Residents left fuming after Greenwich Park road closures cause traffic delays
By Rachael Griffiths
Residents are fuming after road closures have caused jams and delays.
Families living in and around Greenwich Park have been hit hard by measures part of a Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN) scheme.
The road closures are designed to reduce traffic as the borough aims to reach net zero carbon emissions.
The introduction of new cycling lanes has also gone off track, with many questioning the design and practicality of such lanes.
London Ambulance service, the Met and London Fire Brigade all voiced concerns over the delays caused by the road blocks in 2020.
Disability groups, including London Vision, also claim they were not consulted about the proposed road changes.
Greenwich council leader Danny Thorpe said in March 2021: “The needs of the emergency services are taken into account and we work closely with them.”
Greenwich Road Closures are a group of residents opposing the LTNs and the council’s current (and proposed) traffic reduction schemes, and have protested.
Residents are also angry that Greenwich councillor, Danny Thorpe, has blocked people on Twitter who try to get in touch with him about it.
He has not responded to an open letter sent to him from Greenwich Road Closures on behalf of 2500 residents wanting to schedule a meeting with him.
Local MP and shadow minister for climate change Matthew Pennycook, who has gone on record to support the schemes, has also blocked people on Twitter.
A statement from the leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Environment, Sustainability and Transport read: “We understand that not all these proposals have been universally popular and we have received some real concerns about how some of the proposed schemes would work.
“I would like to assure residents and businesses that we are hearing those concerns and will ensure these inform decisions that we take […] I have also been talking to our teams at the Council about how we can improve the way we engage with our communities on projects like this in the future.
“I have asked officers to begin developing plans for deeper engagement at a local level, looking at methods such as citizens juries to ensure that the views heard are representative of all residents.”
LTNs were approved as Covid emergency measures by Transport secretary Grant Shapps in March 2020, and South London labour councils took them up with enthusiasm. “
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Lewisham residents have been suffering in a similar fashion since introduction of LTN. They have resulted in HTNs (higher traffic neighbourhoods for residents in roads such as mine, Harland Road in
SE12. ) Nobody consulted with us. Typical local government nonsense in my opinion.
I find it ridiculace to have a cycle lane on Trafalgar rd. The congestion is 7 days a week. They talk reduction in fumes etc. Go stand by the road and tadte the fumes is a error in judgement
I totally agree that the decision to install cycle lanes in roads already over congested most of the day is unbelievably moronic. All for a very minority road user. Anyone who believes that this will create an ideal world with every one cycling needs their head examined.
Funny how it’s the “nice areas” that have the LTN’s with the traffic pushed into the cheaper areas.
What I do know is the LTN in West Greenwich was consulted for years. It was much needed with up to 6,000 vehicles A DAY on just one street. Many were rat runners who left A2 only to rejoin it further on. West Greenwich roads are narrow and were regularly gridlocked yet the area has high footfall and cyclists as it’s part of Greenwich Town Centre and next to Greenwich Park. Was totally unsafe until the LTN.
The West Greenwich scheme direct consultation was only held with two residents’ associations. A whole area survey of residents in 2019 resulted in a majority rejecting both options developed with Crooms Hill and Hyde Vale residents. The ‘6000’ figure is an exaggeration – the consultants’ report suggested peak time exits to the A2 were around 8000 from all sources, around half of which was local traffic, defined as traffic stopping in the ‘study area’ only (and not just outside on Nevada St, King William Walk, Burney St, etc etc. So the ‘local’ traffic with a perfect right to use the streets to access the A2 was underestimated. Now that traffic is forced to join congestion on other residential streets.