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News and Comment October 2015

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6 October - “It’s a no-brainer”

It is the season for consultations. The Blackwall relief road otherwise known as the Silvertown Tunnel now and the Gallions and Belvedere proposals in late November.
TfL Letter
Click image for the ’Have your say’.
MapFor an alternative view of these proposals there is ‘Say No To Silvertown Tunnel’.

Personally I have never been convinced by the argument that the ‘extra resilience’ a new tunnel will provide for Blackwall will increase congestion and not reduce it. As a regular off-peak tunnel user the unpredictability of the journey time is a constant nuisance and turning off the car’s fresh air intake on the approach road is a necessity.

Air pollution from diesel powered vehicles is undoubtedly a problem and TfL’s answer to that is that faster moving traffic will mitigate the problem.

A new tunnel would not become available until 2023 and one would hope that the recent revelations about Volkswagen will lead to a reduction in the number of diesel engines by then. The move towards electric power is sure to have gathered pace too.

The alternative to the various TfL proposals is to leave the area for which it is responsible with the same road crossing facilities as were in existence 48 years ago.


• First Blackwall Tunnel : 1896
• First Dartford Tunnel : 1963
• Second Blackwall Tunnel : l967
• Second Dartford Tunnel : 1980
• Dartford Bridge : 1991


With the Conservative Party announcing at their conference this week a renewed emphasis on infrastructure and the appointment of Lord It’s A No Brainer Adonis to the new National Infrastructure Commission the direction of travel looks pretty clear to me.

Lord Adonis

But if the tunnel is to be just another bus lane it is a complete waste of money.

Video best played with the sound off. There is no commentary and the music is pathetic.

 

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