Silvertown Tunnel images show how it could look without cars
A climate change charity has released an architectural visualisation showing how the upcoming Silvertown Tunnel crossing could look without any cars.
The proposal suggests creating a Docklands Light Railway (DLR) extension to the tunnel, along with provision for walking, wheeling, cycling and buses.
Climate charity Possible has proposed to extend the network with a new line from Canning Town on the DLR and Jubilee lines to Kidbrooke in Greenwich.
Greenwich council commissioned a study for the proposal in 2012, with leader Danny Thorpe calling for a revival of the plan in 2019.
The DLR extension also has the possibility of continuing to Eltham and Falconwood, connecting other national rail lines as well as areas poorly served by public transport, according to Possible.
This new link has the potential to carry 17-21 million passengers a year, and to eradicate a huge number of car journeys.
This proposal follows the news from the Mayor of London that both the Silvertown Tunnel and the existing Blackwall Tunnel are to be tolled.
Part of the justification for this was to avoid an effect of “displacement” of traffic – if one tunnel was toll-free and the other was not.
But Possible warns that building capacity for new traffic will lead to “induced demand”, where an ease in congestion results in car journeys becoming more attractive.
Hirra Khan Adeogun, co-director of Possible, said: “It’s not too late for the Mayor of London to do the right thing and bring forward a vision for a completely car-free crossing.
“Opening up a new artery of traffic to try and eradicate traffic doesn’t make any sense at all.
“Instead, we need to give Londoners more options for crossing the river, and that means opening up the Silvertown Tunnel to walking, wheeling, cycling and public transport.”
Defending the decision to open the Silvertown Tunnel, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan previously said: “The east of London has been neglected for centuries. You have got 18 river crossings looking west from Tower Bridge, only one looking the east.
“We are trying to make sure there is a new crossing which will have a lane reserved for double-decker buses to improve public transport.
“And it will be in the Ultra Low Emission Zone, so the air afterwards will be cleaner than it is now – that’s a win-win.”
Pictured top: A CGI visualisation of what the Silvertown Tunnel could look like with no private cars (Picture: Possible)
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