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Platform: How will disabled spectators reach Greenwich Park from Maze Hill station?

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Local resident and member of the Westcombe Society, Lawrence Smith, is concerned about provision for disabled Olympic spectators arriving via Maze Hill railway station. He has contributed this article to Greenwich.co.uk:

When the Planning Board considered the application to use Greenwich Park for the Equestrian events, the Planning Board report (p.94) records that the Westcombe Society urged that “Special attention should be given to the inadequate provision for disabled travellers at Blackheath and Maze Hill stations, including the installation of a disabled access on the down platform at Maze Hill”. 

The Council responded (p.143) that it  “is committed to ensuring convenient and safe access for disabled spectators and it is considered that this matter can be resolved as part of a planning condition.”

It added:

“Network Rail and South Eastern Trains, who operate Blackheath and Maze Hill stations, have plans to improve these stations. As an interested party/stakeholder London 2012 will be working with these bodies to explore opportunities to deliver the needed improvements. It is important to note that the Council are confident that effective transport operations for the Events at Greenwich can be delivered by the existing and additional rail infrastructure (being provided by the ODA)”

 Unfortunately the Council’s confidence seems to have been misplaced.  No planning condition seems to have required the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) to deliver the promised additional rail infrastructure to provide disabled access at Maze Hill Station for departing disabled spectators. The plans for ‘the last mile’ to be considered by the Council in January require passengers to reach the departure platform by means of a footbridge that is inaccessible to wheelchair users. There is no proposal for a ramp to the platform from an existing gap on the bridge.

Maze Hill (with Blackheath and Greenwich) is one of three Rail stations designated as a destination for spectators for the Olympic Equestrian Events in Greenwich Park.  Unlike the non-Olympic stations on the line, it will have a full, six trains an hour service for arriving spectators from North Kent and London City Airport.  But although it is the closest station to Greenwich Park, Maze Hill will have no disabled access to the down platform.

The Westcombe Society had also sought assurances on the availability of a ‘walking’ route for the disabled from Maze Hill station to the venue.  In its response (p.136) , the Council stated  “Given the plans for spectator marshalling and signage discussed within the TA and that there are still some two and a half years before the start of the Games, it is considered that clearly defined spectator walking routes (including for those who are less able) will be established well in advance.”

However, no such safe and convenient route for the disabled has been established, less than nine months before the start of the games.  The plans propose that the footbridge is reached using a very narrow pavement across the rail bridge and require possibly unsighted and slow moving disabled persons to cross Maze Hill close a blind bend, with no marked pedestrian crossing.

No attempt is made to use the existing gap in the bridge wall (at a point where the pavement is much wider and road crossing much safer) to provide a step-free pedestrian ramp to the departure platform for the disabled.  Unlike the footbridges over the A2 and Romney Road, there would be no expense involved in removing such a ramp after the games.

Olympic transport plans unveiled by London 2012 organisers

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LONDON 2012 organisers have unveiled a raft of measures to help Greenwich's local transport network cope with the thousands of visitors expected for next summer's Olympics.

Chief among the proposals, which went on display today and can be viewed by residents until Saturday, are road closures and an enlarged one way system around the town centre throughout the Olympics.

Greenwich Church Street will be closed to traffic, as will Straightsmouth at peak times and Greenwich High Road towards the town centre from the junction of Norman Road, as these become designated pedestrian routes from Greenwich railway station.

Marshals will guide the throngs of spectators along these routes and then down College Approach and through the Old Royal Naval College where they will then access Greenwich Park by crossing two new temporary footbridges across Romney Road.

Locog's City Operations Manager, Jennifer Impett said of the proposed footbridges:

"We want to maintain the vehicle route as much as we can. The one way gyratory will be adding some pressure within the area so we need to maintain free flowing traffic as much as we can."

A bridge is also proposed to get spectators arriving via Blackheath station across the A2 from the heath to Greenwich Park.

Drivers heading into Greenwich from Greenwich High Road will have to turn left at the Norman Road junction, before turning into Creek Road and then joining the existing one way system.

Organisers say that Cutty Sark DLR station will have to close during peak hours as it doesn't have the capacity to deal with the volume of spectators.

Olympic ticket-holders tempted to try and park in Greenwich will find that hours have been extended in all Controlled Parking Zones (CPZ).

Areas within a 30 minute walking radius of the park which aren't currently in a CPZ will have new temporary controls put in place to deter spectators planning to drive in, and residents and businesses will be issued with special Olympic parking permits.

Other key proposals include:

  • Closing Charlton Way and The Avenue/Blackheath Avenue from 7 July-8 September.
  • Closing the Lewisham-bound DLR platform at Greenwich train station, with passengers asked to join services Deptford Bridge instead.
  • Using the Blackwall Tunnel, the A2 and Prince Charles Road, Maze Hill Road, Park Vista and Park Row as Olympic Road Network routes for transporting athletes and the "Olympic family".
  • Setting aside 100 car parking spaces for Blue Badge holders.
  • Establishing "park and ride" areas around Blackheath so spectators can be coached in from Bluewater and Lakeside.

The proposals, along with more planning documents, will soon be submitted to Greenwich Council as London 2012 organisers attempt to meet the conditions of its original planning application.

Clues as to the kind of stunning images viewers at home can expect were hinted at with maps showing the construction of a mile-long cable to carry a TV camera from Millwall Park high over the Thames, swooping across the Old Royal Naval College and equestrian arena in Greenwich Park before finishing near the General Wolfe statue.

London 2012 Venue General Manager for Greenwich Park, Jeremy Edwards, commented:  "We're trying to do everything we can to make sure the experience next year is one of the most memorable for the people of Greenwich and the spectators."

Remaining London 2012 Transport Drop In Sessions
Friday: 09.00 - 18.00
Saturday: 09.00 - 17.00
Devonport House, King William Walk, Greenwich

London 2012: Transport plans on show and organisers discuss reinstatement

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LONDON 2012 organisers are putting their plans for transport at Games time on show next week.

The drop in sessions will be held at Devonport House Hotel and give local residents the chance to discuss proposed road closures, parking restrictions, spectator access to Greenwich Park, cycle parking, blue badge and park and ride facilities and how these plans will affect Greenwich town centre.

The sessions take place in the Holbrook Room at the Devonport House Hotel on
• Thursday 20th October: 4pm-7pm
• Friday 21 October: 9am-6pm
• Saturday 22nd October: 9am-5pm

Greenwich Park reinstatement

Last week the final temporary barriers were moved from the field south of the Queen's House where the main field of play had been for this summer's test event. The photographs below show how the park looks now compared to shortly after the test event:

Greenwich Park
October 5th

IMG_5155
August 3rd (more photos)

London 2012 organisers and Royal Parks briefed the local media on the reinstatement. Derrick Spurr from Royal Parks was pleased the progress made:

"As soon as we were able, we got on to the ground, started to decompact to get oxygen and air back into the soil.. sowed the seeds and then there was a lot of irrigation, natural irrigation as well. You can see now that the areas of main activity are the greener areas."

The use of chemicals in the treatment of the grass has been controversial with London 2012's critics. For the first time in the Royal Parks, a surfactant called Revolution is being used as well as a herbicide called Rescue. Spurr explains what they are being used for:

"Revolution is a wetting agent... it breaks down the surface tension and particles and allows the water to get into the soil. We went to a a number of organisations and the comment I always remember is that this is 'safer than washing-up liquid', and the dilution rate is about a drop in a thousand gallons."

"Rescue is being used in very small areas to get rid of the coarser grasses that are in the acid grassland. Rescue is one of the only chemicals which can kill off a coarse grass within fine grasses."

Acid grass, Greenwich Park
Acid grass in Greenwich Park

Following the Olympics and Paralympics next year, some of the reinstatement on the main field of play will not begin until the Spring of 2013. Venue manager, Jeremy Edwards explains:

"The last of the structures to be coming out will be in November and a lot of the work will start in 2013. There's no point doing work that's not going to take because it's not in the growing season.

"We want to make sure that the spend is of value and the work we do gives us the best result. There's no point in doing something just for ticking the box."

London 2012 organisers are expected to present planning documents to Greenwich Council before the end of October which will contain their detailed plans for next summer in Greenwich Park.

Reinstatement under way in Greenwich Park

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The reinstatement of Greenwich Park is now under way following last month's test events for London 2012.

The local media were invited to a briefing and tour last week with officials from London 2012 and Royal Parks.

"We planned it to go well and it is going well. I'm really pleased at the moment," said Derrick Spurr, Royal Parks' Project Manager for 2012. "Depending on getting the right weather conditions, I reckon by mid to late September you won't even know the event has taken place."

What are the right weather conditions?

"Growing season for us starts to end for grass seed towards the end of October because you've got soil temperatures and you've got moisture, hopefully, in the autumn.

"After that time, when the soil temperature drops, grass seed won't germinate so you're then into turfing which we don't particularly want to do because you're introducing  different grasses.

"By using seed, we can select the grass that we want so it matches the rest of the field. The ideal growing conditions are warmth and moisture. If you've got those, grass will germinate in ten days to a fortnight."

The first areas to be treated are on the bandstand field where service buildings were placed for the Cross Country. The temporary green fences should be coming down over the next week, says Spurr.

"As we're given an area back, we've immediate gone in and started doing the repairs. De-compacting the ground, getting some air in to the ground, cultivating and putting down grass seeds"

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"If you went all over the cross country course, you would have great difficulty in finding evidence of sporting activity," he says.

The most visible evidence of activity is not on the cross country course but down in the flat area, south of the Queen's House, where a track way was placed around the arena.

Michael Loughnane, Assistant Park Manager for Greenwich Park, said in a statement on Friday, "On 3 and 4 August the track way was removed from the park and following this there was a heavy downpour of rain. We have now aerated the ground that was previously covered by the track way to allow the air in and to increase the draining capacity.

Today [Friday] and on Monday we will prepare the remaining areas of the surface for seeding which will take place early next week. These areas will be protected with temporary green mesh fences to allow the grass to grow. The park will be fully reinstated and we expect the ground to recover within four to six weeks.”

Back at the briefing, the track way is identified by Tim Hadaway, London 2012 Equestrian Competition Manager, as an area where lessons can be learned for next year.

"Because of the short time frames in terms of the venue only being finished just before, a lot of that track way stayed down during the event and it's fine for vehicles but not the greatest surface when you've just got pedestrians, and in the back of house areas where you've got the horses, so we actually had to start put coverings over it for the sake of the horses.

"We'll look much more closely at what of that stays down and what of it comes up during the event. You need to put it down during the build stage to protect the ground but then during the event in certain areas it can come up."

London 2012 Venue General Manager, Jeremy Edwards, says the test event has been "successful."

"What we're doing at present back in the office is looking at lessons learned from here and moving on to 2012 with our planning and just refining a few our techniques"

"It was a test event so certain things needed to be tested. Some you'll get right and some you may not get right."

He says there are lots of "bits and pieces" that they will be looking at - for example, there are "different thoughts" around how deconstruction will take place.

One aspect of the test event that did in come for criticism after the showjumping stage of the event was the surface in the area itself with one rider saying it felt like a "pudding"

"There's going to be some more testing done on the surface throughout the year at other horse shows. There's also a bit of scientific work that goes on." says Edwards.

British rider William Fox Pitt said after the event that the descent from one of the jumps was "punishing" for the horse. Would the course designer be taking that on board?

"You need to strike the right balance around any course between using the terrain to create the technical test but still ensuring it's appropriate for the horses, " says Hadaway. "I think it was just a comment that that was one of the more taxing parts of the course from the horse's perspective but no more or less so than you would have other difficult elements in courses around the world."

"Any of those comments are always seen in a positive light, " says Jeremy Edwards. "It's always good for us - whether you're the course designer or running the catering programme - it's always good to get constructive feedback."

Greenwich horse jumps go on show

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Horse jumps designed by Greenwich children have gone on display at Woolwich Town Hall.

School kids from across the borough have come up with ideas for Greenwich themed jumps that will feature in the cross country course in Greenwich Park at next year's Olympics.

The exhibition of entries will run throughout August, giving members of the public the chance to vote on which designs they like the most. The most popular ideas will then be considered by a judging panel which will include council leader, Chris Roberts, and Lord Coe.

The children behind the successful ideas will work with Ravensbourne architecture students to turn the drawings into workable models before being handed over to the course builders.

Leader of Greenwich Council, Cllr Chris Roberts, said: “We’ve worked hard to get our school children engaged with the Games and it was fantastic to see how inspired they were by the test events. Using that inspiration to design part of an Olympic cross country course is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Millions will be watching the events next year and will see the Greenwich jump designed by our school children.”

Seb Coe, LOCOG Chair, said: ‘I’m delighted that Greenwich schools have embraced this opportunity... I can’t wait to see the jumps in situ next summer’.

Greenwich Park Eventing Invitational gets under way

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Greenwich Park Eventing Invitational

After all the protests and arguments for and against, a horse was majestically ridden out into the temporary arena in Greenwich Park at 9 o'clock this morning.

A test rider had been out on the purpose built platform already but it was River of Joy, ridden by Germany's Michael Jung, that enters the history books as the first horse to compete at this test event in advance of next year's Summer Olympics.

The stands, basking in the morning sun, were significantly less than half full to witness the first display and its conclusion was met with a ripple of polite applause from the audience. Each of the highly technical dressage routines last about five minutes and are scored by judges in three stations around the arena.

Individual dressage will continue throughout the day. Tomorrow will see the horses out on the cross country course that has been built around the eastern side of the park and the Eventing Invitational will conclude with showjumping in the arena on Wednesday where the prizes will be given by HRH The Duchess of Cornwall.

Outside of the park, by the Queen Mary Gate, a band of peaceful protesters from NOGOE continued to make their opposition to the use of Greenwich Park known, unveiling their own new mascots, Gridlock and Stumpy.

UPDATED

Following the first day of competition, Britain's Piggy French leads the rankings with Australian Clayton Fredericks in second place and Germany's reigning World Champion Michael Jung lying third.

British rider William Fox-Pitt said of the day: “Wow, it has an Olympic feel already and this is just a test event. The [arena] surface is lovely with a bounce in it it’s so much kinder and more forgiving on the horses.”

Piggy French commented, “It’s got me hyped up. It’s surreal: all the same faces as if we were in a muddy field like last week, but you look to the right and there’s the City of London. I think it’s amazing; there’s a real buzz even though it’s a test event, and I hope it will bring more public interest and help people see what a fabulous sport this is.”

Greenwich Park Eventing Invitational

Greenwich Park Eventing Invitational

Greenwich Park Eventing Invitational

Greenwich Park Eventing Invitational

Greenwich Park Eventing Invitational

Greenwich Park Eventing Invitational
NOGOE setting up their protest - picture taken around 8.10am


Video of Ireland's Jane Doherty riding The Only One.

Duchess of Cornwall to visit Greenwich twice next week

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Test Event Briefing

Greenwich will receive two visits from HRH The Duchess or Cornwall next week.

The Duchess, who is patron of the British Equestrian Foundation, will be present at the Greenwich Park Eventing Invitational, part of the London 2012 test event series, on Monday and Wednesday.

On Monday, Her Royal Highness will attend a reception for 400 guests including riders and international equestrian federations. On Wednesday, she will be present for the final show jumping phase of the event and will present the prizes.

Speaking to journalists at a press briefing yesterday, the Leader of Greenwich Council, Chris Roberts (pictured below), said that being a host borough continued "to be a source of tremendous pride" and listed the benefits for the Greenwich.

"1000 of our residents are working on the Olympic sites, our businesses have secured something like £70million worth of contracts and we have the most iconic venues of the games which will continue to support our tourism in the years following the games.

"We are investing close on £20million across our borough on playgrounds, parks and school in terms of additional facilities... to raise our parks and get 12 of them to Green Flag status. We're planting 2012 trees in recognition of next year and ensuring the Cutty Sark and new pier are constructed in time for the games.

He also confirmed that Greenwich school kids are working to "design a Greenwich jump" which will feature in the course for London 2012.

Council Leader, Cllr Chris Roberts

David Luckes MBE, London 2012's Senior Sports Manager and a former Olympian himself, said Greenwich Park was a "fabulous location" but also a "historically sensitive site" which they were "committed to treating with great respect."

Test Event Briefing

Horse stables, Greenwich Park

The next phase of closures begins in the park tomorrow as footpaths on the eastern side of the park are closed until the 6th July.

Local pressure group, NOGOE, will be holding peaceful protests on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of next week at the St Mary's Gate entrance to the park.

Flower Garden gate reopens after unexpected closure

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One of the gates to the Flower Garden in Greenwich Park has been reopened after being fenced over yesterday.

While the Flower Garden itself and the entrances at Vanburgh Hill Gate and Blackheath remained open, park users were surprised yesterday to find that the gate at the corner of Bower Avenue and Great Cross Avenue had been blocked by metal fencing.

Public information brochures and maps had not given advance notice of the gate being closed yesterday.

Greenwich.co.uk raised this issue with London 2012 organisers and was today told by a LOCOG spokesperson:

"We are pleased to say that we have been able to remove the two fencing panels in front of the gate in question today and the gate is now open.

"However, this gate will be closed again and fenced off from 1st July when Great Cross Avenue and the routes to and from Maze Hill and Vanbrugh Gates will be closed off for part of the test event period. This gate and the paths will re-open from 5th July."

Organisers also say they will update access notices which they put up yesterday.

Preparations for the Greenwich Park Eventing International are now well underway - see yesterday's post on the jumps that are being installed for the cross country event.

Picture credit: Nogoe

Jumps installed for Cross Country test event

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Greenwich Park Test Event Jumps

The next phase of closures has begun in Greenwich Park as the cross country course for this July's Olympic test event takes shape.

Most of the east side of the park will now be inaccessible until July 10th as dozens of jumps are placed around the course by course builders, London Eventing.

The cross country course for the Greenwich Park Eventing International will not be as difficult as next year's Olympics but it will still be challenging for the "younger and less experienced" horses expected at the test event, says Eventing Manager, Alec Lochore.

They will be ridden by top class riders, however, and the best four in world are expected to be at the Test Event.

A variety of fence styles will be used around the course including tree trunk jumps, brush fences, flowerbed jumps and novelties such as oversized benches.

"We''ll make some more bespoke ones for the Games but for this it's less about what the jumps look like and it's more about the types of jump and it's about the course designer, Sue Benson, being able to test out certain design concepts." explains Tim Hadaway, the Equestrian Manager for London 2012..

I asked Sue Benson if there was a "gold standard" cross country track that those in the sport looked upon as being in the one they had to match.

"Well, after this, there's going to be one." she said.

"My dream is that when people go to Rio in five years time, in 2016, they will look at the course and say 'well it's good but not as good as London 2012'"

Greenwich Park Test Event Jumps

Greenwich Park Test Event Jumps

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Pictured: Tim Hadaway