury's at Greenwich Peninsula, I can get stuck in traffic. Crossing Old Dover Road bridge just after 6am I can even see jams this early in the morning.

On a good day I can get from Hatfield to Blackheath Standard in 45 minutes, on a bad day it can take this long to get from the Bow Road flyover or Bromley-by-Bow station, through the tunnel to Greenwich peninsula then Blackheath.

Rotherhithe tunnel is not a good alternative as you have to head a long way West then back East again, Dartford Crossing is a long way away and you have to pay to cross. The Woolwich Ferry is slow, can involve a long wait and has limited opening times, as well as being at least two miles east.

The fact this is the link between the South and North Circular Road, in effect, is embarrassing, especially compared to West London.

The cancellation of plans for a Thames bridge at Thamesmead has set back development of East London on both sides of the river by some years.Given the amount of development and investment in the area since the London Docklands Development Corporation was created 34 years ago, it is an embarrassing public policy failure that only a cable car, which is barely used by commuters, if at all, has been added to East London Thames crossings since.

The Silvertown Tunnel would relieve congestion at Blackwall Tunnel, offering a more direct route, or at least an alternative to the North Circular Road, though the prospect of having to pay a congestion charge is adding insult to injury to anyone living in South or North East London, who should be exempt. Instead any tolls should be reserved for non-local traffic so there is no incentive to drive through London to avoid the Dartford Crossing, adding to congestion and pollution.

To really bring transport infrastructure to the level which reflects how this part of London has developed since the Royal Docks closed and will develop by the time the crossings would be in place, it also needs road bridges at Thamesmead and Belvedere, with clear routes to trunk roads and exemptions for local people and, if necessary, congestion charges to deter rat-running from Dartford, pollution and disruption to residential areas.

Sunday late afternoons and evenings are another time that there is a build up of traffic towards the Blackwall Tunnel, in addition to the usual rush-hour congestion but some weekday evenings can be bad too, with no predictable pattern. And the weekend, late-night closures, with no alternative often deter people from even thinking about using Blackwall as a river crossing, sending traffic onto congested roads much further west, a situation a toll-free, or locally toll-free Silvertown Tunnel could help alleviate.

Best wishes,

Hi Andrew

Living in South east London , my only way to get north of London involves either ploughing through central London, or using one of the tunnels to the east .I use the Blackwall fairly frequently , from between 6 times a week to twice a month, and continue to do so despite the ever present threat of delay as there is little practical alternative. The A2/102 to the south and A12 to the north are the best routes , well-built and relatively

SE26 4NY Personal response

fast, to get out of London apart from the M4. It seems such a shame that using those is spoilt by the fear of how long it will take to get through the tunnel. I must waste quite a bit of time leaving early “just in case” , or of course, stuck in a queue.I really welcome the talk of a new Silvertown tunnel, and would be prepared to pay a small (maybe £2-3 per time) fee for using either tunnel – especially now that the Dartford crossing has adopted remote charging and (presumably) proves it works.My use has been somewhat related to two of my children , who went to university to the North East of London, and so I expect by the time the tunnel is built it will be of less use to me, but that’s no reason not to build it for others to benefit from.

I hope that helps

Hi Andrew,Nightmare is the short word for the blackwall tunnel.

My journey should roughly be 30 minutes to get to work. I drive from Kidbrooke to Debden (A2, A102, M11).Its often more than one hour. The cost was so atronomical using petrol that I have recently switched to an electric car (which reduces my stress levels).I have been using regularly it since October 2009. The traffic levels has definately increased. and since the opening of westfield in stratford, traffic on weekend (which was not a problem before) is a regular occurance and a real headache. The opening of Ikea is charlton will only make a2 a permanent traffic blackspot at weekends. This will only make pollution in the area worse and locals suffering a lot more. the urgency of this tunnel cannot be unestimated.

The tunnel has been closed a number of times and each time its closed I am stuck unable to move and I lose a days earning.Traffic levels are definately much higher than 2009/2010 and a tunnel/bridge is definately needed.

We desperately need several new crossings and the woolwich ferry replaced with a permanent crossing.We need the silvertown crossing yesterday, we need the beckton-thamesmead crossing within 5 years and another set of tunnels and bridge at dartford just to cope with the current traffic. The massive lack of funding to transport in south london is disgraceful.The emirates crossing is a joke and underused, costing money, maybe replace that with a bridge.

I pray we have the tunnel as soon as practical and its grossly unfair that southeast/east london is so poorly invested in.

In the mean time, can we adjust the traffic lights at kidbrooke interchange to reduce the traffic at the tunnel, that was done at the olympics and it halved travel time, the timing shouldnt be as extreme as then, anything will help locals who unfairly suffer so such traffic problems.

I also do believe the a2 should stay 2 lanes all the way to the blackwall tunnel from the kidbrooke interchange. unless we are willing to make it 3 lanes all the way to dartford, the number of lanes changing from 2 to 3 then to 2 causes traffic in both directions unnecessarily.

Thanks

SE3 8QR Personal response

Dear Andrew,I have to commute everyday from Surrey to Canary Wharf for work. Traffic on the M25 and A2 are generally smooth except where there are traffic accidents or bad weather. However, the Blackwell tunnel without fail will always be blocked up with traffic jams during peak hours no matter the weather, with the jam starting from shooters hill junction normally in the morning, and at the billingsgate roundabout in the evening. Needless to say of the complete gridlock when there's any incident in the tunnel.

Personal response

The time I'm stuck in the ham varies from an average of 15-20mins everyday to the worst of 30-45mins just to go through the tunnel. This adds an additional time of 30mins - 1hr to my commuting time, everyday, each way.

In all common sense, just look at the number of crossings there are to the West of Tower Bridge and how many there are East of that, factoring in the population in East London and the no. of commuters living in popular areas such as Essex, Kent and Surrey. Instead of spending money on the garden bridge or the cable cars, this seem like a much more pressing issue...

Many thanks for your email and I hope our views will be heard.Hello,

First of all, let me express that I very firmly believe that in addition to any new tunnel, extensions to the DLR and Tube networks into SE London would be an incredible help to easing congestion. Many people in my area, myself included use our vehicles as there is a lack of good solid TFL connections. Extending the DLR up from Woolwich Arsenal into the Shooters Hill / Eltham area would be very helpful and effective in easing traffic issues. I am certain that a good majority of car users would abandon their cars and take up DLR travel as the main alternative.

This aside and in answer to your question:My partner and I do use the Blackwall Tunnel regularly, not every day but often enough to know how dreadful the congestion can be. The main issue is that it seems very hard to predict how much time to allow, in order to get through the congestion, even though Google Maps can give an indication of journey time. The time to get through the regular jam can vary from 30 minutes to 2 hours. This means time management is almost impossible.One scenario in particular, is a good example of how the congestion has had a really negative impact on our lives. My Partner and I are self employed and base what we do on building good relationships with our clients. My partner took a taxi to a business appointment in Holborn (as he had a lot of large equipment with him at the time). We calculated how much time the journey would take and then added an hour as contingency time, meaning he got up very, very early to get into Holborn for 8.30am.In short, the congestion was so bad that he arrived at his location 1 hour late, despite having allowed 2.5 hours to get from SE (to Holborn). The relationship with our client was severely damaged and resulted with a whole load of other problems for us.

SE9 1JS No business name provided

Dear Andrew,

Thank you very much for your mail. We use the Blackwall tunnel every day to commute from home (SE9) to work (E2) and back again. We normally have to leave very early for work and have to depart from work at 4:30pm every day rather than 5:30pm to avoid the congestion at the tunnel. It has meant a complete restructure of our work lives around this commute.

The main issue seems to be a lack of river crossings to and from the South East of London. Our other options are 1.) The Limehouse Link, 2.) The Woolwich Ferry and 3.) The Dartford Crossing. The Dartford Crossing is just too far away. The Woolwich Ferry just takes too long and the Limehouse Link is just not feasible. This means that one has to brave the Blackwall tunnel as the only other option.

The tunnel runs very smoothly if there are no breakdowns, however, if and as is often the case - there is a broken down vehicle at the tunnel, our crossing times can increase anywhere from 45minutes to 2hours. There is unfortunately no other option for us as we carpool to work and also have to drop off our son to day care. As a result of a non-quantifiable journey time we are stressed everyday that we are not going to make it back home in time to pick him up from daycare before it closes.

SE9 4TG Personal response

This congestion seems to be getting worse with the development projects that are taking place in Kidbrook, Greenwich and the surrounding areas. We understand that there has been investment in rail links, however, there definitely needs to be investment in additional river crossings to compensate for the influx of people to the South East.

I look forward to hearing form you in due course should you require me to elaborate on any other points listed. The issue is something I hold very close to my heart and would very much like to see the addition of another river crossing in the South East on London.

Many thanks.

Hello,

I am writing because I very much support the need for more east London crossings of the Thames, starting with the Silvertown Tunnel.

We live just off Tower Bridge Road. It is clear that the traffic is getting heavier over time. I am significantly delayed in the Rotherhithe Tunnel frequently and find the Blackwall Tunnel almost impossible to use at the busy times I need to use it. We have family in Leytonstone and Gideas Park - getting to see them is becoming very time-consuming owing to the time taken to get across the Thames.

I have been offered work on the north side of the river but have declined it owing to the impossibility of driving there.

I lend my support to this development and look forward to other developments to support economic growth and sustainable family life in south and east London.

SE1 3AT Personal response

I live close to the Sun in Sands roundabout and I run my own consultancy business with customers north and south of the river. I am a regular user of the approach road to the Blackwall Tunnel as it gives me access to shops on the Peninsula and the O2. I use the tunnel itself less frequently - maybe twice a month - and usually when I am travelling to Peterborough to visit one of my projects.

The principal problem with the Blackwall Tunnel is the unpredictable nature of its performance. When I go to meetings in Peterborough I usually leave before 6.00am to ensure that I can through the tunnel and then end up spending an hour in Peterborough Services killing time before my meeting. The return journey can be even worse with long delays all the way from the North Circular. Anything you can do to improve access to the north side of the river will be most welcome.

Best wishes

SE3 7JS No business name provided

Dear Mr Miles,

Despite the congestion at the Blackwall Tunnel, I still think that the Silvertown Tunnel proposal is a ludicrous solution. I do think an additional river crossing is needed, but not right alongside the existing tunnel. There is no capacity for additional roads or infrastructure on either side of the tunnel, so it's not likely to alleviate congestion to the level needed. Investment in public transport to cross the river is also much needed, but does not appear to be receiving much consideration.

RM12 6LD Personal response

Yours sincerely,

In my view we desperately need one or more additional river crossings on the Eastern side of London.The Blackwall Tunnel is often very congested as is the Dartford Crossing.Despite the improvement at Blackwall, the northbound tunnel is extremely old, originally built for horse drawn carts, and therefore too narrow and with too many tight bends.The whole Blackwall area is very congested and from what I have seen of the proposals, I do not think a Silvertown tunnel would ease the problem of the surrounding roads due to its close proximity to Blackwall.Some years ago it was proposed to link the A406 from Newham Way with the A2 near Falconwood but this was dropped because of its effect on Oxleas Wood. This scheme would have taken a lot of traffic away from the more congested parts of East London.Sorry not to be more enthusiastic about the Silvertown Tunnel proposal but unless very major road improvements are built at the same time it could very well add to the areas traffic problems by attracting more vehicles to an already congested area.Thanks for giving me the opportunity to express my views.Regards

BR5 1HF Personal response

Hello Andrew,

Thanks for your email. I don't drive very often so am not affected by congestion as a motorist. However I live near the Blackwall Tunnel and the amount of traffic running through an area of high population density.

I am in favour of keeping the traffic moving but also removing some motorised transport from the roads and moving motorised transport away from homes and schools.

I'd like to see any new approach roads to a crossing to be concealed or tunneled. I'd also like to see any new roads or crossings have excellent pedestrian and cycling lanes. I'd also suggest average speed monitoring to keep traffic at a moderate but steady speed (no faster than 30 mph).

E14 7GJ Personal response

Andrew

I live on the South side of the river in Lewisham. I don’t use Blackwall Tunnel a lot, but when I do I try to avoid the morning congestion going North, or the more unpredictable evening congestion coming back south. My alternative is Rotherhythe Tunnel, which I quite prefer if it’s not going to take me too out of my way. What I do find troubling is the unpredictable nature of congestion on the northbound Blackwall approach. It’s not always easy to get out of it once one is in it, and if one can, a drive round to the Rotherhythe Tunnel can be crowded and more time consuming. With all the long term road works affecting this area of south east London, there is a need for wider advanced warning signage along the A2/A20/A21 around New Cross and Greenwich. With regards to all this in relation to a new Silvertown Tunnel, I don’t anticipate a new Tunnel having much effect on the issues raised above, indeed, I don’t expect a new Tunnel to significantly reduce Blackwall traffic even with charging. The reason I say this is that I think it likely the proposed road linkage to the new tunnel will introduce more traffic congestion and drivers will loop round that to stick to the Blackwell approach.

Regards

SE13 7TN Personal response

I am always affected by the traffic going through the Blackwall tunnel. For what should be a simple and easy river crossing, I end up wasting hours going to and from work using it. A 20 minute journey can easily become a 1 hour + trip.

Part of the problem is the 3 lanes going down to 2, whilst the rest is the sheer volume attempting to merge during peak periods. This is on both sides, if anything northbound the problem is worse as both the A12 and A13 converge on the tunnel.

There needs to be another tunnel or bridge connecting south London to east London. However what your proposing with the Silvertown Tunnel is not the answer. This is because your using the same approach road that goes to the balckwall tunnel!!! The siltown tunnel needs its own approach road rather then to branch off near the O2. This area is already bad enough by opening an offshoot right next to it will be a massive waste of time and money and will not solve any problems. Anyone with an ounce of common sense can see this so that is why in no way or shape do i support the silvertown tunnel. Whoever came up with the idea needs to go back to the drawing board and start again, as it will not work whatsoever!!!

Kind regards,

DA15 8EB Personal response

Dear Andrew

Sorry for the delay in replying, but have been very busy.

Congestion along the Woolwich Road between Charlton Church Lane and Greenwich Church is horrendous. This is every day, but regularly on a several times a month basis, there are huge more obstructive problems if there is a breakdown in Blackwall Tunnel, an accident on the A2 or a failure of the Woolwich ferry.

I live off of the Rochester Way, but everything feeds back to here. If the Woolwich Ferry fails, then Well Hall roundabout backs up and you are obstructed from going anywhere. If the A2 has an accident, everyone tried to come off between Blackfen and Kidbrooke and there is nowhere to go! Several times a year, there have been incidents where most of the day the whole area between the Woolwich Road, New Cross, Thamesmead and the Sidcup bypass and further into Kent has been gridlocked. But this is never registered in any news or traffic up-dates. This area seems to be a forgotten zone.

We need to have a road system which diverts traffic that needs to cross north of the river way before it reaches anywhere near before Thamesmead. Anything else would be a waste of money.

Sorry for the delay in replying.

Regards

SE3 8JS Personal response

I find it hard to believe that anyone thinks that building another tunnel down by the existing ones is a good idea ,the traffic that builds up at the moment would still have to travel on the existing roads to get to the new tunnel and certainly going from south to North there is usually a queue back beyond the turn off for the O2 and not unusually back beyond the woolwich turn off and on some occasions back to kidbrooke and beyond .

I live about 3 miles from the tunnel and on leaving home it is sometimes obvious that there are problems at the tunnel -- it is often not

SE3 8NL Personal response

worth the bother of leaving home and joining gridlock ,I don't see how your proposal would make the gridlock of the area any better

To my mind the better alternative would be to build a bridge (or two ) over the river around the thames mead or erith area -- something that should have happened years ago ,and would link up better with the bottom of the north circularHi Miles

We sometimes use the Blackwall Tunnel at the weekend to get to the North Circular. My view is that the Gallions Reach bridge would be the:

- best option for this type of journey;- has the better road network i.e. a closer link of North and South Circulars to absorb new traffic thus optimising the chance that in addition to the crossing a great deal will need to be spent of the road network at either side of the crossing

I simply can't see by looking at the map for Silvertown that the road network would be robust enough. In the event money did need to be spent, surely the disruption (and cost) would be less if it was on what are already main arterial links (i.e. North and South circulars)?

I hope this help

DA7 5DG Personal response

Dear Mr Miles

I now use the Blackwall Tunnel infrequently but when I had ailing parents in Kent I used it 3 – 6 times a week and it was extremely difficult to queue for ages to get through, one way or another, and very frustrating in emergency times. I still find when crossing at commuter times the Tunnel becomes a nightmare to go through but if I need to use it I try to avoid busy times. When really bad I use the Woolwich Ferry – a pleasure when that works, but that too is unreliable and a bit of a trip to get to.

I am not sure that putting a crossing from Greenwich to the Royal Docks is the answer either. It may make good engineering sense but equally the A13 is already heavily congested and the local Docklands roads are fast mirroring those self same issues.

Regards

E14 3RU Personal response

Dear Miles Andrew,

Whenever, I have to cross the Thames at Blackwall I am never quite sure how longit will take me as long tale-backs there are common. Therefore, I am, in principal,in favour of an extra tunnel at Blackwall. The present situation of three lanes oftraffic approaching two lane tunnels on both North and South approaches is absolutelyludicrous. However, while I can see that on the northern approach, traffic congestionmay be eased a little particularly for those heading East but for those heading Southpresently coming from the North there would be little benefit.

It seems obvious to me that what is needed is an extra tunnel on the presentNorth-South axis to bring the total number of tunnel lanes to three in either

SE3 Personal response

direction. Elementary, surely?

Yours sincerely

Hi Andrew, I have always lived within Tower Hamlets. As a local resident the effects of the tunnel are massive. You don't use the car at certain times of the day or you don't use certain roads as you know the roads will be highly congested. The day to day effects of the tunnel are something you get used to but it is when the tunnel is out of action that the real chaos begins. I have seen the whole area gridlocked because the blackwall tunnel is shut. There is no point trying to go anywhere on days like that. My daughter is currently in a pre-school in Wapping and I choose to travel by public transport every day instead of using the car as I can't guarantee I will get there in time because the traffic is just too unpredictable. The sheer weight of traffic that passes through our area everyday means that even a slight glitch can cause massive knock on effects.We desparately need another crossing but it doesn't make sense to me why it would be located in the same area. The roads are the same size so can only hold so much traffic. I think it would make more sense to put another crossing further along the river at Beckton or beyond to stop traffic that doesn't need to come into the area and therefore some of it would be diverted! Thank you

E14 8EA Personal response

Dear Andrew,

My primary concern relates to the pollution created by the traffic use of the existing tunnels and the obvious increase that further tunnels will generate.As a local resident the current levels of pollution are way too high, infact some of the worst in the capital, so the last thing we need is increased volumes of traffic increasing the levels of pollution in the area.What measures will be employed to ensure pollution is not worsened?You need to seriously consider the living environment and not just push ahead with a scheme that will be highly detrimental to the local areas.

Regards

SE3 7SG Personal response

Hi Andrew

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to respond on this issue.

I have travelled through the Blackwall Tunnel over the last 23 years most working days and many weekends. My total journey is 12 miles from the Bexleyheath area to the East India estate area just to the North of the Tunnel.

My observations are:-I find getting through the tunnel fairly painless even though it is congested. It is generally the roads getting to the tunnel that cause the difficulties.The area accessing the tunnel from the South heading North is busy back past the Sun in the Sands. Some of this is made worse by there

E14 2AA Personal response

being an short area of 3 lanes, which give people the option to move around the lanes as opposed to staying in lane like the two lane section before and after.The biggest risks for an accident is motor cyclists who are allowed to weave in and out of the traffic in the confines of the tunnel.The alterations of installing the merger lane on the southern approach to the tunnel have helped considerably.The old contra flow will not help now due to the numbers of vehicles increased on both approaches, it was also quite a risk of accidents.The east bound A13 is often blocked when heading to the tunnel by people pulling up in the outer lane and attempting to push in.

With regard to another crossing this has been in debate since I started travelling 23 years ago, when the ideas was a bridge over the river at the same point as the Blackwall Tunnel.In my opinion there is a good reason to have an additional crossing. But it should be that, additional.

I also cycle to work once or twice a week in the better weather. For this I use the Woolwich Ferry or the foot tunnels, as the Blackwall is not permitted. These links across the river are vital for many different users.

Whatever the new crossing is and where ever it is, it needs to support many forms of transport.I do wonder about the location of Silvertown to the Northern approach in the proposal, as this surely adds more traffic to the already busy North and South Blackwall Tunnel Approaches? Would it not be better to move this further back down the river, perhaps under the where the Woolwich Ferry is widening the South Circular roadway out to the A2 matching the size 3 or 4 lanes and linking it with the Gallions Reach round-about again with matching road widths. This would avoid the volume of traffic heading to the same constricted point near the Blackwall Tunnel.

I trust you find this information useful should you require any clarity please feel free to contact me again.

Best regards

Dear Andrew

There is absolutely no contingency in place to deal with blockages, accidents, repairs etc to the blackwall tunnel crossing.

This means that there is a degree of unacceptable stress for any regular users of the crossing. I have often been delayed by over 4hrs due to problems, having to divert to either Dartford Bridge , Rotherhithe tunnel or Tower bridge with thousands of others. Is this acceptable when we have the largest business district in Europe just 2 minutes away?

There is also few public transport alternatives for anyone living in shooters hill and now working in Leyton.

Although I accept that I could just move, having my children in settled schools, & lived in SE London all my life I don't want to. I accept my fate and do not expect anything to change for the better. In fact with the development of large parts of SE London (O2, woolwich, Charlton & Kidbroke) the demands for all means of transport is growing & fast.

The development of Silvertown tunnel should be commended for building robustness & contingency to a key river crossing. This should be built as a matter of urgency. However nobody should be fooled to think that it will do any more than build robustness to an existing river crossing location.

SE3 8DR Personal response

If TFL do not progress other proposed river crossings & public transport projects for SE London, this crossing will be another white elephant like the cable car. Giving an extra crossing point but onto existing road infrastructure.

A good start but that's all.

Your faithfully & with best wishesThat would certainly alleviate the cross-river bottleneck in this part of London. But what about the A102 / A2? That already suffers congestion at peak hours, wouldn't this make it worse?


Dear Andrew

I object most strongly to the Silvertown Crossing proposal on two grounds.

1. Bringing more traffic onto an already congested area. The proposal to build a build the Silvertown crossing, bringing an additional flow of traffic onto Bugsby way will not solve the problem. It sill only increase the traffic problems experienced in Greenwich and add to the pollution. The only reason that traffic flows west of Tower Bridge is that the numerous crossings are spaced out and traffic does not converge into the same congested space.

2. The injustice of Introducing Tolls on both river crossings in Greenwich. West London enjoys free and plentiful crossings and it would be hugely unjust to take away one of the few free crossing in East London and introduce tolls so that no crossing in the East is free.

The queues that would build up around both crossings in order to collect tolls would be yet another reason not to introduce a levy as evidenced by the lengthy delays at Dartford.

The solution is to provide a crossing between Greenwich and Dartford to help ease the problems and provide better options for road traffic users. Given your predictions of growth across East London it is probable that 2 crossings are required, not just one.

I think that if tolls are required to help fund the new crossings then income should be generated from a number of crossings across the whole of London. The advantage is that monies could be collected from existing crossing prior to the new crossings being completed.

Regards

SE10 9EY Personal response

Thank you for giving a further chance to comment. I am 100 percent in favour of the new Silvertown tunnel but my major concern is the impact on local traffic in the Greenwich peninsula. There is a substantial building programme planned on the peninsula and inevitably added traffic flow from the two tunnels. Although the new tunnel should improve the northbound traffic flow by reducing waiting time at the south end of the tunnel, the southbound flow from two tunnels can only increase the congestion for southbound traffic wanting to turn westwards south of the river. The current road system,specifically Blackwall Lane and Woolwich Road (A206) coming together at a critical junction for all west bound traffic is already appalling and must have substantial improvements to prevent a disastrous blockage entering Trafalgar Road which is already itself extremely congested going west into Greenwich town centre. These congestion spots are by no means

SE10 0GB Personal response

confined to rush hour conditions and are experienced through much of the day and even at weekends.I have not seen any proposals to deal with this situation, as all plans seem to be anticipating improved traffic flow in this area as a result of reduced congestion at the southern entrance to the Blackwall tunnel. This hopefully will be the case but it does not take into account the impact of increased southbound traffic through two tunnels turning west through Greenwich which is a far shorter route than going further down the A102 to turn at the A2 junction. The A2 route into Greenwich itself already creates significant delays over Blackheath and into the Deptford Crossing.Some serious change to the road system has to take place, not merely cosmetic improvement.Thank you for your consideration of these comments.From my experiences,

Northbound – the changes for the Olympics to add a third lane for large vehicles just slows everything down and should be put back to 2 lanes

Southbound – the Tunnel is fine, but the section through Woolwich exit, Sun in Sands and Kidbrooke just gets clogged up – an additional tunnel will not fix this.

Regards

DA8 1LF Personal response

As a resident of Charlton the shortfall in cross-river capacity is a constant blight on South East London.

However, I remain unconvinced that funnelling more demand through the a2/a102 /peninsula corridor is at all sustainable. Especially with the surprising decision to grant planning permission just off route for a retail outlet so car dependant as Ikea.

Pollution levels in Greenwich are already unacceptably high.

A diverse set of river crossings in this area is needed, more geographically spread out to the east at Thamesmead and lower Thames to reduce the pressure on already overcrowded roads in the Blackwall Tunnel vicinity. How about linking the North and South circular with a tunnel at Woolwich? How about finally building the bridge long proposed at Thamesmead?

Regards

SE7 7PY Personal response

I'm an irregular user of Blackwall Tunnel (by bus - I do have a driving licence but no vehicle), and while traffic is sometimes congested, it's not something I find an obstacle to use.

Most of my travel through the Tunnel is from the north to the south, by 108 bus and my real irritation is the lack of capacity on that route as the northbound bore cannot be used by double-deck buses. Some of my southbound trips have had considerable number of standees outside of peak period travel. I haven't been through the Tunnel recently, so have no idea if this still applies.

E9 5EL Personal response

I object to a Silvertown Tunnel because

a. it will encourage new traffic into inner London when it needs to be diverted away, at least beyond what will become the Ultra-Low Congestion Zone.

b. The land-grab for the portals and access roads/junctions will take away areas which could be better used for housing and employment.

c. New traffic, whether increased levels or just relocated travel, will as to noise and pollution as well as increase accident risk.

d. All new road build encourages drivers to go faster as the highways are straighter, wider and better lit than older routes, which adds to difficulties for pedestrians to cross roads.

e. faster roads encourage drivers to pay less attention to traffic control signals for junctions and pedestrian crossings; if subways and footbridges are used to grade-separate people and vehicles, that is giving in to bad road behaviour by making people walk further to cross over.

f. buses are invariably rerouted for spurious reasons when new highways are introduced, which reduces their convenience to users.

London needs better traffic management, not means to do the same journey faster and at the expense of human-scale need of non-drivers and passengers.

Thank you for asking, I do not use the tunnel to get to work, but the blockages have a serious affect on local roads which I use between Eltham and Charlton often it turns a ten minute journey to work into thirty minute crawl through the back streets. A new tunnel is needed between Dartford and Blackwall but not at Blackwall it needs to cross at Thamesmead so it connects with London City Airport which was the plan some years back. Bring back the contra flow that and help reduce the problems. The cable car has proved that people don’t work around Silvertown and commute from south of the river.

SE9 1ST Personal response

Dear Andrew,

Thank you for the e-mail.I have looked at the proposal for the Silver Tunnel at your website. I disagree the tunnel to be built so near the Blackwall Tunnel. Not all people travel to the centre of London, they just don't have a choice. Either the far away and paid for Dartford tunnel, or slow and time consuming Woolwich Crossing or Blackwall Tunnel. I choose Blackwall Tunnel.

Build the Belvedere Crossing first.

DA16 1LA Personal response

Kind regards,

Hi,

I only see the need at rush hour and that is mostly due to traffic lights and could be resolved by ensuring that the flow of traffic was consistent as this is the only reason why you have a traffic backlog, this could be resolved by making one of the existing lanes (of the tunnel going south of the river for example) the one on the left for the flow of the traffic that comes down into BW tunnel and the lane on the right hand side could be for the flow of traffic coming north from the A406.

I think you would be better served having additional tunnels at BW rather than any places else as you already have the roads and links in place and this is the main route to cross the river, rather than creating an additional tunnel elsewhere, as this route will not be on the main route most people take no or in the future and it would reduce congestion less than simply building additional tunnels at BW which due to existing infrastructure already being in place is going to be cheaper than a whole new tunnel build elsewhere.

Regards

E1W 2PU Personal response

HI,

My only comment is that the congestion in the surrounding area won't be made any easier by putting a tunnel right next to the existing one. We live in Woolwich and rarely use it anymore as it's always too busy mid week to go anywhere. We also find it increasingly difficult to use the roads leading up to it when you want to drive through Greenwhich, there is always a queue you have to sit in at numerous roundabouts to try and get people to the tunnel. This isn't going to change by adding another tunnel next door just make it busier. As for pollution, it's crazy, on the occasions that I have been running you can tell that it is terrible and are covered with a layer of grime before you get home. another tunnel will mean more of this as the roads will just get busier.

Thanks

SE18 7HB Personal response

Anything that would ease the absurd and highly costly daily congestion at the Blackwall Tunnel would be welcome.

Frankly, since you have excellent feeder roads in place at each end of the Blackwall, why not build four more lanes in new tunnels? Then, the tunnel capacity would match the capacity of the roads in and out.

I live two miles south of the Blackwall. I am reliant on this tunnel if I want to go northwards or westwards to just about anywhere beyond London. The congestion lasts for hours every morning and evening, and backs up for miles, as you know.

Thank you for asking.

SE3 0RY Personal response

Hello there.

I don't personally use the Blackwall Tunnel, as I don't drive and generally use public transport for journeys in London. However, I'm very concerned about the impact of increased congestion if a new Silvertown Tunnel is built, especially for people who live nearby and the


onward impact on the main road towards Greenwich town centre. It's bad enough already! So please find a solution that's further eastward on the river.

Many thanks,

I think a new crossing will be better placed in abbey wood thamesmead which would connect the a2 / m25 with the north circular and m11. Another tunnel on the greenwich peninsula will for certain cause a bottle neck on the blackwall tunnel approach. Seems that the cheapest option of river crossing has been chosen rather than the one which will best serve London. Also it is bound to increase pollution levels in an increasingly densely populated part of town ie east greenwich and the peninsula. I live in East Greenwich, traffic is at times at breaking point, funnelling everything through the Blackwall tunnel and Silvertown expansion is just going to concentrate more traffic into the area. The surrounding roads just get grid locked.

SE100JZ Personal response

I conform that I am affected regularly by congestion at Blackwall Tunnel. The Silvertown Tunnel is however NOT the correct solution as it will simply transfer the congestion on the South side to Kidbrooke - an area of residential housing.

The most cost effective solution to congestion at Blackwall is a crossing at Thamesmead/Beckton. The design should be a 21st century version of Tower Bridge high enough to allow tall ships to pass through but, low so as to avoid the need for long approach roads. Our Victorian forefathers had the solution. Why can't 21st century planners and engineers have similar vision?

Yours sincerely,

SE7 7PB Personal response

if anyone who had half a brain could see the vast majority of the traffic using the blackwall tunnel DOES NOT go any wherenear Silvertown the money would be far better spent along the commercial road/ west india dock rd which the vast majorityof traffic uses also the traffic lights as you come out of the tunnel should be disposed of and a filter lane installed these two measures alone would ease the congestion greatly also the lights further down the a12 should be disposed of and filter lanes installed again this would ease the congestion a new tunnel is not needed a new bridge like the one at Dartford Maybe but not to silvertown I know this is going to fall on deaf ears especially as the powers that be employ useless traffic consultonswho know NOTHING about the problems of the east end and are paid a great deal of public money for rubbish yours sincerely

DA8 1HB Personal response

Hi,in response to ur question yes I use blackwall not much these days tho .2 major reasons hold ups and the nonsensical speed limits coupled with proliferation of speed cameras. Using it for 45 years it is today one of what I call "unpleasant drives". Same as A406 so many cameras and so many drivers disregard .However my one major concern with any plan you have is lack of connecting roads on the south side.My address now is 10 mins from Dart.Crossing A206 . Traffic using this road has gone from bearable to 24/7 the majority being Hgv 1 . Not only noise,dust and vibration contribute to very high pollution levels.It is always assumed the A2 will feed any crossing.This I fear is not the case unless that road is upgraded to 3 or 4 lanes.At present it is simply an urban dual carriageway and will not be capable of taking increased volumes at any time let alone peak times.Therefore the other feed is the A206 another dual carriageway.This road has exceeded all predictions of expected volumes and the last few miles to the M25 link can be a crawl even outside peak hours .In fact locally se have to detour to avoid it at peak times.Erith is a major bottleneck,largely caused by inappropriate roundabouts and traffic light control.

DA8 2EG Personal response

Bexley council do possess planning permission for an underpass and 2nd bridge at Erith together with plans to dual the last section ofA206 which would lead to a new railway bridge.None of these schemes will go ahead without Govt funding .Without them your crossing will not work south of the river.Therein lies your problem. If as I believe your plans do get a green light then I will have to sell up and move away from this area simply because of the way in which traffic volumes are being focused into such an already overcrowded area.

regardsDear Andrew,


Yes, I am affected by the traffic at the Blackwall tunnel every week day. I have to pass it for my own commute to work and not only do cars try and leave the traffic queue and use minor roads in surrounding areas, if there is an accident, the whole area is gridlocked.

I appreciate your efforts to try and alleviate this problem however, the priority should be an improved cycle lane infrastructure before you build any further tunnels or bridges solely for cars.

I drive using this road around 3 days per week and cycle the other two. If the roads had separated cycle lanes, I would cycle every work day. I know others who commute along a the same route in their cars who feel the same.

Please use this as an opportunity to prioritise cycling for Londoners.

Regards

SE18 1JU Personal response

Dear sir,A13 to N406 always has traffic jam, and will not cope with this extra load of traffic,New tunnel should be near woolwich ferry or South east of ferry as proposed long time agoregards

SE18 3EY Personal response

is a pity that you have made your mind to develop a new tunnel ; the problem will be still there as a driver know that when a car or a lorry breaks down everything stop we have to wait for recovery that take time and money ,what makes you think that a new tunnel will fix the problem what it will do increase another congestion so you will be back to square one ( the only way that can improve the flow is to make the new tunnel with e break down lane so cars or lorries can go throw ) yours sincerely

SE28 8NE Personal response

Blackwall tunnel and Woolwich ferry are both congested . However building the new tunnel beside black wall tunnel defeats the object. Why is it not built at the site of the Woolwich ferry and shortern journey times from Woolwich to Barking and Dagenham?thanks

IG11 0PL Personal response

With no provision for cyclists (I drive and cycle locally).The cable-car is not a serious alternative.

N8 7LL Personal response

Having lived and worked in the Greenwich and Bexley Boroughs, I have experienced large amounts of congestion throught these boroughs.

The amount of traffic being forced to use the Blackwall Tunnel is largely due to the lack of crossing facilities over a very wide area from

DA7 5SY Personal response

Blackwall crossing to Darford crossing serving the populations of several London Boroughs as well as the adjacent counties.

It amazes me that no one seems to be aware how large London is.. just the population of 4 London Boroughs is, at the moment, over 1 million, with a gowth rate of some quarter to a third now expected.

One new crossing at Silvertown will just add to more congestion.

Either provide several new crossings, or provide some proper all encompassing forward planning for downstream areas.Hello Andrew,

The main problem is that there are not enough river crossings further east. It was disgraceful that the Thames Gateway bridge was cancelled. I fear that this new tunnel would not address the environmental issues of traffic in Greenwich.

Also, to charge us a Toll, when every other crossing west is free, is totally unfair to the working class of London, whereby East and South East drivers would have to pay.

Why can't you do a river crossing further east bewteen Blackwall and Dartford, before you address the proposed Silvertown tunnel?

Kind Regards,

SE10 9LG Personal response

I don't see how an extra river crossing will ease the congestion unless something is done with the A13. It is the constant bottleneck already and will only get worse with the introduction of more traffic.Regards

E6 5XQ Personal response

In my opinion, this is not the answer to the traffif congestion at the Blackwall tunnel. Traffic there is terrible, so what do TFL do?? Build another tunnel at the same location!!

I regulary use the tunnel, as I live north of the river but work south of the river. I also do shift work and consequently travel weekdays and weekends including bank holidays. Sunday mornings I cant use the tunnel north to south as its always closed for maintenance. This means either adding miles to my journey via Dartford or Rotherhithe.

Build a bridge further down river at Galleons between Barking and Thamesmead, this would relieve traffic at Blackwall as people coming from the east dont need to travel as far to cross the river and people coming from the south can divert off to go east to use A13 and North Circular.

RM11 2AZ Personal response

Thank you for your email. I asume you have a reason to cross to silvertown way and not along side the existing routes where you could do three north of three south during heavy congestion,either way the road system is already in place to make this a sensible and quicker way to improve on the congestion that effects most road user's Bexley to Greenwich.I feel the route should be toll free between rush hours as a toll unfairly affects people who live in Bexley and Greenwich that use the tunnel for social reasons out of the rush hour.

DA16 1JH Personal response

I am often stuck in long tailbacks approaching from the south side of the Blackwall tunnel. If I read your proposals correctly you intend to use the same southern approach roadto the new tunnel so I fail to see how this can possibly improve matters since the same traffic jams will prevent access to both tunnels at

SE3 8QN Personal response

the same time?

Dear Andrew


I use the Blackwall Tunnel a lot and it is the tunnel that causes the pollution.

A bridge is a much healthier and more desirable option and your own research shows that most people favour a bridge.

Kind regards

E16 1SH Personal response

Don’t build a new tunnel - build a huge 6-lane bridge - with the start before the Sun in the Sand roundabout on the south bank, and the finish after the Bow Road interchange on the north side.

This way the existing tunnel can be used for ‘local’ travel, and the bridge used for ‘national’ travel with fees to match the national importance.

SE13 7DE Personal response

Hi Andrew

In my opinion, there is no need to build a tunnel next to each other. If we really want to reduce a congestion, we need to build bridges around Woolwich river crossing. Please help to avoid bottleneck around blackwall tunnel

Regards

SE2 9QE Personal response

I work as a professional musician and regularly use the Blackwall to tunnel to get into central London.

The most frustrating scenario I find myself in is when the Blackwall tunnel is sometimes closed from 1am on Sundays without any prior warning displayed on information boards along East India Dock Road.

However, the more frequent problems occur due to the congestion at the northern approach to Blackwall tunnel.

I suspect if there was an alternative approach to the proposed Silvertown tunnel instead of the A2, where traffic as far back as the Woolwich flyover is often heavy, the congestion would ease massively.

Alternatively, please just connect Woolwich and North Woolwich instead. I realise the infrastructure is less developed, but I know through experience that a crossing positioned at this point of the river, other than the current Woolwich ferry would improve the flow between North and South Circular.

Kind regards,

SE186FB No business name provided

The traffic congestion at the southern entrance to the Blackwell Tunnel affects me every time I use it, it is a continuous problem, even at quieter periods of the day. It adds a significant amount of time and stress to my journey (Dartford to BT Tower). But, looking at the plans for

DA2 6LX Personal response

the Silvertown Tunnel, aren't you just splitting the traffic on the south side, then recombining it on the north side of the river. Where, if you aren't careful, you will merely recreate the congestion you've just eased on the south side.We live in Greenwich where if there is a problem at the Blackwall tunnel all traffic grinds to a halt. A 10 minute bus ride to north Greenwich underground station can take over an hour. If the Blackwall tunnel is closed and we are driving south we are 'trapped 'north of the river having to get to the M25 dartford crossing or the rotherhithe tunnel.I would support another river crossing though I feel the local infrastructure south of the river is also a huge problem- the A2 and trafalgar round are 'normally' crawling traffic at peak times. A crossing downriver- Woolwich/ thamesmead would have a positive effect on the economy there as well as there being better roads to connect the crossing.

SE10 9NG Personal response

Dear Andrew

As a resident of Tunnel Avenue, the congestion at the Blackwall Tunnel causes such congestion on Blackwall Lane that the 422 and 188 buses are often delayed in the morning rush hour because cars block the way by the underpass. There is a real need for a separate river crossing further East, ideally somewhere between Charlton and Dartford so that some traffic could use this alternative route. Also, with the new housing development at Enderby Wharf, there will be even more overcrowding in the buses in Blackwall Lane.

Thanks


Personal response

I do not see how taking the traffic into royal dock will be any advantage. Charging to use all tunnels is disgusting. The Blackwall tunnel has been free for over 100 years and should stay so,or is tfl just a grubby money making enterprise.

SE18 2LH Personal response

Hi,

what can I say about the Blackwall Tunnel? Horrendous - every time you use it, breakdowns every day which result in tunnel closures and huge tailbacks that take half an hour to clear - and this IS every day!I appreciate that people who run out of fuel in the tunnel get fined but you might want to change the vms at the entrance to tell them how much they get fined, maybe they will think twice before playing petrol roulette.Biggest headache is the motorbikes that break down and stupid cyclists or pedestrians who seem hell bent on going through - I did in fact shout so loud at one guy on a bike on the North side one night he got scared, picked up his bike and ran off!

Other issues at the Blackwall tunnel are people who sit in the queue and text then when traffic starts moving they are still sitting there holding people up - about time the police took a more proactive approach and started fining them, the problem is endemic, I counted 34 people texting in one morning journey! And that is nothing unusual!

As for creating another tunnel? Dear God, why would you?If you get a breakdown on a bridge traffic still gets past, one breakdown in the tunnel and everything grinds to a halt.Another tunnel? Pure folly if you ask me, you can't even keep the Blackwall Tunnel flowing every day without one problem or another, what chance have you got with yet another tunnel?Ridiculous idea.Build a bridge, much more sensible, quicker to do and cheaper and you can keep it open when there are issues.

regards

SE6 2AB Personal response

I use the Blackwall Tunnel mostly out of peak time, but feel I must make the following observation.

The proposal, as I understand it, is to construct a second tunnel with the northern exit on the roundabout under Silvertown Way and the Southern end on the A2 just outside the existing exit. both these points already have significant traffic and I believe this will only be a "very short term fix".

It would seem more logical to move both ends of the new tunnel further away form these pinch points.

RM11 3TZ Personal response

The problem is not with the tunnel itself, but the roads leading to it and out of it.

The poor road layout to enter the tunnel causes the major congestion and difficulties we encounter on a daily basis.

A similar problem is encountered when exiting the tunnel, hence even if a secondary tunnel is built without addressing the entry and exit flows of traffic, a similar problem will occur, at a considerable cost to us the taxpayer without solving any problem.

Yours sincerely.

NW4 3RR Personal response

Hi Andrew,

Simple answer, no.

I have commuted every day for 15 years through the Blackwall tunnel (daily both ways) and experience very little in the way of serious delay. A few minutes either way at most. I see little benefit in the frankly bizarre proposal of another crossing at Blackwall. I suppose the endless disruption during years of construction of the "Silvertown Tunnel" will have us all celebrating it's eventual completion and forgetting it isn't actually needed.

However, there is noticeable delays southbound most evenings starting at the Woolwich Road Flyover, which I assume will be made worse with the extra traffic from Silvertown. I'd like to know what plans are in place to mitigate this?

Rgds

SE18 3EA Personal response

I am very affected by the delayes at the Blackwall Tunnel - the traffic is so bad it backs up all the way to the bottom of my road, which means I need to not plan ay trips involving driving (or any buses) between 8-10 am and 4-7 pm. This really affects any socialising for my family - many friends and my in-laws live North of the river and we cannot go visit the at normal social hours, we need to always meet early in the afternoon to avoid traffic on the way out, or make sure I make my way home before 3.30, because any later than that, it takes me more than an hour to cross the river back to Greenwich. It also causes problems when we need to go to hospital, which involves going on the A102, and that greatly increases stress.

This is why I am very concerned with the proposed Silvertown Tunnel. It will increase traffic on Woolwich Road and Tunnel Approach, which will make life even more difficult for me. I realise that the new tunnel is expected to help the traffic flow faster, but everyone who lives here and uses the Blackwall Tunnel knows the main problem isn't inside the Blackwall Tunnel (which flows ok once you're in it), but all the roads leading up to it and the lanes merging, of which there are several. So I don't think the new Tunnel will improve traffic - there will only be


more lanes merging and more traffic changing lanes, continuing delays.

So I am AGAINST the new Silvertown Tunnel. I think what we need is a new crossing at a different spot, not one more crossing at the same spot. Traffic needs to be led away from this area, not more traffic added to it.

Current black-wall tunnel is a nightmare. I cannot think to cross tunnel northbound between 7am to 9am and southbound from 3.30pm to 6.30pm. Crossing between these times takes me additional an hour of my journey.We need a second crossing as soon as possible.

I thought the best option will be to link North and South circular roads either by tunnels or over bridge. With current proposal, I think southbound junctions at both the tunnel will be heavily congested

Regards

E7 8EW Personal response

The real problems started when Ken Livingstone stopped the a.m contraflow in the southbound tunnel, in my mind unnecessarily.I think there should be more east london crossings, but using areas such as Thamesmead and Beckton not inviting even more pollution and congestion to Greenwich by constructing a the proposed Silvertown tunnel.

SE10 0RF Personal response

Dear Mr Miles,

My proposal is to replace the Blackwall Tunnel with a bridge with 4 lanes going North and 4 lanes going South.

If this is not possible at least the Northbound tunnel should be replaced with a 4 lane bridge as this tunnel is the most problematic.

The bridge should be at the same place where the Blackwall tunnels are at the moment.

Kind Regards,

SE6 2HF Personal response

Andrew

With the current air pollution problem in the area the absolute last thing we need is the Silvertown Tunnel.Build a tunnel or bridge well away from the Blackwall Tunnel to relieve the congestion, a Silvertown Tunnel will bring extra pollution to the area and bring more deaths due to pollution.

Regards

SE9 1JT Personal response

Thank you for the opportunity to respond. I did respond to the initial consultation.

I live in Mile End. I don’t own a car and rarely have the need to use the Blackwall Tunnel, other than occasionally, having hired a car from City Airport, to access the South Coast. I have not suffered any congestion when using the tunnel.

I do however regularly visit SE London via the Greenwich foot tunnel, travelling by bike, however, this is a very indirect route to my destination and adds several miles to the journey which would be reduced with a more easterly foot passenger and cycling access. Public transport to SE London is via Bank is too much hassle.

E1 4PJ Personal response

I have significant concerns over increased emissions in some of London’s poorest boroughs as a consequence of, essentially, encouraging greater car use. This can be mitigated by providing better walking and cycling infrastructure across the river. Any proposed crossing has to incorporate pedestrian and cycling access. Failure to do so condemns many east Londoners to poorer air quality and all round worsening health outcomes.

Dear Andrew

The first question is really 'is the Silvertown Tunnel the best solution?'

I believe that traffic uses the Blackwall Tunnel to cross London, and so creating a bypass of it may not solve it. In addition, the Greenwich Peninsula is going to experience massive growth, with 15,000 new homes planned, and a new IKEA due to open. We should be looking to divert traffic away from the area altogether.

When you look at the river area, there are few north-south public transport connections. You need to consider the needs of the growing area - ie. Excel/Royal Docks and Canary Wharf/Wood Wharf as the main areas of employment growth, and connecting these areas to the wider area. This means there is a need for links all along the southern riverfront (DLR or Transit of some form to connect to Woolwich) from North Greenwich.

The real connection that is lacking is from the South Circular to connect with the North Circular at Beckton. At the moment, this is the Woolwich Ferry. This is where the real demand is and where traffic actually goes. A tunnel in this location, despite the constrained nature of John Wilson Street, is the true requirement. I used to live in North London and travel frequently to Kent. I would always get stuck in traffic at the Blackwall Tunnel, to connect then with the A2/M20.

I am a cyclist in the area. If you could do anything for the area, a bridge of tunnel for cyclists and pedestrians connecting North Greenwich to Canary Wharf is where the real demand would be as this would reduce a cycle journey time into Central London by up to 20 if not 30 minutes. Then you boost cycling.

Thank you for engaging and asking for my opinion

SE7 8EQ Personal response

Dear Andrew,

I don’t see there will be great improvement for the congestion as the problem is not inside the tunnel, it is A102 congested while too many cars trying to drive through Blackwall Tunnel at peak period. So the key is to divert those cars not using A102 towards Tunnel,, the current design does not help much as the deviation was just made near the entrance of the Tunnel already, so it must be set to divert those cars far from the Tunnel entrance, I prefer the diversion should be at A2 & A102 cross junction. Current design will not benefit the drivers as they still need to queue from A2.

Yes, the current design may ease the congestion of the tunnel but NOT A102!Hope you understand my expression.

Regards,

SE18 6FD Personal response

Andrew,

I work in a industry that uses the tunnel 20 - 30 times a day, I also have to travel home using in.

I believe you could enhance the help to people and the needs of the growing area in the long term by added a super double deck fly over with traffic signals that work both ways just incase the northern section of the tunnel is closed.

The knock on effect is felt around Charlton and Greenwich.

Maybe Rotherhithe tunnel could be enlarged or extended, im thinking of the massive delays that affect the area at the moment and the impact the new housing area, shops etc and housing on the new Bermondsey South pipeline development.

Bigger picture thinking is required

Regards,

SE23 2PL Personal response

Hi Andrew,

I don't really like the idea of the Silvertown tunnel. It will increase traffic in the area.

I am never delayed by congestion at the Blackwall Tunnel.

I am very inconvenienced by the lack of pedestrian crossings and bike crossings, though! It's a huge detour to Greenwich and adds maybe an hour to my travel time.

E14 6PS Personal response

Hi Andrew,

Just a short note further to my below email: yesterday it took me 45 minutes to clear the Northern Approach (southbound) and enter Blackwall Tunnel. One observation that stuck in my mind was the significant difference in flow between the outside lane and middle lane, effectively the nearside lane for the tunnel as the literal nearside lane is nearly all for local traffic or exits. The difference was caused by the number of cars on the nearside lane actually stopping and blocking a traffic-free lane to move across and join the middle-lane for the tunnel, not just at the A13 junction approach but at the exits prior to that too. Many of those cars stooped in a manner that suggested they either failed to notice the signing, or that it wasn’t located early enough.

Thanks and regards,


Dear Mr Miles

In response to your e-mail sent on the 24th April regarding usage of the Blackwall Tunnel my experience of the Tunnel is not favourable to say the least. Whilst a great deal of money has been spent by Transport for London in improving the infrastructure of the Tunnel it is a great deal better than it was however is still not the best experience.

N10 3QG Personal response

My main issue with the Blackwall Tunnel is that the amount of traffic, including both cars and lorries, simply overwhelms the current Tunnel and that this leads to congestion, particularly south to north, on the Greenwich approaches.

Ideally I would like to see anything of a large size, but within tunnel clearance guidelines, sent to cross the river by default via the Woolwich Ferry. If the number of lorries using the tunnel can be reduced hopefully that should free up more space for car users.

I appreciate that this would create extra demand and additional pressure on the Woolwich Ferry, however it would create a better and safer atmosphere for car drivers and any passengers.

If this option would not be possible then I would like to see increased publicity and awareness amongst the lorry drivers community, particularly those who are not from this country, about using the Blackwall Tunnel.

Another idea that I really would like to see is better information about when traffic is really bad and when it is relatively clear made more freely available in various formats. This aims to inform people who use the Blackwall Tunnel on traffic conditions before they set out on their journey so that they be informed as to what kind of traffic conditions to expect.

My local Underground station is Finsbury Park. London Underground ( TFL ) has recently produced a leaflet informing passengers that the busiest time at this station is between 08:15 and 08:30. This is brilliant, as I now know not to use Finsbury Park station during these times as I would only be adding to the problem of a already congested environment during the mentioned times.

If the same could be applied to the Blackwall Tunnel, then users would be better informed about peak times and off peak times and then can plan any journeys accordingly.

I hope that you find my feedback and some of my ideas useful. It is not often that I am invited to give feedback on transport infrastructure and I really do appreciate being given the opportunity to do so.

I look forward to hearing from you soon

Dear Andrew,

Thanks for the opportunity to comment on my experience regarding the Blackwall tunnel.

I am not sure there is anything more I can add to my previous reply to the consultation.

However, I would like to stress the following points:

- Local journeys are frequently disrupted by tunnel problems (breakdowns)- it takes longer to travel from one part of se10 to another on the bus than it does from se10 to sw1 via tube- more flats are rapidly going up in Greenwich but the bus service has not changed to meet increased demands during commuter hours

SE10 0JQ Personal response

- more flats means more people, so where are the extra buses to cope with the extra commuters?

_ East Greenwich is the poor relation for its bus service: 2 buses to north Greenwich going in completely opposite directions! What bright spark decided these bus routes! See 129 and 422 routes- east Greenwich is gridlocked when there is a tunnel problem-why can't the trains in the Greenwich area run to Victoria. Blackheath has lots of train options, why can't Greenwich?- more tubes needs across south east London generally

- tunnel problems have been going on for decades, it's time to take action

-pollution also an issue in east Greenwich

- creative solutions needed e.g. Tram service and better river crossing with no extra cost on top of travel cards then people will use it

- encourage kids to walk to school instead of parents driving them

- North Greenwich bus station needs upgrading. People waiting for bus 132 need their own bus stop, and more 132 buses in rush hour- bus stop layouts at north Greenwich don't work, it's too crowded and dangerous especially for vulnerable passengers due to people congestion- need bus time indicator for all north Greenwich bus stops, like the one in Walthamstow bus station

Kind regardsI only use the Blackwall Tunnel once in a blue moon and only as a bus passenger on Route 108.

These very rare journeys on Route 108 buses are always part of a gratuitous joyride using either Oyster or a Travelcard.

This is a guess. I probably use Route 108 buses once in a three year cycle.

Failure to construct the Silvertown Tunnel would under no circumstances frustrate my travel plans.

Best regards.

KT12 3EZ Personal response

Your e-mail requesting information about Blackwall Tunnel issues has been passed to me.

We live on the Rotherhithe peninsular and ANY problem at Blackwall (or Tower Bridge) causes severe congestion at the Rotherhithe Tunnel---which on an average day takes 34,000 vehicles without additional from Blackwall. This causes complete gridlock along Jamaica Road/Lower Road.

We realise that a comprehensive review is needed of all the issues linking Dartford/Blackwall/Rotherhithe/Tower Bridge, but small quick, fairly cheap changes could include:

SE16 4JD Personal response

Signs well in advance of the various crossings to let people know and make alternative plans---eg at Tower Bridge when Rotherhithe is full so they dont get stuck in Jamaica Road etc.The ONLY sign we ever see is on the A20 at the Dutch House (Mottingham Lane junction) which is excellent as traffic can make a choice to go to Blackwall & avoid Rotherhithe or VV. It should not be a difficult task to identify these crucial sites & implement information boards linked to the central control that must already exist for the A20 one. The boards telling us that Rotherhithe is shut---are just before the tunnel (Lower Road & Jamaica Road) so absolutely no help at all as we have all sat in the jam for ages & cant get out of it.

The other suggestion is for an automatic link to Traffic Police when the Rotherhithe barrier comes down---hardly rocket science---a fortune has been aspent on this barrier already. This would ensure that Police arrive swiftly & traffic is moved round the roundabout & does not sit there in the hope of the tunnel re-opening---gridlocking everything—often for hours---and that is NO exaggeration.

Since moving to Rotherhithe 30 years ago I have taken part in numerous meetings & surveys about the tunnel & roundabout---but nothing seems to have changed. Hopefully your review will make some progress---but not at the expense of Rotherhithe---please.

I would be happy to contribute further if it is of help.

Kind regards

Hi Andrew

Thanks for the opportunity to comment.

As a motorcyclist commuting into London my perspective is different from your average car or lorry driver. I usually join the A102M at the Charlton access point from the Greenwich Lower Road and at around 07.30, it’s normally very congested already with vehicles queuing down the approach/slip road. All three lanes towards the tunnel are very slow moving and of course I use my bike to its advantage, by filtering down between the traffic. I would say, that although very slow, the general traffic does make steady snail pace progress.

The problems of course start when there is an incident such, as an over height lorry, a broken down vehicle or an accident. The Tunnel staff in my opinion however are very efficient at dealing with problems and I would say that a delay of 4 to 5 minutes is the average for removing an offending lorry from the traffic or a broken down vehicle. Where accidents occur, depending on the severity, the tunnel can be closed for a long period.

I personally believe that we have been suffering from a lack of an additional river crossing around the Greenwich, Woolwich, Thamesmead area for many years. I do however sympathise with local residence regarding the impact on their personal environments and this has to be thought about carefully. Using the Dartford bridge as an example, this rises and falls mainly in industrial areas and has (in my view) less impact on ‘rural’ life. If the same solution can be found for an additional crossing around the Blackwall, Belvedere or Thamesmead areas, I think there is some chance of success (there will of course, still be some opposition).

From an observational point, once the bridge was built and the dust settled, developers started building and selling flats and houses near to the Queen Elizabeth II bridge and no one seems to be complaining!!

DA8 1HF Personal response

Air quality in the Capital and Greenwich (which I think has one of the worse records in the country) is very much on the national agenda, with successive governments failing to meet targets and the High Court imposing stringent limits. It will need a compelling argument to convince people that an additional crossing will not add to problem.

Hope this is okay and if you have any specific question, I’ll be only too happy to try and answer them.

Kind Regards

Good Morning Andrew,

I often travel north of the river and almost always use the Blackwall Tunnel.This is a shorter route than using the Dartford Tunnel and is free, which is the main reason for using it.I now ensure that I pass through the Blackwall Tunnel at no later than 05:50am, so avoiding the vast majority of traffic. The trip is usually straight through at that time of day.Conversely, as I arrive at work early, I also ensure that I pass through the tunnel in the opposite direction at about 14:30, which is also usually straight through.

As the trip is now for me relatively easy, I would not welcome a second crossing so close to the Blackwall Tunnel unless the Blackwall Tunnel remained FREE to use. I don’t mind if the new tunnel is charged to help cover the cost of building, but I don’t see why the Blackwall Tunnel should incur any charges in light of the severe congestion that people have had to endure over the years. After all it will not be a new resource and will not require any new works if it remains free, as all users would require. Even the notion that charges would help off-set the building costs are pretty spurious, as with the Dartford River Crossing, where a promise was made that as soon as the construction costs were cleared, the charge would be removed. This has now increased yet again to £2.50 each way. That is disgraceful. That crossing has just turned into a money-making scheme now, especially as there are no longer any gate staff wag bills to worry about. I would hate to see the same thing happen at the Blackwall Tunnel or the proposed Silvertown Tunnel.

Thank you,

Kind Regards,

DA15 8RZ Personal response

I would like to give my view, please! N3 2RE Personal response

Hi,I am all things where this crossing is concerned.

I live in Central Greenwich.I am a pedestrian who uses public transport.I have done occasional white van driving ( A retirement job), and so I am very familiar with local traffic problems.I have had to work very hard indeed as a resident to bring about road closure here where I live to prevent the serious problems of rat running cars and so on.I have been a serious cyclist in my time and have seen it all from this point of view also.

SE10 9LB Personal response

Several things immediately disappoint me:The arrogance of TfL on their so called consultation. This was not a consultation at all but more nearly an insistence that TfL are right and no other argument will be accepted.

The similar arrogance of Greenwich Council who have taken the side of TfL. We have a major political problem in West Greenwich Council in that all decision making about West Greenwich is made by Woolwich Councillors. As a consequence we have colossal and now unsolvable traffic problems in this town centre. It is wholly the fault of the Council and TfL that this traffic problem exists. We in West Greenwich have no recourse against these fools.

Protection for a sensitive environment:The inclusion of a very big major road as you propose puts everything under threat. It will amount to a doubling of all traffic that currently enters the Greenwich Area.

Another road through the Peninsula will double traffic pollution. We know that Boris has done nothing of value to admit to the pollution problems which are severe. We know that TfL enters into subterfuge and masks the true pollution levels that we endure.

I am very concerned that the introduction of such a new road with its increase in traffic will threaten all available green space that is so vital to all of us. For example where is protection in all this for Blackheath? For Jack Woods at Shooters Hill and Woolwich Common in fact our entire Green Chain and any other Green space that would appear on this route to/from the peninsula? Where are you proposing to add the feeder roads? You do not say.

Opportunity to Solve Traffic Problems.

I could see something of value in all this if you and TfL would as a consequence of a tunnel provide for public transport that meant something. For example:

(i) A tunnel that supported either a further DLR route through the peninsular.(ii) Alternatively a Croydon style Tram network that served both the peninsula as well asSilvertown.

Also a cycle through way in association with either of these public transport services.

We know that to build a road is to build congestion as it will absorb ever more vehicle traffic and we will all be back where we started in no time at all. For example the M25 daily horror story.

I might add that a tram system could be use to provide for S.E. London so reducing the excessive need for car use.

Lies about Boosting Business.

If these roads brought about the advancement of local business the why isn't it the case that business would be flourishing now along the A2 and Blackwall Lane? In fact it is a heavily blighted area and nothing survives there because no one wants to be there. Similarly so with any other road scheme it blights everything adjacent to it.

More likely it is a road scheme to service North Kent. This being the case you should say so and not mislead gullible hopefuls who fill in these questionnaires.In order to service N Kent you could put a road tunnel much further to the East and not further blight our lives.

The present congestion situation.

I accept that the present traffic overload and congestion along Blackwall Lane and the A2 is not acceptable. But this is a result of poor and inadequate strategic planning at all levels of Government. The present situation should never have been allowed to develop to a crisis such as this.

The present overload of traffic in Greenwich Town centre is also not acceptable. But I do not want you to ruin an already fragile environment by repeating what is at the root of our problems which is too much traffic.

The Present Insatiable Appetite of Motorists for Road Space.

I am hardly surprised that TfL has been able to congratulate itself on an 80% support for another road scheme. Offer another road to an over-indulged population and you get what you have.

Developments on the Peninsula.

With the astonishing housing and so on proposed for the Peninsula you should be advocating a new way of living that is not based on endless vehicle traffic.

The Civil Engineers.

I was also made fully aware that the civil engineers are hungry for public money. So if you are under pressure to build a tunnel because they are insistent on it then please make it for public transport.

Greenwich Town Centre and World Heritage Site.

The overload of traffic in Greenwich Town Centre has been allowed to run on to the point that there is no solution. If...If you brought a Tram system into the peninsula then there might be some hint of a solution to our public transport systems here in South East London.

With what you are proposing there is no hope of any future solution.

Yes we suffer from congestion to the point of misery with it.

Hello Mr Mills

I have sent several emails regarding the issue of a new Thames crossing for east London. I was angered that I knew nothing of the public consolations you apparently conducted in 2013 until after they were over. I've spoken to a number of my neighbours and friends locally and

IG11 9LF Personal response

they knew nothing of these 'consolations' either.I live in Barking and have to travel to Dartford (11 miles) or Blackwall (7 miles) to get across the river, and face congestion whichever way I go. The Woolwich ferry service is not fit for purpose in 2015 - the traffic congestion there and the old unreliable boats, are rather indicative of TFL's attitude to this part of the world. We need a crossing in between Dartford and Blackwall, not adjacent to one of the existing crossings. Yes, it may be cheaper in the short term, but you are not solving anything in the longer term, by building a crossing at Silvertown.

I ask you to simply open Google maps and take an objective look, and think afresh at where a crossing IS NEEDED. It seems obvious!

Kind Regards,

Dear Sir,

I have taken part in each of the River Crossings Consultations and entered to my memory a qualified negative response, because I know from experience these crossings changes come across only every 50yrs or so. Given that cash resources are low, they must therefore be spend appropriately.

This, although sort of needed, in that there is congestion at the Blackwall Tunnel, both Northern & Southern Approach, but all these proposals do at enormous cost of approximately £750million, but would probably require £1bn, due to price escalation, ((unknown, unseen, non-specified work demands, or up grade of mechanical equipment functioning capable of pumping, either air or water, during regular functioning, or flooding situations.))

All these proposals do at enormous use of Public resources is shift the congestion further along the route leading from the Tunnel, to the point where it joins the flow of tunnel traffic leaving the Blackwall Tunnel going south. This is surely totally pointless, and besides a waste of costs, since it doesn't answer the question of pushing the traffic further towards their destinations. The total assistance this will offer at best, is freer, reduce congestion at the junctions and confluence of roads around E14; the A13, the A12, A1261, A1020. And as far as these roads are concerned, probably either directions, depending on time of day.

This is not adequate pay back for £1bn investment because all that is achieved is to put these exactly the same vehicles back on the A102 south of the river, feeding traffic to the other problems of South Circular the A205, A2, A20, A21, A213, A208. The Blackwall Tunnel not only feeds the A2 to Dover, Rochester, Kent, but this congestion divides to feed into the road numbers given above. The South Circular is now pathetic during most of its length, congestion is appalling through Catford before and after; Stanstead Rd, Forest Hill, Horniman Hill, Thurlow Pk Rd, to Norwood Crystal Palace area.

The better idea I believe is to encourage drivers to seek early separation between those seeking to travel into Kent, join the M25, A2, and those seeking to move through the suburbs to the residential areas of Lewisham, Bromley, Sydenham, Hither Green, Crystal Palace, to Croydon. Plus the cross movements towards Wimbledon, Merton etc.

To achieve this a tunnel or a bridge needs to feed across the Thames picking up volume from the A13, either direction, A12, A406, A1261, on the North-side, and lead it through to Thamesmead area, where there are dual carriageways substantially under used and which need development also so as not to allow bottlenecks from increase volumes.

A Tunnel or Bridge could be taken from improving route from Canning Town, along Victoria Dock Rd, straight, avoiding the City Airport links,

E14 0HW Personal response

along Royal Albert Way to Gallions Roundabout, to Armada Way, improving A1020 from A406. This would/should lead across to pick-up the Eastern Way, A2016 through to A206, and A2026; where drivers can choose M25, A2, and other routings. It is true this would feed these main motorways, but they are upgraded, wholly or in part in the past ten years.

I believe because this idea takes traffic from the East, A13, which currently has to feed through Canning Town to Blackwall Tunnel, this will massively reduce the A12, A102 congestions, through to A205 and South London. It will also enable drivers from the City, North London select another route to go back and forth to Kent.

Current proposals will have to absorb expected traffic increases, and also deal with the current problems which have caused this reappraisal, yet they fail to do more than move the point of congestion to south of the Blackwall Tunnel, but with greater volume than before.

Surely the purpose should be to divide, even halve the volumes by allowing new routes to be entertained through to the Motorways feeding Kent and South of England, as well as South London.

Your suggestion does nothing about the high volumes which WOULD STILL FEED the routes/roads numbered above which are the main arteries of the South of London. My argument is to attempt to separate these traffic flows, which will go some distance to absorbing future traffic volumes, and reduce the bottle necks around Poplar, Canning Town, roads and current crossings. For those coming from North East London, Newham, Redbridge, Barking, Ilford, Dagenham, who seek to cross South through the Tunnel could travel through Becton/Gallions Reach area, and this would also lessen fuel consumptions.

I am not concerned with charges for use of tunnels; no one likes to have to pay these, but drivers should be given promises and incentives, that, these charges would operate until the costs are paid off, and after which reduced to levels which enable maintenance, and future upgradings; ie, 20yrs hence.

"Am I affected by the Congestion at the Blackwall Tunnel on a daily basis?" I hope the above gives a effective answer, in doing so through illustrating an alternative, which in reading through your report, various sub-clicks, you have failed to address, because you have an imperfect, inadequate solution, but you seem to have sought to justify by quantifying the answers already given. No one, doubtless yourselves also, how knowledgeable these responses to the Consultation actually have been.

Most people responding do so, to the stimuli given, and do not assume there could be other alternatives. Of course this method just enhances, reinforces your suggestions, which you can categorise, as having numerical support of 'x' or 'y' % percentage value.

This method does not contest whether the concept is valid in the first place, which you will see from my own evaluation is not adequate to deal with the problems of traffic increases, and current congestion.

This evaluation you have done, also fails to analyse the answers according to whom answered, and the perspectives they were seeking relief from. If the people who answered were mostly seeking to travel into South London, Catford, South Circular, or Bromley, Eltham, Bexleyheath, Lewisham, then the Silvertown/Canning Town would be an answer. The problems are greater than the parochial needs of the immediate South Londoners, although both problems of congestion can be dealt with by separating the directional needs, and reducing flows in that manner, as my solution has I think shown.

Yours sincerely

Dear Andrew,

I use the Blackwall tunnel as part of my commute to work. I live in Greenwich and work in Tower Hamlets and although they are neighbouring boroughs, my journey time to and from work can vary between 25 minutes and 2 hours depending on the time of day. This is is mainly due to congestion at the Blackwall tunnel. The lack of river crossings in East London limits the routes that I can take to work and means that I have no choice but to use the Blackwall tunnel.

After reading through the proposal I received a few months ago, I was made to understand that if another crossing was built, commuters would have to pay to use it. To be perfectly honest, although the congestion at the Blackwall tunnel approach is extremely undesirable, I simply would not be able to afford to pay to get to work everyday. I feel that if that proposal goes ahead, it would be totally unfair to hard-working people like myself who are only just keeping our heads above water as it is.

To conclude, although I do feel as though there is a pressing need to create another crossing, it could have a devastating impact on many lives and lifestyles to be forced to pay a toll just to save an hour on journey time.

Kind regards.


With no provision for cyclists (I drive and cycle locally).The cable-car is not a serious alternative.

N8 7LL Personal response

Andrew

I only use the tunnel occasionally and most often on weekdays during the morning and afternoon rush hours.

While I would like to see congestion reduced by construction of the Silvertown Tunnel, I do not see why we should be expected to pay a toll for using both the new and existing tunnels.

In fact I don’t see why we should be expected to pay a toll at all.

If that is the price we must pay for the new tunnel, then forget it, I will put up with the queue.

Regards

SE3 0ET Personal response

Dear Andrew,

As I'm am totally opposed to the building of the Silvertown tunnel I do not wish to supply you with anything that "could help you to secure the powers that would be necessary to build" it.

Furthermore, I have lived in Charlton for 26 years and know many people. Not one single friend or acquaintance is in favour of the new tunnel. We have all read the proposals and everyone would prefer other solutions further down the river eastwards to alleviate pressure on

SE7 8EA Personal response

the Blackwall tunnel. Crossings further downriver will automatically draw traffic away. Neither will we appreciate the proposed toll charges!

Your email appears to be seeking out only negative comments about the Blackwall tunnel. Myself and everyone I know has only negative comments about the new plans for the new tunnel. Please incorporate this local opposition into your plans.

Kind regards

Dear Andrew MilesYes I have been affected by congestion at the Blackwall Tunnel for many years and am genuinely bewildered by the proposal to build another tunnel, but not only that, but to build another tunnel using the same southern approach road. My comments are set out below.The proposed Silvertown TunnelHaving seen TFL’s press releases and your enquiry, the Silvertown Tunnel seems to be a done deal. The blatantly biased approach of the questionnaires reinforces this belief. Is TFL genuinely seeking to consult with those affected with a view to modify as necessary the proposals, or is this simply a tick the box exercise, whereby it can be that a consultation process has taken place, and go ahead with the proposals despite their shortcomings?The benefits to businesses and individuals of good transport systems are well known. No reasonable person who lives north or south of the river in east London could possibly dispute that we are definitely the poor relations in comparison to Londoners living and working to the west of us when it comes to river crossings. It follows that it has been known for years that people living and businesses operating in east London who need to cross to the north or south of the Thames are at a real disadvantage compared with our fellow citizens.The existing East London, Essex and Kent current crossings are too far apart and do not have the capacity to satisfactorily deal with current volume of traffic. Accordingly, anything that improves the infrastructure is to be welcomed.The Silvertown Tunnel is a bad idea because, like the Blackwall Tunnel it will have less traffic lanes than the north and south approach roads, there will be a need for traffic to filter into fewer lanes as they approach the tunnel. At busy times, which is practically all daylight hours, this will inevitably lead to a disruption to the flow of traffic as drivers slow down to manoeuvre into the fewer available lanes as they enter the tunnel. There is also a significant increase in the risk of collision as drivers change lanes whilst endeavouring to match their speed to preceding and following traffic. Where collisions occur this normally brings other traffic to a standstill.The absence of a hard shoulder in the tunnel means that any breakdowns will inevitably block traffic lanes and their omission will also hinder the work of the emergency services.Slowing and standing traffic will significantly increase pollution within the tunnel and on the approach roads.The proposal that the Silvertown Tunnel shares the same southern approach road as the Blackwall Tunnel seems a particularly bad one on the part of the planners since this southern approach road to the tunnels constitutes ‘A SINGLE POINT OF FAILURE’ (any planner/designer should know what this means and why it is to be avoided) ; which means when one tunnel is blocked the tailback will quickly block the approach to the other tunnel. Figures for Blackwall Tunnel closures dated February 2011 state that the tunnel was closed 1200 times in the preceding nine months.The current situation is that when the Blackwall Tunnel approach becomes blocked, it not only prevents traffic from entering the Blackwall Tunnel; it quickly backs up into Tunnel Approach and prevents/hinders all other vehicles who are travelling on this road onto the Greenwich Peninsula, whether they are trying to get to home, work, school or North Greenwich Underground Station – the only underground station in Greenwich. If the Tunnel Approach congestion is not cleared quickly; the tailback soon affects local roads and traffic throughout the East Greenwich area is disrupted to a greater or lesser extent.East Greenwich is already one of the most polluted areas of London, with emissions at the Woolwich Road flyover and Trafalgar Road already exceeding safe limits. The Silvertown Tunnel will make a bad situation worse.Toll Charges

SE3 7UQ Personal response

Why should road users be expected to pay to use any road/river crossing when according to research by the RAC Foundation only £7.5bn of £30.7bn raised in 2012 was spent on roads? The motoring research charity found that in 2012 a total of £30.7billion was raised from direct motoring taxation; £24.8bn from fuel duty and £5.9bn from vehicle excise duty (VED). However, in the same year just £7.5bn (24 per cent of motoring tax income) was spent on the road network, with £3bn spent on national roads and £4.5bn on local roads.Furthermore it is totally against any form of natural justice that road users be expected to pay for a tunnel that was conceived and built with the objective to provide free river crossings: The Blackwall Tunnel was built by the LCC between 1892 and 1897 in response to the growing need for improved free road communications across the Thames in the East End. When the Metropolitan Board of Works (MBW) was created in 1855 there were only three free cross-river routes in London, at Westminster, Blackfriars and London Bridges. By 1880 all of the other road bridges downstream from Chiswick had been freed from toll, but there was still no provision for the two-fifths of London's population living east of London Bridge. During the late 1870s and early to mid-1880s the MBW promoted various unsuccessful Bills for a new crossing. Eventually, in 1885, an Act was obtained authorizing the construction of Tower Bridge by the City Corporation, and this was followed in 1887 by the MBW Thames Tunnel (Blackwall) Act, which empowered the Board to build a new crossing between Blackwall and Greenwich. How much does it cost to cross the Thames in other parts of Greater London; Westminster Bridge for example? Why should road users in the East of London be penalised in comparison with those in the west?Bridge ProposalsGreat idea and long overdue. But why are the planers so shortsighted in proposing just two lanes in either direction? Have they leant nothing from the inadequacies of the two-lane M2 or the cost and disruption of retrospectively adding lanes to the M25? And, what provision will there be to segregate cyclists from all other traffic on a two-lane bridge?Experience has shown that traffic volumes increase as the road infrastructure improves. Do the planners not have access to this information? Or is it just a personal insight on my part. What were the expected traffic volumes on say the M1, the M25 and the M11? How long did it take before these volumes were exceeded?We need six lanes in either direction on a two-deck bridge – like the San Francisco -Oakland Bay Bridge. They won’t all be needed at first, but it will be much more cost effective to make provision now, rather than needing another bridge in a few years time.And don’t forget to put a bridge over the new Thames Barrier when it’s built. A significant cost of any bridge must be the foundations so with a bit of planning and engineering this shouldn’t be too difficult.I hope the above is useful to your deliberations.Yours sincerely

No longer, disabled and retired IG11 9AA Personal response

Hi Andrew

My husband and I live in the Royal Docks area and occasionally use the Tunnel when we need to head south out of London and coming back in from the south. On the occasions we have used it it is invariably congested and has added as much as an hour or more to our trip.

The tunnel does not affect us on a daily basis as we use the excellent public transport when travelling in London. However, a new tunnel in close proximity to the docks may affect us in the future – in either or both a positive or negative way depending on how well the project is planned and executed.

Regards,

E16 1BL Personal response

Hi Andrew SE15 1AF Personal response

I live in Peckham, work in Canary Wharf. I used to cycle but the closest crossing is Tower Bridge which means that the journey is essentially a two mile cycle west followed by a three mile cycle east (the Rotherhithe Tunnel obviously isn’t a option) . Coupled with the fact I had a couple of near misses on Tower Bridge (which is narrow, congested & has a very uneven surface and as such as bike unfriendly as you get) I now take the over ground. Any bike friendly routes east of Tower Bridge would almost certainly prompt me to start cycling again as even with five carriages the over ground is often so crowded in the morning (especially by the time you get to Queens Road) I physically cant jam myself onto the train.

Kind RegardsI get held up in traffic at the blackwall tunnel, but I think that it is an absolute joke that you intend to charge people to use it after the new tunnel is built. Another dartford bridge. Well done, commuters taking another kicking to put money in your pocket.

SE9 2HB Personal response

Dear Sirs, I would confirm that I am sometimes held up at the tunnel but would like to see the exact route of the new tunnel.

Regards

SE9 2AW Personal response

Yes indeed, I am affected by the congestion at Blackwall Tunnel.

I travel northbound in the morning going towards the city (westbound on commerical road after crossing), and southbound in the evening.

In the morning when there's serious congestion beyond belief, usually caused by vehicle breakdown, accident or dumb over-height HGV drivers getting stuck in the tunnel approach, I would try to use the Rotherhithe or Tower bridge as alternative, but usually the connecting roads will also be congested because other vehicles on the A102 Blackwall Tunnel approach will do the same thing as I do.

This is frustrating and causing hours of loss time for every driver.

Personally I don't think the addition of a Silvertown Tunnel will help much, since the northbound approach for both existing and new tunnel will be the same and thus the bottleneck is still there, or made worse.

Vehicles mostly travel westbound or northbound on the A12 after crossing the tunnel, so going via Silvertown (Eastbound) is not ideal.

With tunnel toll in place, it will shift some of the traffic to Rotherhithe tunnel, which means connecting roads towards Rotherhithe will be hard hit.

So the actual problem is not essentially resolved.

Whenever I get caught in a jam at Blackwall Tunnel, I always wondered why the authorities had not done enough to improve the crossing at Woolwich. The ferry crossing is limited and does not operate all the time. If there is another road crossing at Woolwich, the congestion at Blackwall could have been greatly reduced. The Woolwich crossing could have served people from various areas in the South East- Woolwich, Eltham, Thamesmead, Erith, Abbey Wood, Welling etc... as well as those areas in the northern bank.

Furthermore, as part of the North and South Circular roads, it really makes no sense that the link is broken over the Thames in this Eastern


part of the city; there is a bridge in West London connecting North and South Circular road per se. So it's a no brainer really.

There were space reasons cited for not considering a road link at Woolwich, but I think the authorities need to think out of the box and consider a bridge/tunnel entrance elsewhere nearby with less space constraint, maybe at Charlton or even West Thamesmead; or even extended driveway platforms along the river bank.

On my return trip each day, I travel eastbound first on the commercial road towards the tunnel approach, and most annoyed when I get past All Saints and to find out there is tunnel congestion or even closures. Digital traffic signboards are available near Limehouse but hardly being used to warn motorists on the eastbound that there's a congestion/closure of the tunnel. If there had been warnings, motorists could have used the Rotherhithe to cross southbound without having to travel all the way to All Saint's. So not having the warning is very annoying, and for that vehicles will continue to pile up on the eastbound A13 at All Saint's. Notwithstanding the extra carbon footprint when vehicles have to turn back to Rotherthite to make the crossing.

There was one incident where I endured a jam towards the tunnel, only to realised it was closed when I almost got there. There is no u-turn allowed at the junction but to move further on. As such I decided to carry on to North Woolwich to see if I can catch the ferry, but to my biggest annoyance it was past 8pm and ferry service is closed at that time. To get across south of the river, I will either have to go on to the Dartford crossing or back track to Rotherhite (congested due to Blackwall closure).

So, ordinary people just wanted to cross the river, but the poor road designs and lack of planning has made it an ordeal from time to time.

I am glad there is this consultation going on but I hope ultimately the focus is on solving the issues with good practical solutions, rather than coming out with something that looks good on the paper but does not do the job.

I have traveled north bound every morning for the last 16 years using the Blackwall tunnel.My journey starts from Welling at about 5am & i arrive in Bow no later than 5.30. I have encountered very very few problems on this journey & would be extremley angered if i was to be forced to pay a fee to cross,as i do not believe i am causing any congestion.My journey home (southbound) is almost a mirror image of the above & therefore be equaly upset if i have to pay.I do not agree with any kind of congestion fee (stelth tax) but if this were to be the case then please charge accordingly.I do understand the need for another crossing but please look elsewhere for the cash, the working class person is fed up of paying whilst others will not (EG: MAYORS,MPs ECT ECT), also lets look at charging the big foreign companies whose lorries use our motorways & frequently cause congestion on the Blackwall Tunnel approaches (both ways).I hope you do listen to these views but some how i doubt it.I do look forward to your reply to my experiance of using the Blackwall crossingThank you.

DA161QF Personal response

Dear Andrew

Thank you for your email - I think ! I'm not a fan of unsolicited mail but understand your need for feedback.

SE13 7TZ Personal response

Actually I previously filled in the questionnaire about this. However, whether building a new tunnel or not is the answer I don't know. It will certainly encourage more traffic and I wonder if it isn't better directed further away from such a congested residential (and business on the north bank) area. I would bet most tunnel users are not from the immediate area, although I am and use it quite frequently, if not badly congested. There are 'escape' routes near the tunnel, which is a good thing.

If one considers the M25 development, the Dartford Crossing and other 'congestion relief' routes, they fill up as quickly as they are built and I see no reason why Silvertown won't be the same.

Perhaps the money is better spent on improving public transport, park and ride areas - and finding a way to deal with the huge volume of commercial vehicles which are responsible for most of the congestion - and bad driving !

Good luck, whatever you do - interesting problem to wrap your brains round.

Best wishes,The scheme is completely ill thought out and is nothing more than yet another government backed additional tax extraction scheme.

It will cause HUGE additional traffic chaos during any construction work [which will no doubt go on for years], and, to add insult to injury TFL have the audacity to propose charges not only to any new tunnel, but for the Blackwall Tunnel to fund building it. And once complete the charges will no doubt rise and rise again [just like TFL have done with the congestion charge], and the money generated will far exceed any running costs, before it’s eventually sold off to the French, just like the Dartford Crossing [Hmmm, when that was being built weren’t the public told that the toll would only apply until costs were met???].

Any new tunnel/crossing should be at Thamesmead. An additional crossing between Dartford and Blackwall.

And, given that we’re told we need this crossing because of the increasing congestion, how about you get the Government to fund it out of the massively increased road tax they now rape us for, or the additional road tax generated by the massively increased amount of cars on the road, or the additional income taxes generated by all these people driving about in all these extra cars?

It is a fundamental requirement in an apparently developed and civilised country for our elected representatives to provide us with an adequate transport infrastructure out of the taxes we pay already.

As a business owner in London with many vehicles on the road we see NO benefit at all from the existence of the congestion charge, or TFL itself. All we see is an additional cost of over a £1000 a month [congestion charges] to still sit in traffic on badly run, badly managed and badly repaired roads.

We have absolutely no doubt at all that this latest scheme will be nothing more than yet another additional cost to our business, with no real benefit reflecting the additional cost.

The scheme should be scrapped, along with TFL.

SE11 6NQ Hire 4 Lower

Dear Andrew


SE3 8NT Personal response

Transport in general seems to be a low priority in South East London , there are few underground stations , one DLR line , a lot of bus routes and no new river crossing for a long , long time.

I believe London has the fewest river crossings of any major European capital city. Why is there such a reluctance to build river crossings ? Any player of SIM games knows you must build to enable you city to grow , maybe we could get the planners playing SIM games to understand how they are restricting the growth of South East London.

Almost every day the A102 ( south bound and northbound ) gets blocked in one way or another.

Either there is an accident , an over height vehicle or someone runs out of fuel. The resulting traffic congestion is horrendous.Many times I have sat and waited on the A102 for about an hour while a recovery vehicle removes the obstruction ( can we have recovery vehicles on standby , to clear vehicles quickly ).

The wider effect in Greenwich , Woolwich , Eltham and Blackheath is also counter productive. Many of the car commuters who use the free Blackwall tunnel will use local roads when the A2 or A102 is blocked. This is really unfair on local residents and business as it makes getting around really difficult. Remember all south east London has is buses and trains ( now London Bridge is closed its making the trains difficult also).

I have read reports in the past saying the money required could get better results in other areas of London , although no actual examples are given. The North circular has been sorted out in recent years ( this used to be a bottle neck ) and the Hammersmith flyover will probably always be a problem.

So there has to be some relief for users of Blackwall tunnel , I suggest many of the users of the Blackwall tunnel could use the Dartford crossing but do not want to pay a toll.

Firstly a toll should be made for the Blackwall tunnel , the same amount as the Dartford crossing. If volumes of traffic do not fall significantly as a result then the Silvertown tunnel has to be built to keep South East London moving.

I sometimes wonder how much a traffic jam costs in terms of lost business , the cost of wasted fuel and missed appointments. I think the figure would be huge if it could be calculated.

So to whoever decides these things , something needs to be done about the Blackwall tunnel

Also a DLR to Eltham rail station suspened above the A2 would relieve congestion and car use dramatically.

Dear Mr Miles

I would like to ask the Major of London, the Government and Transport for London why they cannot put their time, money and resources into a river crossing between East and South East London which we are in dire need of, instead of wasting monies on a garden bridge - which has been given the go ahead in a remarkably short time.

SE9 1AG Personal response

I cannot recall the last time I saw waiting times of an hour to cross the Thames between Temple and South Bank, which is exactly what motorists endure each day.

There have been two consultations regarding the need of a further river crossing in 2011 and last year. At these stages, it was identified there is a need, and yet there will be a further consultation this year? Why is Transport for London undertaking a further consultation - when the need was already clearly established?

South East and East London have faced a massive increase in population and this will continue as many areas have been earmarked for future development. The fact that the government has failed to address transportation is a travesty. I cannot understand why the new crossing will not be built before 2021!?

In addition, all of the consultations involve a toll, and yet there is already a proposing to levy a charge at all of our crossings, Dartford (whereby a toll system is already in place), Blackwall and the new Silvertown crossing. I understand you are proposing a charge for a car of £2.50 each way would be payable between 6am and 10pm.

For individuals and local businesses who have no choice to use these river crossings each day, this is a stealth tax on South East, East Londoners Kent and Essex would equate to £1,200 per year per car and £1400 per van.

Our more affluent West London neighbours pay nothing for the use of their river crossings, which their previous local councils and government put in place when there was a need.

If all of the East London river crossings are going to be charged, then I propose that TFL should fairly charge the whole of London, including West London for the use of their crossings?

Yours sincerely

I believe that whilst there is and probably always be an issue.Perhaps there is also the possibility to look at the traffic light phasing just after the exit going north and the slip road which will take you westwards along East India Dock Road.

Surely with today's technology and camera observation it must be possible to override this and allow for a smoother flow?.

DA75SX Personal response

Dear Andrew


I think this is a very biased consultation. You are asking people whether they experience congestion at the Blackwall Tunnel to provide evidence for a Silvertown Tunnel. But the current problem doesnt get solved by that proposed solution.

The Silvertown Tunnel still places the traffic load in much the same area. it doesnt do the big job of freeing up East London river crossings, which would be much better solved by tunnels further east or west, not by another tunnel in the same area.

E14 2DE Personal response

Much more immediately, building a Silvertown Tunnel will mean major disruption to the Blackwall Tunnel before there is any alternative. The current congestion would become a nightmare during construction and building the links. It would be far better to build eg the proposed Beckton crossing first, and if its still needed, the Silvertown one later.

It's clear you simply want evidence for your proposed solution, but frankly that is not the proper role of a public agency like TFL.

Yes there is congestion. No this isn't the solution, at the very least not yet.

Regards

Hi, thanks for your email.

I live at 25 Kemsing Road, SE10 0LL. When I join the A102 I do so at the junction with the A206, the congestion is therefore slightly limited for me as I join before the end of the queue.

My concerns about the proposal relate more to the potential for:

A) increased road noise arising from increased speed and from potentially significantly larger vehicles

B) Knock on effects relating to use of the residential roads surrounding the Blackwall tunnel approach arising from the new plans

C) thinking about the A206 roundabout and how the proposed ikea development will combine with the tunnel proposals

We currently get a reasonable amount of road noise from the elevated section above the a206 roundabout and I imagine this could substantially increase as a result of the proposed new tunnel. This could be mitigated by use of addional noise reducing road surfaces and also vertical sound protection along the edge of the road. I think such improvements must be included in the final proposals, in comparison with the overall cost of the project this would be minor but would substantially increase the benefits of the scheme to local residents.

Separately I think that any automated charge for using the tunnel should be substantially reduced for residents of the boroughs at each end.

Reconfiguration of the a206 and a102 roundabout, flyover, traffic light phasing and interchange generally needs to be considered?

Kind regards

SE10 0LL Personal response

Andrew

Would there be any restriction in carrying LPGas. At present we have to use Tower or Dartford bridges.

Regards

RM4 1AA Glendining Highways

Hi Andrew, SE10 0FN Personal response

There should be second tube line that goes from North Greenwich to Canary Wharf - it is hard to get on the trains in the morning.

I also want see a bus service that goes through the existing tunnel straighten to central London.

I would much prefer that TfL ran a sampan boat service between North Greenwich to Canary Wharf at a reasonable price - like the Star Ferries in Hong Kong - which are a preferred choice for most HK people.

I would use the river boat if it cost me less than my journey to Wandsworth town and ferries ran more frequently. As it is with, only 3 per hour, it would take me as long by ferry (1hr) as it does by tube and cost 30% more. : - (

I use the Blackwall Tunnel frequently. There is often congestion and the experience is both annoying and depressing. It is depressing because it is the primary river crossing within London (certainly within East London) and it seems extraordinary given its importance as part of London's infrastructure that it is so narrow, slow and has bends. It feels claustrophobic and there is a constant risk of large vehicles moving out of lane and colliding. That there will be congestion is pretty predictable - but the time delay is not very predictable. I appreciate the history - but why have we not done something to improve it? It is hard to believe that any other major city would rely on 19th century infrastructure in circumstances such as these.

The solutions are to build a new tunnel or a bridge. I support the Silvertown tunnel - though my understanding from the plans is that it will relieve rather than replace the Blackwall Tunnel - and will involve a minor diversion. A better model would be to build a bridge or tunnel with three lane carriageway that should avoid any significant congestion because traffic could flow through it. But absent that - and it may be that that would be unaffordable - I support the Silvertown Tunnel.


Hi Andrew

Just a follow up to my previous email sent from my personal account and fyi the views in this email are my own personal ones and do not reflect those of the company.

I had to drive from Greenwich to Greenwich Peninsula (early bank holiday getaway) this morning and was caught in the aftermath of the lorry breakdown.

The traffic was stacked was back into Greenwich town centre and a journey which can take as little as 8 minutes took 46 minutes.

The traffic on the approach road has only just started flowing smoothly.

YES TO SILVERTOWN TUNNEL

E6 3LQ Personal response

Dear Andrew,

Happy to give my thoughts on this.The key thing about the Blackwall tunnel is that even if it runs without incident, many people queue for ages just to get through it. And if the tunnel is closed, if affects not only people tying to use it but the whole surrounding area for many hours.

SE6 1XR Personal response

The case for the new tunnel is so clear, and I just hope we can get though all the consultations asap so construction on the new tunnel can begin. Please, please for the sake of the historically ill served residents of south east London, lets get started. I'm sure if necessary people would be willing to pay a toll for quick reliable journeys, this project has the ability to transform the lives of everyone who is currently forced to use the current blackwall tunnel.I live in SE6 and work at Queen Mary university in E1. The only way I could contemplate this journey was to purchase a moped which I use to travel to and from work every day, and every day I see the misery inflicted on drivers because it's taken so many years to do anything about the shameful lack of river crossings to the east of tower bridge.The other issue is if ever the Queen Elizabeth bridge at Dartford is closed, eg due to high winds, all that traffic has no choice but to use the existing blackwall tunnel, so the benefits of the new tunnel extend also to those who regularly use this crossing as well.

Lets get it done!

Thanks so much for canvassing my opinion. As you can no doubt tell, I'm very passionate about this issue.

Thanks

Regards

Dear Mr Miles

I am very disappointed that the London Mayor and the Central Governments of the United Kingdom have been dragging their feet over the issue of a new crossing for East London. As far as I can remember the idea of a bridge or a tunnel was first mooted when Mr Ken Livingston was the London Mayor. From 1999 to 2011 I travelled daily from Wembley to Plumstead in South East London in the morning and back again in the evening after work. I am a 74 years old doctor still practising as a GP in Plumstead. I used to travel on North Circular road and took the Blackwall tunnel to cross the river. Over the years the journey became more and more difficult and time consuming due to increasing volume of traffic and frequent blockages at the tunnel, causing utter waist of time and tremendously increasing the pollution in the region. In June 2011 I decided to move to a small apartment in the South East through sheer frustration.

I am amazed that the worlds 2nd most important city after New York had no new crossing (except for QE bridge and tunnel too far form the population) added from north to south since the building of the second tunnel for the Balckwall tunnel in 1960s. In my opinion a new wide crossing is urgently needed in the area from Greenwich to Thamesmead in view of the massive developments that are taking place in SE London.

Yours faithfully

SE28 8FX Personal response

Hi,I live in Charlton SE7 and work in Hackney. I am a community nurse and need my car for work. The journey through the tunnel to my base is about 8 miles and when there is no congestion I can do the journey in 25 minutes with ease. However most mornings despite leaving my house early it takes me about an hour and similarly in the evening for my journey. home. When there has been an incident such as a broken down vehicle my journey is considerably longer. If there is a problem with The Woolwhich Ferry or the Dartford Crossing then The Blackwall tunnel is even further congested.. The journey is usually a great source of stress as whatever plans you have either at work or home are all depending on whether or not the tunnel has a problem or not. East and South East London are very poorly served for river


Personal response

crossings compared to the rest of London and I think a new crossing would be a positive thing all round.Kind Regards

I do not use the Blackwall Tunnel on a daily basis. However, if there is a breakdown, accident or sheer volume of traffic then it impacts on the local area. I live in SE7 and dread the local traffic news in case it reports an incident in the tunnel. Unfortunately it is a regular occurrence and it affects my journey to work and my daughters journey to school.We would welcome another river crossing to relieve the pressure on the tunnel.

SE7 8PG Personal response

The blackwall tunnel is very bad, always everyday of the weeks, when is after 9am during weekend, we just find another solution like the rotherhide or london bridge, tower bridge or even sometime the all way to essex and take the toll bridge which very annoying, it make this part of the city very isolated we have friend in canary wharf and sometime they just don't come to see us just because of the traffic.

Thanks

SE10 8JL Personal response

Hi Andrew,

Thank you for contacting me about the new Silvertown Tunnel. Please see below my comments on the lack of invest in the road network system connecting East London and South East London.

1. People living in East London or South East London wanting to cross the river have extremely limited options. People could use the QE2 bridge but the issue with that is the the bridge is to far out to drive on a daily bases as well the cost of crossing the bridge. Most motorist will agree the bridge is ripping off motorists, as the QE2 bridge has paid for itself 4 times over now. Making motorists drive all the way out to use the QE2 bridge also has an impact on traffic and pollution.

2. The woolwich ferry is not fit for purpose. The ferry is free, but thats the only good thing about it. The ferry is extremely slow, often only one boat is running instead of two, and is put out of service due to weather conditions.

3. Most people living in London use the Blackwall Tunnel. The current issues with the tunnel is that if there is an accident it cause major delays, and having no other close options to cross the river motorist are forced to sit in traffic while the accident is dealt with.

4. The Rotherhithe Tunnel is usually the second best way to cross the river after the Blackwall Tunnel. But this tunnel has the same problem with the Blackwall Tunnel does.

5. Tower Bridge is the only other option, which is outside the congestion charge zone. However because your driving into central London motorists encounter heavy traffic.

The Silvertown Tunnel is a much needed crossing. Currently the road network system on both side of the river exist in order to take on the load of traffic. The only thing needed is the tunnel itself. It will decrease travel time, pollution, traffic and boost the economy of London. The only major issue with the Silvertown Tunnel is how its going to be funded. I completely disagree with charging motorists to use the Blackwall or Silvertown tunnels. The new Silvertown Tunnel should be funded by TFL and the Congestion Charge. The public hasn't seen any use of the money raised through the Congestion Charge being put back into London roads. As the Congestion Charge primarily affects motorists the funds raised by it should be used to build the new Silvertown Tunnel, and once build be free to use for all.

IG1 3DR Personal response

I hope my opinions can be useful.

Kind Regards,

Sir! i commuted across blacwall tunnel for 13 years.it was a horrible experience even though most days i used motorcycle..north bound tunnel is too bendy and too low. lorrries often getting stuck creating a back log quickly.then there are issues regarding the operator who loves to close tunnel at slightest sneeze.then there are perpetual road workswhich is why i suggest a bridge is more appropriate,this is allow more cross river bus servce.however i am against a paid tunnel or bridge.since west london has many free bridges.why east london must pay to use crossing,.besides it will just turn out to be a money makng machne for some rich foreignersthanks

E16 1FT Personal response

Hi AndrewI use the Blackwall & Dartford Crossings on occasions and use the Dart Tag scheme. I tend to travel outside peak periods so I am not affected as much as many others but do agree that more crossings are badly needed.The thing that bothers me is the proposed charging to use any of the crossings including the existing Blackwall. It has been said that this will be applied to reduce demand.I think quite honestly that this is preposterous.People do not cross the river for leisure, they cross because they need to!If and when the new crossings are up and running, to travel between SE London/Kent and NE London/Essex the nearest free road crossing will be Rotherhithe. This is an unfair situation. ALL the road crossings from Rotherhithe westwards are free and so should all the others. Let's have a level playing field.The Dartford Tolls, which were originally to pay for the construction of the new QE2 bridge, should now be removed.Regards

DA16 2QU Personal response

Hello,

I think that every work day is probably affected by the lack of river crossings in east London and on some occasions I am sure the weekend is affected too.

I would guess that every day traffic comes to a standstill on the north approach to the tunnel and I assume this causes an increase in traffic in our area due to vehicles deciding to go through Greenwich to Rotherithe Tunnel. This increase of traffic is unpleasant for residents and slows down the buses that frequent the area.

When there is an accident in the tunnel it essentially means that all traffic in the surrounding area comes to a standstill. This means any mode of transport that uses the road is impractical. Therefore this adds 20 minutes to my journey to work and I am lucky enough to be close to train stations. For other people this would be significantly worse.

Building more crossings to me is a no brainer. Cars of some description will continue to exist for the significant future. To answer to being

SE10 9EQ Personal response

more green is to improve the method of powering these vehicles, not by preventing the improvement of road infrastructure. Even if cars do decrease in the future, I am sure a new tunnel would be adapted for another use, as has the Thames Tunnel built by Brunel!

Thanks

Many thanks for the opportunity to respond, I hope this helps.

London is a world class City in all but its river crossings. Go to Hong Kong and you get modern fantastic tunnels under the harbour, the Blackwall tunnel is not world class and is completely substandard for a modern growing City. South East London is very poorly served by river crossings and providing a new tunnel, regulated by fair tolls, will unlock economic potential for East London.

There is currently a complete lack of resilience in the network, the Blackwall and Silvertown tunnels will be too close to each other and one shunt will create a bottleneck for both tunnels.

Normally expanding roads should be a last resort as it just creates more traffic, and public transport should be prioritised, but the problem of congestion is so bad that something needs to be done. But it should be done fairly, tolls should be applied intelligently and fluctuate in real times with traffic volumes throughout the day to reflect the peak period, off peak period and a free period between 10pm and 6am.

SE9 3HE Personal response

Hello

I only use the Blackwall Tunnel a few times a month, however invariably there is either a significant problem or at the very least (painfully) slow moving traffic (on the southern approach). This has to be more than mere coincidence or misfortune on my part.

The existing tunnel is no longer fit for purpose and needs relief – the idea for the new tunnel is an excellent one.

Good Luck

SE12 8LR Personal response

Although I don’t use the tunnel regularly it seems when I do so about 50% of the time there is delay which soon builds to gridlock in a short space of time. Its quiet incredible that East London still only has 2 crossings, given the amount of development both North & South of the river a new crossing (or 2) is essential, to do nothing is not an option. The target should be to have a crossing open and complete by 2018, 2021 is far too late, that gives decision makers (who generally don’t live in East London) too much time to cancel it or delay further. The consultation period should be short, lengthy consultations enable pressure groups too much influence.

E5 9UB Personal response

Congestion at Blackwall Tunnel affects my family frequently. We live in Newham and we often drive to Greenwich, in order to walk in the park there. We have often had to wait to go through the tunnel in both directions. Going by public transport is not so easy for me because I have a bad back, and the seats are uncomfortable for me. Standing on public transport is also not good for my health. Therefore, I prefer to use a car. Waiting in traffic jams to pass through the tunnel causes traffic fumes for the people who live near the Blackwall tunnel, and also uses up petrol.

We also travel to the South to visit friends and family, go shopping at Bluewater, and go walking in the countryside. We would prefer to pay a toll and use a local tunnel at Silvertown, than drive to the Dartford Crossing.

E7 9HU Personal response

Regards,

Hello there

I do sometimes use the Blackwall tunnel. I live on the Isle of Dogs and occasionally go South through the tunnel on business during the week, and leisure at the weekends.

Using the tunnel is quite often not too bad for me because much of the time I am going 'against the traffic', but on the other side of the road coming the other way there are very often long queues.

Tunnel congestion does affect me in another way however, in that I use the Tesco supermarket at Bromley-By-Bow. On returning to the Isle of Dogs, I get caught up in congested southbound tunnel traffic on the approach road.

It is not difficult to see that the tunnel was not designed and built for the volumes of traffic currently using it. Another crossing in East London is vital to alleviate the congestion, in my view.

Kind regards

E14 3QF Personal response

Dear Andrew,Thank you for your email and for giving me an opportunity to share my view.I feel quite strongly about this topic as for many years I have been bewildered by the relative lack of East London river crossings compared to Central and West London.The result of relying on The Blackwall & Dartford Crossings is that whenever one is closed (which happens on a surprisingly regular basis) all major routes through south-east London in particular become unbearably busy as motorists seek alternative routes. If this happens during AM/PM rush hour the gridlock effect is magnified.Sadly the Woolwich Ferry (which in theory links the North and South circular - two extremely busy roads) just does not cut it in this day and age. Perhaps it was a useful means of transportation in the days when car ownership was rare but in the 21st Century, to me it is an anachronism. The boats have a very limited capacity (especially so when trucks are allowed on board too) and the inevitable queues which result often lead back out on to the South Circular roundabout (which connects 3 busy dual carriageway roads) cause further chaos, queuing and occasionally crashes. It is downright dangerous.I support building the Silvertown tunnel and making one of the two resultant tunnels in that area tolled. I support moving the ferry crossing downstream towards the less built up and busy Central Thamesmead area and making it used by cars, bikes and foot passengers only. I also support the proposed bridge crossing at Gallions Reach. The more crossings the better, as more options for crossing the river will mean less chance of true gridlock.And to the green campaigners who say it means more emissions for the area - do they not realise that people will be making their planned journeys anyway, however long it takes them.The area has been crying out for transportation infrastructure for decades. Now is the time to alleviate the congestion.Best regards,

SE28 0GD Personal response

Hi Andrew,DA13 9JL Personal response

Thank you for your email. All I'd like to say is this project can not be started to soon. I must spend many wasted hours every week queuing from the Sun in the Sands. I'd also point out that no charges should be made for crossing the river to the east of London when ample free crossing are available to the west.Kind regards

N Greenwich Station is the only Tube Station for most of us in Greenwich. When the Tunnel is blocked the time to get their by bus can increase 10 times over as all roads get blocked and frustrated drivers block bus lanes and entrances to A102 by going round traffic into lanes they should not occupy. Impossible to get to DLR etc without long walks. Roads for miles around become super congested.

SE3 7PE Personal response

Dear Andrew,


I have been using the Blackwall Tunnel to commute, by car, from Petts Wood to Blackfriars for the past 15 years. It is a very miserable experience. On days when I want to avoid the misery, I have to leave home at 5.30am (arriving at work at about 6.15am), even though I needn’t be in work until 8 am or later.

The stretch of road on the A102 (northbound) between the Sun in the Sands roundabout and the entrance to the Blackwall Tunnel is pure gridlock during ordinary commuting hours in the morning, Monday-Friday. The precise hours of gridlock vary from day to day, though it is virtually guaranteed between 7.30 to 9.30, and often much earlier (until much later). In those conditions, it takes 1 hour or more to move from Sun in the Sands roundabout to the Blackwall Tunnel. Progress is painfully slow. It is made worse by cars and other vehicles attempting to move from the left hand lane to the right hand lane just as they are about to enter the height-restricted filter lane, forcing traffic to brake just as it is about to flow into the tunnel.

Once through the tunnel, many vehicles head straight on towards the A12/A13, rather than turning left towards the City. As I know from my own occasional attempts to get to areas in East London or Essex (e.g. Beckon, Ilford etc), drivers are forced to take the Blackwall Tunnel due to the lack of river crossings between Blackwall and Dartford and the wish to avoid becoming stuck in gridlock on the M25. If the Silvertown Tunnel is built, one would expect it to alleviate some of the pressure by allowing a significant proportion of the traffic to divert off towards Essex etc a good distance from the Blackwall Tunnel.

Good luck with the project!

Kind regards,

EC4Y 7DS Personal response

Hi ,

Yes I regularly use and are delayed by the vast amount of traffic waiting to get through the Blackwall Tunnel . I can't imagine how many hours I have wasted waiting on the approaches and if this is added to all the others waiting to , I am sure it would affect the productivity of the the country ... I know environmentalists will say by building more roads and more traffic will use them but the amount of hours or idling Diesel engines just sitting there must produce a lot of pollution . I am sure some offsetting can be achieved with another crossing , ie more parks , trees or extending the ultra low emission zone to the north and south circular and then to the M25 ...

WC2H 0LA Personal response

Many thanks and hope the new crossing gets built soon .

Dear Andrew, I use the Blackwall Tunnel to visit my parents in Essex regularly and will also use the Woolwich Ferry as I live very close to it. Every time I use the Blackwall Tunnel, there are always delays. There have always been problems - for years. When leaving Essex, we have to aim to leave much earlier as it is always closed which is a terrible inconvenience. Some cases, we have to use the Dartford Crossing which is longer and at times, also delays. In this day and age, travelling should be simple but I dispair of the Blackwall Tunnel. The Woolwich Ferry only has one ferry at the weekends so this is a nightmare too. I hope this information is of help. Kind regards,

SE18 7JH Personal response

Dear SirIf you have to use the "Blackwall Tunnel" on a regular basis you will be in no doubt whatsoever what a "nightmare" this is. Take a look at the traffic news on most days and there are more often than not reported tailbacks to Sun in The Sands roundabout. I have sat on the tunnel approach road on many occasions for hours without moving. I just cannot understand the need for more and more "consultations,analysis,discussion". The residents of South East London have suffered enough without adequate river crossings both tunnel and bridge. This cannot be good for residents, business, or the environment. To say there is a "pressing need" for more river crossings is an understatement.yours faithfully

SE18 6SU Personal response

I use the tunnel every day both ways in morning south to north and and in the evenings north to south and the same at weekend.

The Tunnel without doubt is the biggest source of stress in my life by far.

The nearest alternatives are to far a way,and at least once a week i am stuck out side it from 15 to 45 mins.

This weekend i had an important meeting so i had to allow an extra hour in case the tunnel was shut.

SE18 2TE Personal response

Dear Andrew,

Thank you for contacting me a seeking my experience of the Blackwall Tunnel and the lack of river crossings in East London.

I was born and brought up in South East London, leaving the area in 1983 to go to university in Bath. Since then my work has taken me to live in several places in the UK and overseas. I now work at Heathrow and reside in Brentford in West London. However, throughout this time my parents continue to live in Eltham and I visit them often. I try to use public transport where possible, but as they are getting old they struggle with public transport so it's increasingly necessary to drive to Eltham so that I can take them out and about. Hence I am

TW8 0FG Personal response

familiar with the problems caused by the poor infrastructure in East / South East London.

We like to portray London as one of the best cities in the world, and in many regards that claim has merit. But when it comes to infrastructure, we are woefully lacking. London's road network is embarrassing compared with Singapore and Boston, it falls short of Madrid, Ljubljana and Tromso. It's shameful that in the very place where Brunel led the world with the first tunnel under a navigable river, we have to rely on two clapped out road tunnels and a rusty ferry.

But it's not just about pride. The lack of river crossings downstream of Tower Bridge is a impediment to economic growth. When I was young, we never travelled to East London because it was so difficult to get there from Eltham. The river was a barrier. Forty years later, what has changed? There's the DLR, the Jubilee Line and a cable car! There is absolutely no change in the road infrastructure. The DLR and Jubilee Line are welcome, but neither penetrate far into South East London. The cable car gives tourists a nice view of the river! The river remains a barrier.

The lack of road infrastructure and river crossings means South East London fails to benefit from the investment north of the river. The deprived areas of Lewisham, East Greenwich, Woolwich, Plumstead, Erith and Thamesmead do not benefit from investment at Canary Wharf, the Olympic Park, London City Airport etc. Businesses are reluctant to locate in South East London when it is so difficult to reach suppliers, partners and customers elsewhere in the city. We desperately need tunnels and bridges to connect South East London with the rest of the capital and allow this forgotten part of London to receive some investment.

Best regards,

When something happens - bad weather, accidents, flooding all [increasing problems ] it creates an even worse logjam for passengers and drivers from Deptford, Lewisham, Blackheath etc to N Greenwich - not just the motorists. In Feb my normal bus journey of 7 minutes took 3 hours+ and then a further90 mins instead of 40 mins to SW1/SW3 due to more congestion in the tube lines thanks to this bottleneck effect. It is bad most times but unbearable when inclement weather or accidents happen. Something must be done. It is ridiculous that S London is a satellite of N London.

The pollution is terrible as well so you need to think properly about how best to resolve this and not put your efforts in to wealthy Londoners and their vanity project of the garden bridge. More bridges here and further east would helpThanks,

SE3 7RR Personal response

Hi Andrew,

Thanks for your email re the Blackwall Tunnel.

I am retired and do not use the tunnel on a daily basis BUT I live in SE London and most of my journeys are to East Anglia and north of London.Before I make these journeys I look at the traffic cameras at Blackwall and Dartford to assess the situation.Even then you cannot be confident that you will arrive at your destination in a reasonable time.

For a city that had pretentions of being world class, the river crossings to the east of the city are totally inadequate for the current era of car travel and population size.They are a disgrace for a modern city – even compared to our European neighbours such as Antwerp, Rotterdam, and Amsterdam which

SE9 3LD Personal response

have far more rivers and water crossings to overcome.

The Blackwall tunnel was built for the horse and cart and it shows.With the amount of tunnelling expertise generated by the crossrail project you would have thought that they would have been able to drill a couple of tunnels at Silvertown very quickly.

The concerns that I have with the proposals:a. By the time the Silvertown crossing is built, the population will have grown so much that there will be little improvement.b. That the northern traffic will go straight onto a roundabout, whereas the traffic should go directly onto the north circular/A13 with

no interruption.

Nobody seems to be bothered by the fact that the 2 populations of east London (north of the river and south of the river) are separatedand there is a great economic cost in the inefficiencies and restrictions in the traffic queues, not to mention the traffic pollution.

Sorry comments are a bit disjointed,

RegardsI am constantly delayed by the Blackwall tunnel and as much as possible avoid using it during peak hours. In extreme situations - for instance when a lane or the tunnel has to be closed - the ensuing traffic chaos can back up in to Greenwich and Blackheath. The biggest delay I have ever had is being stuck on the Isle of dogs for two hours before I gave up and abandoned my car at Canary Wharf - progressing home by DLR. I have also driven all the way to Dartford and looped back on and effort to cross the river so I could get home. The main probe,m is the lack of a viable alternative. The woolwich ferry lacks capacity, and Rotherhithe tunnel and Tower Bridge are a good distance away.

Regards

SE3 7TL Personal response

I used to use Blackwall tunnel to connect with flights at Stanstead airport. After missing a flight due to conjestion now avoid this route. SE13 6UA Personal response

Hi Andrew,I’ve lived and worked in London most of my life, commuting by public transport and by car.There are, rightly so many crossing in central and west London, however East London has so few.The result is self-evident, congestion that causes misery as well of course, a loss to business.I am by qualification, a “planner” and it saddens me to say that the implementation of plans seems to be so far behind what is happening in the real world.The Blackwalll Tunnel is a success, as measured by its usage, but it does not have enough capacity. The Silvertown Tunnel is essential and needs approval ASAP.I hope that these comments are of some value to you,Kind Regards,

RM7 0QT Personal response

Response to questions SE28 8TH Personal response

Are you often delayed by congestion at the Blackwall Tunnel?

YES every time while commuting to and from work.

How does a lack of river crossings in east London affect your everyday travel?

Causes unnecessary delays and frustrations with negative impact on my general well-being- arriving at my destination often exhausted and feeling edgy.

Dear Sirs

I refer to your e.mail dated the 24th March.

I do not live near Blackwall Tunnel but i have been a regular user of the tunnel for around 40 years .

From my perspective the current Blackwall Tunnel crossing is second only to the M25 as the worst road i know. The crossing has become increasingly worse over the last 20 years or more i cannot believe it has taken this long for another crossing nearer London to be built. The Rotherhithe tunnel crossing is difficult to actually drive to - usually due to too much traffic - and then the next crossing is the Dartford Crossing which is miles away. I do not even consider the Woolwich Ferry !!

I live near the A20 and it is noticeable that when you hear of an issue at the Dartford Crossing the A20 fills much more as the traffic diverts off the M25 and heads to Blackwall Tunnel . There have been times in the past when i have driven backwards and forwards between Blackwall Tunnel and the Dartford Crossing to find which way might be quicker.

I just cannot trust a drive through Blackwall Tunnel anymore . I have actually given up crossing through Blackwall Tunnel as you can be stuck in a major traffic jam at any time of day and once you are in the jam it is not easy to get out of it.

The new traffic flow on the South side introduced a year or so ago made a slight improvement to the flow of traffic but so many cars ignore the traffic signs and change lanes shortly before the tunnel that congestion still occurs.

Although the new Silvertown tunnel will help other crossings are crucial. Quite often the queues leading to the tunnel on the South side stretch past the Sun in the Sands and by the looks of it that would then affect the Silvertown tunnel. There is now so much traffic during weekday mornings in particular that when there is the slightest hold up the queue at the tunnel builds extremely quickly but takes ages to

SE9 3JT Personal response

clear.

With an election coming up there is naturally much talk about the economy but there must be an enormous effect on the London and East London economy when one side of London is often at a standstill. This situation has unbelievably gone on for 15 - 20 years !!

I trust this info is helpful for your purposes and i look forward to watching what happens with the River crossings on the East side in the future .

Regards

Just get it built!As normal in UK we have turned into a ‘chasing’ the problem country, in the past the Victorians set the pace, we are at least 15 years late with the east london river crossings, using old antiquated tunnels and a wreck of a ferry, at times the gridlock form a broken down car affects the a13, a12, the highway and commercial road, over a year total business most must be astronomical.

A silvertown tunnel is a great step, follow it with the beckton bridge (cancelled by boris) and a further bridge towards dagenham.

Living local is not a case of getting in the car and going, sometimes its just stopping as it takes either soon long to arrive if at all

E16 1SX Personal response

Hi Andrew


Yes I am affected by the congestion and would like to see something done to relieve this. I regularly travel the 6 mile journey from home to our head office in Stratford for work, or to shop at the Westfield retail centre. This journey takes me from 10 minutes to over an hour depending on time of day/night and congestion.

It makes me love the summer holidays... but not for the same reasons as when I was a child.

I would also like to see an easy/direct bus route to North Greenwich station from the Yorkshire Grey roundabout or even from Kidbrooke station - as I am happy to use public transport, but this also currently takes me over an hour to navigate.

Kind Regards

SE9 5LR Personal response

Thanks for the option to let you know about my experiences at the Blackwall TunnelBasically it is a complete nightmare - queues northbound in the morning are frequently back to the Sun in Sands and in the evening Southbound, back to Old Ford (delays of 30 minutes are the norm)The problem is that one is never sure how long it will take to cross, no matter what time of the day (especially northbound )There is a desperate need for a new crossing - the cost to business and individuals in waiting at the Blackwall must run into billions

CT14 9PS Personal response

Andrew E3 3HW Personal response

I reside just south of the Bow Fly over and the lack of an additional crossing affects me several times during the week. If I wish to travel south through the tunnel or to join the A13 I constantly in a traffic jam. At times I cannot use the local Tesco for shopping as it can take so long to get back to Devon’s road means it is not worthwhile. There is little point in visiting Greenwich at any time of the day as to get back through the north bound tunnel takes an inordinate amount of time.

It is evident that the traffic increases through the tunnel as many motorists seek to avoid the toll charge on the Dartford tunnel.

The quicker another crossing is completed the better it will be for all. Such a crossing should be restricted to Public transport only.

I don't use the tunnel everyday maybe once a week. However when there is a problem at the tunnel ie traffic jams, the complete area around trafalgar rd, all around the O2 area, shooters hill, and all around Blackheath and greenwich park becomes TURGID. It's terrible to live here because local journeys become impossible. I do feel the need to have a 3rd spare bore to use when there are road works to be done and also when there is a blockage. People in this area are already suffering because on bad days we are suffocated with traffic, stopping everything .

SE3 7JW Personal response

Half of the time I choose not to make a trip towards SE London now because of the Blackwall crossings could take too much.

We are now thinking of buying a property, and we decided to avoid some of the SE London options because the crossing would be such a drag in our life.

Regards,

E14 7JT Personal response

Dear Andrew,


I am in favor of a new river crossing as it is very frustrating when accident/incident happens in the Blackwell Tunnel. Traffic paralyses all areas in in Woolwich, Eltham, Greenwich and the round about by the Woolwich Ferry does not help to clear the roads, instead makes things worst as people, trying to get on the Ferry, block the lanes in the round about.Many roads in Woolwich and Greenwich are too old and too narrow for two lanes traffic. When the tunnel is closed and traffic starts paling up, people try to divert by taken alternative roads, creating more congestion and delays on major roads.

I work in North Greenwich, leave in Eltham (currently, but I used to leave in Woolwich) and my children go to school in Woolwich and, in the process of returning home and picking up the children up from school, I have spent countless hours in traffic in the past 12 years due to the traffic caused by the Tunnel and the ferry. I strongly believe that there is the need for alternative routes to disseminate the traffic converging in the tunnel and the ferry at pick time.Kind Regards,

E18 3JJ Personal response

Anyone who drives living on this part will by affected by the congestion at the tunnel and the problems with Woolworth ferry

It's not right that 30 minutes journey takes sometimes two hours

SE18 1JR Personal response

Hello Andrew, SE3 7RX Personal response

As a resident in Blackheath who commutes to Bow to work, I am one greatly affected by traffic at the Blackwall Tunnel. Most days I drive out of convenience, as public transport options are somewhat limited at present. I have to leave early for work every morning, as if I attempt to use the tunnel after half 8, traffic is frequently backed up all the way to the Sun in the Sands roundabout. I join the A102 from the junction at Blackwall Lane.

It is quite evident to me that the cause of the traffic is the sheer volume of people needing to use the tunnel, coupled with the lane merger at the tunnel entrance, from three lanes down to two. I am very much in favour of the Silvertown tunnel, as this will help to alleviate the issue. A new tunnel will help distribute vehicles across more lanes, rather than force vehicles to slow down to merge.

I believe that the Silvertown tunnel is necessary. I would like to see more public transport options across the river as well. Perhaps a few more bus routes utilising the additional lane capacity would be good. The 108 bus route is a life-saver should my car be unavailable. It is however a crush to get on at the moment as the demand is so great.

The only other option I currently have to get across the river is to use the DLR. However as a Blackheath resident, this is not at all convenient given the distance to the nearest Station (Cutty Sark).

In addition to the Silvertown tunnel, I would like further crossings in the East. When accidents occur on the A102 on the Blackwall Tunnel approach, the area turns into gridlock as there is no other option for vehicles to get across the river. The Silvertown tunnel won’t help much in this regard, as they A102 will feed into that tunnel as well if I recall from the plans. At least one more vehicle crossing is needed somewhere like Woolwich. This would help the flow of traffic across the river if the A102 is jammed.

I would also like to mention that more pedestrian and cycle crossings are needed East of Tower Bridge. Ideally I would like a crossing from North Greenwich to Wood Wharf on the Isle of Dogs. Another from the West side of the Isle of Dogs to Rotherhithe would also help link up both peninsulas. This would make cycling or walking from central London to the O2 a possibility, and vice versa. Given the massive increase in population on the Greenwich Peninsula in the next 10 to 15 years, this would help to alleviate demand on the Jubilee line, which is also suffering from passenger numbers.

Kind regards,

Dear Andrew.

Thank you for this opportunity.

I use the Blackwell Tunnel Thursday to Monday and safe to say it is never a pleasure.

I live in Northumberland Heath DA8 1DY. On a Saturday and Sunday I use the Black Prince interchange and it takes 20 minutes to get to the tunnel. However on a week day I tend to use the back streets through Plumstead, Woolwich and Charlton to get to get to Bugsby Way and reach the tunnel at the O2 roundabout and prey that the roundabout won't be badly congested.

I know that there are a lot of people who say that having the second tunnel will cause more congestion. It is my belief that I cannot be the only one who congests the local traffic on a week day in an effort to not sit on the A2. If there were another tunnel then I really believe that

SE7 7RL Personal response

the local roads would feel the benefit of the traffic being alleviated as the A2 would run more smoothly.

I work in East London, Stratford. It is a misery getting to and from work often the journey can take two hours or more. I have sat there for 4 hours or more. I used public transport today and the journey still took over two hours the bus from North Greenwich took over an hour and half due to traffic. So public transport is not an option for me either.

My only concern is 2021 seems so far away and whilst realistically one can't expect it tomorrow it is a shame that it cannot be executed sooner.

I hope that my comments are of help to you.

Hi Andrew,

I don't use the Blackwall Tunnel every day, but I do some times to go to Stansted airport to pick up family and friends or take a flight. I live in Blackheath.

As you can imagine congestion through the tunnel when airport travel is concerned is not ideal and I have at times been on the verge of missing a flight. Once there was an incident at the tunnel and it took us 4 hours to get back home by crossing at the Woolwich ferry. The ferry was of course heavily delayed with everybody who chose that route instead of the blocked tunnel.

I understand the concerns of groups that oppose to the new tunnel with regards to pollution, but I believe that with the growing numbers of people living in London a new crossing is needed, specially in the east. Pollution should be resolved by making sure car manufacturers use clean energy rather than by stopping road development.

I am a heavy cycle user and I do believe there should be provision for bicycles to use the new tunnel as well.

I hope this helps.


I have lived in London for 62 years and moved to Greenwich 25 years ago from north London. The Blackwall tunnel has always been horrendous. You cannot predict what the traffic will be like going though it.

When I cared for my elderly mother in Woodford, Redbridge it was so stressful every morning and evening driving to her house from Greenwich.

Now our children have moved to Bow, and the stress continues driving through the tunnel and getting stuck in the traffic.

I was stuck in the traffic for approx one hour 4 months ago, after planning to meet my brother in Loughton, Essex.

I do often cross the river by public transport, but sometimes one needs their car to transport heavy things, shopping etc. I also cycle locally and not use the car for short journeys

Now, with the density of the Greenwich peninsular every growing it will become worse and worse. Please, lets have a tunnel/bridge asap!

SE3 7UQ Personal response

In truth,I avoid the Blackwall Tunnel because it is always congested in daytime.On a good day, it can take 20 minutes to creep up to the tunnel entrance and in reality crossing the Thames by car from S.E London or N.W Kent is not to be contemplated,so,in effect,you simply don’t go in to E.London. The delay in alleviating this bottleneck is nothing short of scandalous and It is all very well doing away with toll booths at Dartford, but it is still only one of two crossing points and accidents are quite frequent which shuts a tunnel or bridge. You can travel 65 miles from East Kent to S.E London and there are only TWO means of driving North /South through England.And this in one of the most built up areas of the U.K.HOW ABOUT SOME ACTION?.

DA1 4RR Personal response

We travel every Friday out of london in the evening through the tunnel and we rarely get through without a 45 to 60 min delay with slow moving traffic if really bad can be a lot longer coming back on the Sunday if you travel early it's often congested from the south causing long delays we use it because we have no other options it's great when it's not congested but that is rare

Hope this helps

E7 9EG Personal response

My experiences of the knock-on effect of congestion at Blackwall Tunnel.

I live on Blackheath Hill (A2 Red Route) which is heavily residential. ANY congestion or break down in Blackwall Tunnel results in All DAY traffic jams in both directions on this road with an appalling increase of emissions re: fumes and poisonous particles as well as constant traffic noise. Many of us have developed breathing problems over the past 10 -15 years as the traffic build-up has increased, and are now having to use medications to counteract this as prescribed by our GP’s. I feel very angry every time I walk outside my front gate and view the TfL notice attached to the lamppost which reads “Low Emission Zone”. This appears to be a very cruel joke and a downright lie!

When the traffic does build up, due to any form of congestion, tempers flare and this has resulted in a number of serious accidents, especially where two lanes merge into one on the east-bound carriageway of Blackheath Hill. Therefore, any proposal to build a new road tunnel to relieve this congestion has my support. The only rider would be that it may encourage even more people onto Blackheath Hill if it is made a toll tunnel. HGV vehicles, in particular, will merely turn off the approach road to Blackwall Tunnel and enter London via the Red Route on the A2 which will make our lives even more risky with regards to both health & safety.

Kind regards,

SE10 8AD Personal response

Dear Andrew,


Regarding Blackwall Tunnel, I do not know a single person that has a good experience crossing it.

Unfortunately, I have to cross that tunnel 7 days a week and there is not a single day, time, bank holiday or weekend which you cross without get frustrated because of the intense traffic.My wife and I was considering selling the house and buy another place North of the river, just to avoid the hassle to cross it.

I believe the TfL is years behind the demand of increasing bridges, tunnels to minimise the congestion.

It affect very much indeed my everyday travel and believe it affect the life of everyone that needs to use that tunnel. Even the economy, as

DA15 8JG Personal response

deliveries get late, people arrive late to work and the level of stress you get as soon you think that you will need to cross it.

Also I believe that a bridge with 4 lanes each side should be built instead of another tunnel or both to attend the demand. The reason is that lots of buildings with residential flats and house are being constructed on the South of the river and the increase of vehicles is substancial.

I hope my review can be useful and something happens, before I take the decision to move to another place, just because the infamous Blackwall Tunnel congestion.

Many thanks,

Hi andrewIt takes me up to 40 mins every morning to get through the Blackwall tunnel, if thete is a breakdown or accident then wr have no choice but to use tower bridge or Dartford tunnel which will add an hour and half on to my journey as got the woolwich ferry who wants to queue up gor two hours.Hurry up and build this new tunnel!

DA175AU Personal response

Andrew,

The congestion around Blackwall (all day but worst in rush hours) causes me to avoid it if at all possible. This limits my options for travel especially living in Greenwich but needing to travel north of the river.

The congestion also causes me to try to avoid the slip roads and surrounding area causing difficulty getting to the retail parks on the south side of the Blackwall tunnel.

SE10 8UR Personal response

Hi there,

I am affected by the Blackwall tunnel congestion on a daily basis but not as a car user. I need to catch the bus to North Greenwich station on a daily basis but because of the Blackwall tunnel congestion, Greenwich & Charlton become gridlocked daily and as a result it affects bus services, particularly as the roads are too narrow for dedicated bus lanes for the majority of routes through the area.

I do sometimes use the tunnel as a car driver but avoid it at the busiest times but even then all it takes is a breakdown and you get gridlock around Greenwich & Charlton at what would be considered the quietest of times.

The addition of the Silvertown tunnel should hopefully eliminate some of the congestion but there is an argument it may just add to the problem. Therefore there needs to be more than just one additional crossing. An additional crossing at Woolwich plus a DLR line running through Kidbrooke, Westcome Park, North Greenwich and possibly crossing to Silvertown/Pontoon Dock would make a huge difference, especially given the volume of new homes being developed in the area and no additional transport infrastructure to cater for the extra people.

Regards

SE7 7FS Personal response

I am retired now so do not have to face the delays at the Blackwall tunnel each day. I use the tunnel to travel from East Ham to the Kent or East Sussex countryside. I am able to leave a little later than I want to in the morning to avoid the jams. Coming home in the late afternoon I find I'm having to travel earlier and earlier to get through the tunnel before the delays start. When things go badly wrong and I hear the traffic report there is little I can do. The Rotherhythe tunnel approaches jam too quickly, as does the Woolwich ferry so we waste up to an hour in heavy traffic waiting to get across the river. We desperately need another route or routes across the river. Given the amount of development happening in East London more routes across the river are badly needed and needed as soon as possible.

E6 2EN Personal response

I live in All Saints, London E14, and am constantly suffering from congestions at the Blackwall Tunnel.On many occasions I go to the cinema, B&Q, Matalan, etc on the Greenwich Peninsula. I also frequently have to go to Lewisham.Sometimes I can go southbound with no problem, but when I come back, northbound, it is totally blocked, with traffic. Other times, again for no reason, the tunnel is blocked southbound. This means that when I go under the Thames I have absolutely no idea how long the journey will take. This costs me money.In addition the congestion in the tunnel blocks the East India Dock Road, eastbound. I live in the area and waste many hours and vast quantities of fuel just waiting in traffic. This is all through traffic and not generated within our area.Regards

E14 6NB Personal response

Hi,

Thanks for asking for feedback.

We live very close to the Rotherhithe Tunnel roundabout (on Lower Road, Southwark). The Blackwall Tunnel directly affects us because whenever our road becomes gridlocked in both directions, a quick check on the internet confirms it is because of issues with the Blackwall Tunnel, and the resulting sheer number of cars who choose to drive via Limehouse and Greenwich to cross the river. There have been a number of occasions when we have had to cancel plans because it is not possible to get off our driveway due to the 2-way gridlocked traffic.

We therefore support the proposed Silvertown Tunnel! However, can we ask that you consider carefully the impact on the Rotherhithe tunnel from the proposed toll of the Silvertown and Blackwall tunnels. Please could you include the Rotherhithe Tunnel in the toll. We would be happy to pay a toll to use our local tunnel if it prevents traffic coming from the area between the A20 and A23 (e.g. the Lewisham area) being incentivised to take a more westerly route via Rotherhithe to avoid a new toll. We’re aware that many people are happy to have a longer journey if it means they avoid a toll and so can we request that your plans don’t inadvertently mean more traffic coming through Rotherhithe.

Thanks very much,


Personal response

Hi.

I find the congestion around the Blackwall Tunnel unbearable. There is always traffic and this negatively affects my journeys. I try to avoid crossing the river as much as I can as I know I will be stuck in a queue for ages.

E13 8BA Personal response

I find the lack of river crossings in East London a real deterrent for development and investment. This would explain why the East of London and the South East have the poorest areas all over London plighted by high unemployment levels and comparably lower house prices.

The bad traffic affecting the river crossings in East London badly affects the A12 and A13 which I constantly use when driving.

I very much hope you can secure some proper funding for some river crossings in East London as the current situation is very much a joke in the light of a city that claims to be an international city very much at pace with the future.

Regards,

A few points that come to mind:

1. Congestion Northbound is always a problem. For me I only have to suffer it weekends if I’m visiting family in the South, of wish to go shopping in (for example) Greenwich. It can take an age to get through on a, say, Sunday afternoon / evening, so much so that I – like many others – are forced to use the narrow streets to get to the Rotherhithe Tunnel.

2. If there is a “problem” Southbound through the tunnel during the week, the whole of East London jams up. Mile End / Burdett Road / East India / Limehouse Link / Aspen Way etc. Indeed the whole of the Isle of Dogs (where I live) can be turned into total gridlock, and it’s impossible to get on or off the Island.

3. The evil corrupt local council is continually approving new housing on the Isle of Dogs – with the population expected to grow from 45K to in excess of £60K in the next few years. Not all will have cars – I grant – but this will inevitably bring a massive increase in personal and third-party traffic to add to the woes.

4. The same evil corrupt council has also allowed the only petrol station (Asda) on the Island to close as part of (yet another) housing development (the developers spun a line that it would depress the prices they could get for the flats being sold). The upshot of this is that the nearest petrol station for the current 45,000 residents of the Island is the Esso ”Orchard Wharf” station – off the Island and along the Aspen Way / East India Dock Road. This is IMPOSSIBLE to access during the evening rush-hour totally due to the congestion backed-up southbound through the tunnel.

E14 3TB Personal response

AndrewIt is absolutely bonkers that Blackwall Tunnel congestion continues year after year, generating economic paralysis and pollution in its wake.There is talk about a silly garden bridge over the Thames upstream when the Silvertown Tunnel is so pressingly needed for real purposes that will finally stop south east London being cut off from the east and north of Britain where we have family and friends.

SE9 4TX Personal response

Dear Andrew

I am ecstatic to hear of another crossing being built somewhere. This NEEDS to be done, sooner rather then later. For me its an urgent matter, more important then any other major infrastructure in London.

DA5 1AD Personal response

The blackball tunnel is literally a waking nightmare. I live on the A2 in Bexley by the Black Prince interchange. If I have to work in W1 or anywhere else in London then choosing to leave my house at 7am is a big no-no as I am guaranteed to take an hour to pass through the tunnel - and every day the queues are longer and slower, so I have to leave at anywhere between 5.30-7am. Cars are jammed bumper to bumper and it takes just one car to break down and that's it kaput for the whole day both ways! Its a tragic sorry state of affairs that we Londoners had to pay for a big party in 2012 to build bridges to the world when we should have been building bridges at home first.

If there was just some other outlet, just one, halfway from Dartford to Poplar, such as the silver town tunnel then it would ease so much congestion - I hear that the new bridge wont be built until 2020 - thats 5 years - imagine in 5 years what the Blackwall tunnel queues will be like - its hardly worth thinking about. To counter this and in the interim I could foresee a rush hour toll being put in place for commercial trucks and a means tested car value fee (to get the richer people in our society to take public transport or pay more of an equal share) - this may allow the traffic flow to even out throughout the day. Expensive cars pay more of a share (exempt are electric and hybrid, ultra-low emission vehicles and key workers and railway staff).

The blackwall tunnel to me is a living nightmare, it adds hours to my commute when I have to work in town and I often have to leave early and finish work from home later in the night just to beat the traffic.

I am not a rich man, I am a film production manager on an average salary of 46k and use my car to visit facilities in London and to ferry filming equipment and colleagues around. I drive into London approximately once or twice a month during rush hour and its always the same and has been since I started driving 4 years ago, in fact I remember as a kid 20 years ago sitting in back to back morning or evening traffic. Nothing has got better, its got worse.

Please build something, anything, soon.

I remember as a kid when the Blackball tunnel would be closed for refurbishment the other side would have two way traffic, maybe that could happen again during peak morning and evening time with a few logistical improvements of course; safety gates for safe traffic flow to the other side, a new raised fortified but thin central barrier coming out of the road of the southbound tunnel. This could be used specifically for small low carbon cars and electric vehicles or car pooling vehicles - set a 20mph speed limit for safety.

A Silvertown tunnel and a Bridge at Belvedere would be magnificent, that would solve the areas traffic woes for 40 years.

Nothing fancy, just get it built and get people through it, we have the boring machines from the Crossrail project so I think we should use them and also build a smaller non fancy bridge at Belvedere.

Here’s hoping for a quick solution, as its in dire straights at the moment and cant get much worse, which is an embarrassing admission for TFL and the government to have allowed it to get so bad.

Yours sincerely

I don't use the tunnel on a daily basis but every time I do, or every time I go to City Airport and have to use the Blackwall Tunnel Approach I always leave an extra 30-40 minutes early as there's a good chance the road will be jammed up and I will be delayed (often significantly).

E5 9BE Personal response

In anothe rexample, returning from France last year it took as long to get to and then through the tunnel as it did do drive from Folkstone to the southern approach to the tunnel. Ridiculous!I moved to SE London from NW. I worked in construction and needed to be at different places of work throughout London by 8am. I needed to drive to transport my tools and materials. Public transport was not an option. I frequently drove from NW from South, SW and SE london in the mornings without issue or undue delays. However the converse is simply not true. Long delays at 7am are frequent at Blackwall and the bridges. I was unaware how bad travel to N London was from the SE, it definitely inhibits commerce and holds this area of SE london back in development. Public transport although improved is still much worse and less frequent than N London with rail transport abysmal in it's time keeping. There is also poor connection between SE and SW London and vice versa.The South circular is jokingly referred to a the South circular car park. Areas in zones 1,2 and 3 in N London are developing apace commercially and with accomodation. Here it is largely poorer quality accomodation without the jobs. Transport is fundamental to a city's development. The SE has been been the ugly sister in planning. That is a wasted opportunity.Yours sincerely

SE4 1SG Personal response

Dear Andrew,I have to commute everyday from Surrey to Canary Wharf for work. Traffic on the M25 and A2 are generally smooth except where there are traffic accidents or bad weather. However, the Blackwell tunnel without fail will always be blocked up with traffic jams during peak hours no matter the weather, with the jam starting from shooters hill junction normally in the morning, and at the billingsgate roundabout in the evening. Needless to say of the complete gridlock when there's any incident in the tunnel.The time I'm stuck in the ham varies from an average of 15-20mins everyday to the worst of 30-45mins just to go through the tunnel. This adds an additional time of 30mins - 1hr to my commuting time, everyday, each way.

In all common sense, just look at the number of crossings there are to the West of Tower Bridge and how many there are East of that, factoring in the population in East London and the no. of commuters living in popular areas such as Essex, Kent and Surrey. Instead of spending money on the garden bridge or the cable cars, this seem like a much more pressing issue...

Many thanks for your email and I hope our views will be heard.

E14 3AT Personal response

The Blackwall tunnel(BT) is an outdated, crowded, dangerous(to the users),restricted usage, congestion magnet and bottleneck.Old- built during a time that is no longer relevant.No longer fit for purpose- to carry the North/South traffic in a smooth and efficient manner.Congested in the tunnel, and at the approaches at both ends.The traffic approach into the North end of the tunnel is a maze of narrow single file approaches that requires motorists to get into a specific lane miles before the final turn-off into the tunnel. This leads to enormous congestion; frustration; road rage incidents etc.The approach from the South is poorly signposted, running through housing and associated developments that are poorly lit at night and a wasteland with no visible humans.Within the tunnel, traffic is dangerous with overly narrow lanes, with little space between user vehicles. Emergency access in case of an accident in the tunnel is practically impossible.Access from Central London or the City is difficult, slow moving, and perpetually congested.A Silvertown Tunnel crossing would pull a large share of the current traffic further eastwards, thus directing traffic away from residential areas. Access points further East for “transit” traffic that was merely crossing the Thames would also direct North/South and South /North traffic safely and speedily on their journeys, as such traffic has no need to be driving through London-as is currently the case.

EC2A 1HX Personal response

It is imperative, and long overdue, that a new Tunnel be constructed as quickly as possible.In fact, the plans for a further tunnel after the Silvertown tunnel should also be prepared in light of the big new developments of the London Gateway and International port handling facilities.

Rgds

Hello

I’m a resident of the Isle of Dogs and whilst I cycle a lot (and drive a little) I’m still affected by the volume of traffic using the tunnel.

Many times, cycling home of an evening, traffic is backed up down Westferry Road, due to the hold-ups stemming right back from the Southbound tunnel.

And on the occasions when I use the tunnel, be it day or night, my first thought is “Will I have to add 40 mins to my journey, queuing at the tunnel ?”

Thanks

E14 8LZ Personal response

I most certainly would like to comment on the proposed new river crossing it in my opinion could not come quick enough for meI work in Silver Town and have to use the Blackwall Tunnel every day for work and I would say I am held up there for about 75% of my journeys either northbound going to work or southbound trying to get homeA new River crossing would be a god sent !!!!!Yours truly

DA16 3RR Personal response

The lack of River Crossings to the East of London has created an discriminatory economic apartheid which is suffocating and throttling East and SE London and therefore London as a whole and therefore the UKs economic growth and prospects

The only solution is to introduce multiple crossing with the projects co-terminus delivery – I estimate that a minimum of 4 additional crossing with as many as 7 to ensure full prosperity.

If you take a recording of the traffic bulletins from a popular radio station such as LBC or Capital for a single 12 month period you will see that there is unlikely to be a single day – including weekends which does not have the Blackwell tunnel as a traffic alert - not a single day – this is the evidence you require

SE9 5NW Personal response

The Blackwell tunnel is a nightmare. Its always congested, sometimes it takes 45 mins to get through it and there are no real alternatives locally. I can't understand why there are 20 odd bridges from Tower Bridge westwards and only four options eastwards (one of which is a ferry). Its a disgrace in my opinion, and I think Boris Johnston cancelling the proposed solution was a completely stupid when elected. I'd go so far as to say its hindering the economy in the local area as well as damaging peoples quality of life.

Thanks,

E3 4BL Personal response

Sir, E16 2GP Platinum Property

We frequently need to cross the river at Blackwall to reach an apartment which we own and rent out in Silvertown. We travel using public transport when we can but sometimes we need a car if we need to transport anything heavy or bulky. We have to choose times when the traffic is not busy otherwise we would be severly delayed. An extra crossing will be very important and essential for the development of the Thames corridor. We support the tunnel.

Kind Regards

Partners

Hello,

Thank you for your email. I am affected by the Blackwall tunnel. I use it a few times a month. I try to avoid using it at peak times as there is often a delay of an hour or more, particularly when travelling from North to South. Even outside of peak times it's rare to get through it without at least a 5 minute delay. I believe it's the biggest bottleneck in London and something has to be done about it. I am hugely in favour of the proposed Silvertown tunnel. I think it will help to relieve congestion around the Blackwall tunnel, although it won't solve things completely. I think that it needs to be built in addition to the Gallions Reach Bridge and the Belvedere Bridge. It's about time East London caught up with West. These new river crossings are critical for the growth and success of East London.

Regards,

BR1 2TA Personal response

Hi

I live in Eltham and regularly travel to Greenwich peninsula and also via North Greenwich to Rotherhithe in the mornings for a voluntary job. I use the 132 bus which on half of weekdays is delayed on the part of its route which travels along the Blackwall Tunnel approach road. My problem is that the 132 bus service is unreliable due to traffic congestion.


Personal response

Dear Andrew

I regularly use the Blackwall tunnel . I use the tunnel between 7 and 8am and again between 4:30 and 5:30pmOn average I experience some kind of delay 3 out of 5 days due to accidents, overhead vehicles stuck (height) breakdown, volume of traffic.Not only is it frustrating and stressful but it also waste time and fuel and the idling of the vehicle causes pluton.

There are a large number of crossings to the west of the river, why are south east London so poorly poorly connceted to North and East London and why do all the option proposed mean that we have to pay to cross the Thames whilst all the crossings to the west remains free. I suggest that TFL impose charges to all river crossings, not only will it be fair but it will also make it more affordable for all Londoners.

Another 6 years seem a very long time to wait for a crossing that is very overdue already.

In addition to the proposed Silvertown crossing, why could the existing Ferry at Woolwich not be replaced by a bridge. The road infrastructure both sides of the river is already there.

Regards

SE9 2NA Personal response

Dear Sir/Madam, SE10 9DY Personal response

Thank you for your email.Although I am rarely directly affected by the congestion at the Blackwall Tunnel (mostly when I take a cab from North to South London), my husband is severely affected by this problem almost every day.He uses the tunnel around 10pm-11pm every other night to commute from Canary Wharf to Greenwich. His journey is usually at least 10 min. longer than it should be due to the congestion at the tunnel.

While we understand that it is often difficult to relieve traffic during the rush hour, the fact that there is so much traffic in the tunnel so late at night clearly points to the fact that the general capacity of East London river crossings is not sufficient.

Considering the number of new developments in Greenwich and Woolwich this problem is likely to get worse.

Therefore, we strongly support the initiative to build a new river tunnel.

Kind regards,

I have accepted that coming north, I will be delayed at the Blackwall Tunnel every single journey, regardless of day of the week, or time of day. Traffic usually begins at the turnoff for Greenwich, and lasts until the tunnel, seemingly due to a combination of large volumes of traffic forced on to one river crossing, and the three lane road becoming two as it meets the tunnel head.

The lack of river crossings in east London means I will avoid crossing to south-east London as much as possible, preferring to seek out alternatives to say, events at the O2. Spillover traffic also seems to blight Blackheath and surrounding areas. North Greenwich seems somewhere very much to pass through (via an unavoidable traffic jam) rather than a place to visit.

Coming south the traffic is better, though when the tunnel is closed, chaos and lengthy diversions are the norm.

Regards,


Hi,

I use Blackwell tunnel for social purposes, but the delays always create concerns and soil our social time with friends and family. Kids get irritated causing major disappointed weekends or weekday evenings!

E14 3LE Personal response

I’m sure you’ll get many of these responses but my issue is the unpredictability of traffic flow and therefore the length of time it takes to cross the river. There are, of course, pinch points, but you never actually know how long it is going to take because there is just too much traffic.

Blessings!

SE9 1AJ Personal response

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Web viewContent (identifying or private content removed) Post Code. Business Responding. Congestion around the tunnel is horrendous, especially when coming back across the