At the bottom of my road, where it meets Royal Hill, there is every few seconds a sad little tableau. An impatient car (how can a car look impatient, you ask? But it does) drives up to the junction from the London direction. The driver slows to turn into my street, then notices the big notice saying “Road closed – No access to Shooters Hill,” whereupon he speeds up again and heads for the permanant traffic jam that is now central Greenwich.
At the top of my road, where it meets the A2, there is an even more poignant sight: a constant parade of U-turning drivers who have ignored the sign at the bottom of the road (there’s so little trust in government these days, isn’t there?) and driven all the way up, bashing the road humps in their haste, only to find that the warning is in fact correct, and their path is blocked by a high fence and an orange wall of traffic cones. Like that BBC reporter in the Falklands, I sit in my study window, counting them all out, then counting them all back.
For forty-eight hours now, pretty much every side street in West Greenwich has been filled with probing, questing motor vehicles, desperately trying to find an eastbound route without a 45-minute queue – and failing every time. The main roads are just filled. During this evening’s rush-hour, traffic was completely solid on Greenwich High Road, with something like 250 crawling cars between the Deptford Broadway lights and St Alfege’s church. Much of Blackheath village, too, is at a standstill. The old buildings of both places shudder beneath a constant parade of heavy lorries. Horns and emergency service sirens wail into the night.
The cause, as we probably all know by now, is that TfL have closed the eastbound A2 between the bottom of Blackheath Hill (at the junction with Greenwich South Street) and Charlton Way/ Shooters Hill Road. For the next two months. To install a cycle lane.
I happened to be up very early on Sunday morning, when the closure first went into effect. From 5.30am on the quietest day of the week, there was a procession of dozens of cars down my street as the first stage of the diversions kicked in. That was when I knew that this was going to be bad.
Even most foot access has been blocked by the fence – there’s only one pedestrian gap in it between the tea hut and Dartmouth Hill. West Greenwich has been cut off from Blackheath by land, air and sea.
Now, I’m a cyclist – I’ve never driven or owned a car in my life – and I’ve spent years asking for more cycle lanes. But I really don’t think that essentially pouring a giant vat of glue over the whole of Greenwich and Blackheath for the next eight weeks is a price worth paying for this one.
For one thing, there are already three parallel, and far nicer, cycle routes to the A2 – along Dartmouth Hill, Hare and Billet Road, Mounts Pond Road and Long Pond Road; up through the park to Vanbrugh Park; and along the river and through the grounds of the naval college. That last one doesn’t even involve a hill.
Even the justification in TfL’s own press release is rather carefully worded: “This stretch of the A2 runs through Blackheath, an area that attracts many cyclists and pedestrians,” they say. The “area,” yes. The A2, not so much.
The other reason for the closure is so that TfL can “reconstruct the carriageway” and install new streetlights. But what exactly is wrong with the current streetlights? What does reconstruction mean – does it mean resurfacing? What was wrong with the previous surface? Why does it all have to take two months? (Why, for instance, aren’t they working at night on the stretch across the heath, since there are no residents to disturb?) And let us not forget that the Blackheath Hill stretch of the road was subject to “reconstruction” only five years ago following the Blackheath Hole collapse.
The cynic in me does wonder whether this is another part of “Transport for Livingstone’s” historic jihad against motorists. Perhaps closing down this main arterial route is another way of showing those despised creatures (many of whom, to compound their offence, are white, heterosexual men from the suburbs) the error of their ways.
The other historic Transport for Livingstone impulse that this closure clearly satisfies is the need to spend large amounts of money on projects which don’t seem of obvious or front-rank importance.
You may, of course, object that Ken is no longer in charge. But this was presumably planned when he still was; and in any case, for the most part, under the new regime, TfL has gone on pretty much as before. Recently, I described to an appreciative senior City Hall figure some of the more bonkers ways in which TfL has been wasting money, ways that need to be mended rather more urgently than the A2 if the organisation is to survive the downturn with its services intact.
For the next eight weeks, though, we appear to be stuck with this. Let’s hope it is just eight weeks, shall we? Let’s hope the works don’t overrun; let’s hope, above all, that they don’t open up the Blackheath Hill hole again and let us in for another two years of local traffic hell. They’re bound to have thought of that, aren’t they? Aren’t they?
I just knew it was all going to be Ken Livingstone’s fault…
The road surface there does need some real work. Last time I passed by (about a week or so ago) there were around a dozen potholes some of which were so deep I thought another road collapse might be on it’s way.
If they can fix those and stick in a cycle lane at the same time then what’s the problem? It’s a pain in the neck sure, but occasionally some roads need to be closed (even those ones used by black inner city lesbians). Not everything is a sinister TfL plot you know Andrew.
I dont care who’s fault this is. It is impossible to leave West Greenwich in a car or on the bus. It takes over an hour to get to Blackheath! There was no notice given to any residents in the run up to this. If its major structural work then thats fair enough but please let the local residents (who are pretty much trapped whilst this work is completed) know what the deal is. If its just resurfacing then why isnt the work completed at nights?
On the plus side the local police have been proactive by booking speeding cars cutting through the Ashburnham area.
I don’t drive to work but these roadworks are ludicrous. Anybody who lives in the area knows that the Blackheath Road is a major arterial route in and out of London so blocking it off (especially at peak times) is bound to cause a huge knock-on effect to traffic in the surrounding areas. At the moment it is absolute mayhem on the roads, and just wait until the schools are back next week after half term – it’ll be much, much worse!
I know people who have to drive in and out of London for work as it just isn’t feasible to travel by public transport, one is a locum and has to do house visits, another has to carry shop takings with them and parcels, and another works in Essex where it takes triple the amount of time to use public transport rather than a car; so penalising these people just isn’t fair. If the roads need to be mended then why not do it at night? Or would that just be too sensible??
As bad as things may be now they will be much worse during 2012. We should start lobbying for thoughtful traffic management during the preparation for and the Olympics themselves. With the equestrian event still planned for Greenwich Park the mind boggles at the thought of Olympics-only lanes, horseboxes and vans for the setting up and breaking down of the facilities, making their way in and out of Greenwich/Blackheath. The current A2 closure will linger in our minds as a minor inconvenience.
Andrew – you might have some good points in the article, but your obsession with Ken rather gets in the way. I think you need to move on.
LM Romano – I can understand worries about the Park, but I can’t see why the Olympics is causing so much consternation about congestion. The Valley hosts 20k+ crowds almost every week, the Dome hosts 20k+ crowds virtually every day – sure there’s a bit of short-term traffic but it’s hardly the end of the world. The vast majority of Charlton fans don’t drive because there’s no where to park, and the buses/rail etc seem to be able to handle the rest. I can’t see why this would be any different for the Olympics.
The Greenwich roads have become crazed! The Traffic chaos is like the beginning of some impending plague. So many juicy arguments outside my flat too! It adds 20 minutes to a ten minute journey to my parents as my route intersects the A2. Can’t believe it’s just for cycle lane! What nutcase cycles up the A2! Ok well I have numerous times but it should almost be discouraged! Anyway what protection do cycle lanes offer unless they are curbed? Paint offers no protection form a juggernaut!
Noel – you can’t compare the Valley with a congested town centre. If you look at the Olympic Route Network on this site: http://www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/open/olympicroutenetwork/consultationpaper.pdf you will see in Annex E that 44 roads in Greenwich Borough will be affected. The whole of Greenwich Town Centre will be subject to closures and also all four roads bordering Greenwich Park. And it won’t just be for a couple of hours. Imagine 40000 spectators walking from Greenwich Station to the Park. The Olympics disruption will affect the daily lives of local residents in a way that is disproportional to the event itself.
I wonder why Greenwich Time have not drawn attention to these Olympics closures. Anyway you have till March 19 to register your comment on the above website.
Thank you very much for your write up on the current road works.Also all who have made their views very clear.I would like to hear from all of you,so I can air your concerns re 2012 Olympics.(traffic)
Robert Gray
Voice and Face of Greenwich /BBC London News
Contact Robert Gray c/o matthew.cooke@bbc.co.uk
Robert, I’m afraid I see any Olympic congestion as a complete red herring. If I can live with the A2 being shut for roadworks I can put up with a few closed roads for a couple of weeks of partying.
The Olympics should and could be a thing of joy, but only if the powers that be don’t keep making daft decisions like Greenwich Park, what is looking increasingly like being a white elephant stadium, an unbelievably expensive swimming pool (because it has a wavy roof), non-legacy facitiles (the shooting for example) etc etc. The ‘credit crunch’ provides the perfect excuse to back down on some of the more excessive ‘commitments’ , in fact a dose of common sense would probably be welcomed by the vast majority of commentators. This could be the thing we need to rally round away from the gloom, but only if the egos remove their heads form their bottoms
Email I sent to TFL a week ago (No reply yet)
Perhaps you could answer the following 5 points regards the Blackheath Roadworks
(1) Why were these roadworks not carried out in July/August when
traffic is much lighter due to Schools on holidays and also the
weather is much more settled
than in February/March
(2) Are the workforce working 7days a week to ensure roadworks are completed
quickly if not why? (There are no houses in the immediate vicinity)
(3) Will the bus lanes be suspended to allow traffic to proceed quicker
(4) Have the appropriate traffic lights been rephased so the extra
traffic using these alternative routes flows quicker
(5) Can Greenwich Park be open all day for traffic
(Currently closed between 10.00am until 4.00pm)
It’s absurd that this major through route is not being worked on 24/7, literally. I have seen at most 4 people working there. The disruption locally, and throughout Lewisham, Greenwich and Blackheath is an outrage.
My immediate thought was it’s about that other outrage, abusing Greenwich Park, for the Olympics. Those horse boxes and special VIPs lanes have got to go somewhere, after all.
Shame the show jumping can’t be somewhere suitable, like Burghley, or Gatcombe. As in the sailing, at Weymouth. Prepare for lovely, historic Greenwich Park to be absolutely ruined, folks.
Anyone noticed that the works now scheduled to finish at the end of April now? Joy.
I drive into London around 4 times a month from Canterbury and sometimes from Ashford. There’s hardly been a time in the past 25 years when there hasn’t been some planned work which is/was a major cause of traffic stillness on one of those routes.
I used to believe that all would be well once the planned works have come to an end. I now know that to hope for such an end is unrealistic and each location must take its turn in hosting the steel carnival.
Only a few days to go and the roadworks on the A2 will come to an end with the assurance that the new sound absorbing road surface should last up to 40 years! That will be no thanks to Thames Water and their inefficient repair of the water main which held up road works for nearly two weeks. A gentle reminder to those who have requested work take place 24/7 as there were no residencies in the immediate area – Wat Tyler Road to the junction of Blackheath Hill with Greenwich South Street is a RESIDENTIAL area with numerous houses and flats on both sides of the road. I am one of them and I can assure you that when the road servicing plant machinery is in action the whole house shakes. I suggest that those complaining are part of the usual ‘not on my doorstep’ Greenwich crowd who have become selfish and insular in their outlook with regards to the greater community. Get a life!
Can someone tell me when the ROADWORKS on the A2 /BLACKHEATH will come to an end?
When they started back in FEBRUARY they say 8 WEEKS?????????????????
One more day to go, suddenly workers as far as the eye can see on Shooters Hill Road trying to finish in time for the marathon.
From my experience the evenings have been far worse than the morning rush hour, and once the road re-opens there are new barriers to contend with, namely I have noticed new time restrictions on certain roads off the main carriageway (I think General Wolfe Road?)
I am just happy the road is reopening, let’s hope it was worth it.
1) The 2 lights at Maze Hill and by the BP garage. Why? It just encourages people to cut down the back via Maze Hill and slows the flow of traffic.
2) The 1 way system in Greenwich. How do we stop people cutting in at the last moment to go down Trafalgar Road. It used to be 1 or 2 now its a constant stream of selfish drivers
3) How much money was spent a few years ago at the Blackwall Lane/ tunnel approach slip Rd. Hundreds of cars leave the A2 via the long slip Rd then do the illegal right turn and go back on preventing people trying to access the Blackwall Tunnel. Surely a camera would do the trick.
4) Finally more queue jumpers coming from the northern approach to the tunnel. All the way back from Bow interchange cars leave the A12 cut by tesco back on leave via the local traffic lane and scoot along side the A12 back on then use the local lane traffic till the last minute and cut in to get onto the southbound lane to the Blackwall Tunnel. A 15 minute bus journey from work can sometimes take up to 1hr 20mins us
Robertually 45 mins
On the A2 issue, I hope everyone is a bit happier now the road is open again. As the owner of the Tea Hut i am not the happiest bunny in the world.
Although not fenced in anymore the standing area for customers is approximately 12inches below the kerb, creating a trip hazard !! I hope none of my ever so slightly inebriated customers fall in the road.
On the same note is it only me that thinks all those 8 by 8 2ft high wooden posts firmly set in concrete are dangerous to cyclists and motorcycle riders should they have an accident, as a motorcycle rider myself i can imagine the damage they would cause, let alone the risks they impart to pedestrians stumbling down that ridiculously short steep bank that has been created. FOR WHAT REASON !!
In these days of health and safety awareness and with collapsible alternatives who in there right mind let the designers erect these death traps……..I am looking for support to bring the Tea Hut into the 21century as it’s one of the oldest established business’s in the area. look out for http://www.theblackheathteahut.co.uk coming soon.
As a late comer to this Blog, and therefore this thread, I’d just like to point out that anyone who does not think that the resurfacing works across the Heath we not absolutely necessary clearly, like Mr Gilligan, doesn’t drive along this stretch of road very often.
The potholes that were scattered along this stretch of road were very obviously a danger to drivers, their cars, and particularly cyclists and motorcyclists. I suspect that the main reason for the lack of much prior warning was that the works had to be hurried through at very short notice due to the road becoming very dangerous, very quickly. Attempts to patch up the road had been undone by the spell of particularly bad weather which saw the snow and ice cause widespread damage to the surface and I’ve no doubt it was a case of “we can’t leave this any longer”.
As for the wooden posts, I have no idea whether they are a danger to cyclists or not. What I do know is that a significant stretch of the Heath had them already and noone seemed to be kicking up too much of a fuss. They look very smart and if they serve the purpose of preventing cars from entering the Heath then I’m happy.
However, the idea that collapsible alternatives should have been used instead is laughable. No doubt, had these been used, this blog would have been peppered with comments from people complaining about the defacing of a local landmark and demanding to know why something more sympathetic had not been used instead.
I can see where Blissett is coming from !!! but he is missing the point.
I agree the road did need resurfacing and a very nice road it is now with beautiful red lines.
However those 8×8 inch square 4ft long posts with 2ft visible and 2ft concreted into 18inch diameter holes are dangerous and when some someone collides with them even in the relative safety of there car they will find how unforgiving they are, thus my concerns that these same posts are potentially lethal to the more vulnerable road users.
As for his comments about defacing a local landmark, thats exactly what has been done with the new earth banking ( maybe this another form of defense after vehicles breech the posts )
Apart from putting obstacles in the way of pedestrian users of the heath it has created a nasty little slope towards those evil posts.
Who does it benefit ! why is it there now ! to the best of my knowledge it hasn’t been there in the 45 years that i have been driving through Blackheath.
Are we now remodeling this “local landmark” for the benefit of the few who live in close proximity to view.
What to me is laughable and slightly contemptuous is Blissetts comments about the need to rush the road repairs through because of the potholes being made worse by the hard winter, when and i quote from a previous statement of his on another blog “MOST PROPOSED DEVELOPMENTS HAVE BEEN PLANNED IN ONE FORM OR ANOTHER FOR YEARS”
A little contradictory don’t you think.
Peter,
There is a very big difference between repairs and development. Projects such as the development of Greenwich Market occur once a generation and necessarily involve a long lead time. Short of a fire or terrorist attack, nothing is going to happen that would require this work to be hurried through.
Maintenance of the highways however is an ongoing task and frequently has to be done at short notice. In this case, remedial repair work was undertaken around the start of the year to fill the many large potholes. However, the severe weather undid all of this work (I assume by water getting into the cracks in the surface, freezing, expanding and break out the filled parts) as a result there was clearly no choice but to force through the full refurbishment that was probably planned for later in the year because the road had become dangerous.
As for the posts, as I said before, the stretch of Heath between the tea hut and roundabout is lined with old wooden posts and noone seemed to be calling for these to be dug up on safety grounds. If there have been any recorded cases of the existing posts leading to injuries then this would certainly be worth knowing but as the old ones are still there, I’m assuming this is not the case.
As for the hills on either side, I find it very hard to see grass as an eyesore. I suspect the reason for them is to create defined crossing points for pedestrians and possibly to provide and additional barrier between those pedestrians and what is a very busy road. Both reasons seem sensible although not entirely necessary. But as I say, it a grass bank and I fail to see how that could be seen as in any way objectionable. It’s not like it a metal crash barrier.