3 July - Widespread traffic gridlock - and more to come
For
out of town readers it should be explained that Slade Green is
a pleasant enough
little backwater of Bexley borough which is almost in Dartford. A community
divided by the railway line with the only crossing point being the imaginatively named Bridge Road.
There is an alternative route to the North, a mile or two of residential roads leading
to the Thames at Erith and the somewhat notorious Manor Road being the only one you
may have heard of because of its fly tipping problem which is
on record as being visible from space.
And what was closed on Monday by the emergency gas works? Bridge Road. It was a
very bad leak with gas concentrations approaching 100% with resident evacuations
being necessary. Drivers were reporting
five hours of delay and my driving instructor friend had to abandon two tests.
The usual routine is for the police and the Council to stand by and do nothing
but things got so bad that Bexley Council actually did something about it.
Better late than never, but electronic signs were erected to the effect that
there was no through route from Manor Road.
TfL was persuaded to change the James Watt Way traffic lights to allow
traffic fleeing Manor Road to move more freely. However they continued to direct
complaints to Southern Gas Networks.
The 89 bus sensibly avoided the area.
Generally of course, Bexley Council could not care less about the chaos caused
by the utility companies. SGN expect to open Bridge Road on Sunday.
I left a friend in Bexleyheath at around 10:30 yesterday evening and she
WhatsApped me just before midnight - good job my phone mutes at 10 - to say she
had only just got home because of unexplained road closures. She lives not far
from the Danson Underpass.
I drove by at 05:44 this morning and saw that Blendon Road was shut. No idea why
but the diversion sign merely said go around the roundabout and back the way
you had come. Really helpful, but Bexley Council almost never checks on what the utility
companies deem acceptable.
In recent weeks the Sidcup blockade has shown signs of being lifted and not
having been there since Monday I had high hopes of it been entirely gone this
morning; but no. Thames Water had blocked The Green and the entry point was marked ‘No
Through Road, Follow Diversion’. but there were no diversion signs which led to
a succession of vehicles entering The Green. The signs were OK on the return
journey but totally inadequate when heading south.
One doesn’t expect Thames Water employees to have the necessary intelligence to
do anything properly but one might expect Bexley Council to monitor what they do.
Never satisfied with the amount of chaos they cause,
Thames Water will close Colyers Lane (Erith to Northumberland Heath) in 100
metre sections (Swallows Close and the Medical Centre) from 5th August to
mid-October and Bexley Council has permitted
8 a.m. to 8 p.m. working.
That’s the 89 bus buggered again.
Just for a change, TfL will take over Alsike Road in Thamesmead from
6 a.m. on
13th July to 10th August. Two railway access points will be constructed to
permit staff access and parking spaces will be reduced while bi-directional
traffic will be maintained with Stop/Go boards. Staff parking will take over
Felixstowe Road. TfL say that their arrangements are approved by Bexley Council
although there are references to the track improvement work being between Abbey
Wood and Woolwich stations and the access point at Church Manor Way (Greenwich)
is specifically mentioned.
There is no reference to Elizabeth line disruptions so where the work is
actually being carried out is anyone’s guess at the moment.