TfL starts consultation on future Thames crossings - cycling provision currently shit

As anyone who regularly has to cycle between SE and NE London will already know, the Thames crossing provision for cyclists is shit. The last really practical crossing is Tower Bridge. From there heading East you've got;

• Rotherhithe Tunnel, a narrow, polluted and overcrowded mess that many car drivers prefer to avoid. Cyclists who brave it tend to stick to the pavement (technically illegal) but more divert a few miles East or West
  
• Greenwich Foot Tunnel which despite attracting far more cyclists than pedestrians since the DLR opened stations at either end a decade ago, has recently had barriers installed at three points along its length. These are so narrow it's hard to wheel a single bike through them, let alone two in either direction.
  
• Blackwall, which you can't (legally, or sanely) ride
  
• Emirates Air Line, which costs four quid
  
• Woolwich Ferry, which runs restricted hours, and is often slower than the tunnel
  
• Woolwich Tunnel, which hasn't had working lifts in years so requires 126 steps carrying your steed, plus has barriers (but is at least usually deserted)
  
• Dartford Crossing, some 12 miles further East, where you're reliant on the whims of jobsworths in 4x4s to give you a lift, and the roads either side are horrific.
  
  

click for big

Admittedly, the situation for cars isn't exactly ideal either: Rotherhithe and Blackwall might at least be safe by car, but they're invariably congested, and the Ferry even more so. Of course this has been a problem for years, but the NIMBYs perpetually kill [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thames_Gateway_Bridge"]any plans to fix[/ame] it. Nevertheless, the idea is back, this time in the shape of a tunnel roughly at the location of the cable car, and/or moving the Woolwich Ferry a mile East.

From a cycling perspective the latter idea is beneficial, providing as it does an extra crossing and leaving the Woolwich Foot Tunnel in place (presumably with working lifts by 2017). The new tunnel however won't be available to cyclists, effectively meaning cars get across the river for free, whilst we have to rely on the limited-hours and expensive tourist trap that is the cable car.

This is the time to make yourself heard about the generally dire provision of cycling links across the Thames.

• Providing another free crossing for cars from North Greenwich - Silvertown, but not to cycles isn't fair. Either the new tunnel should be tolled, or the cable car should be free to bikes
  
• The Greenwich Foot Tunnel is the only realistic crossing between Tower Bridge and Woolwich, and is used heavily and predominantly by cyclists. It should be made bike only during DLR hours; pedestrians could be accommodated with free DLR travel from Canary Wharf to Island Gardens. This crossing is a critical part of London's cycling infrastructure, and having barriers in it is equivalent to putting a one car width restriction across the Blackwall Tunnel - a scenario no one would tolerate.
  
• Any new Thamesmead - Silvertown crossing needs to have realistic cycling provisions, in particular not dropping cyclists onto the A1020.
  
  

GO AND COMPLAIN

Thanks for bringing this to the forums attention. I have demanded dedicated, traffic-free cycle lanes lead up to, on or under any bridge or tunnel and safe exit to cycle lanes on the other side in my views (and thought funding should be toll-based).

Tom I agree with you on every aspect of your post (thank you), save for one point: I can't say I agree with you on on the barriers and cycling provision in the Greenwich Foot Tunnel. Making it cycle-only hardly makes sense for peds - clearly on the weekends and in the summertime it's busy with walkengers, esp now that the Cutty Sark is right there on the south side. As for sharing, It's easy to get up to 25 mph on the the descent to the middle and that's not safe for other users. The barriers prevent that. At the moment walking it only takes what, 7-8 minutes? I think it's a compromise cyclists should make to offer fair use for what is a tiny tunnel. Lack of foresight when it was built? Yes, but that's most things in London built pre-1940... Which of course leads to the conclusion both you and I agree on: a new cross-river transport option is needed because it is definitely insufficient and unsafe for cyclists at the moment.

Thanks for this, I had no idea the Greenwich Foot Tunnel had barriers in now.
Is there no way it'd work with just a speed limit on bikes? I wheel through there occasionally, but very slowly and taking lots of care, as I'm not an arsehole.

Bump because the consultation finishes in a few days.

Lack of foresight when it was built? Yes,

Hah, It was the first sub-river tunnel in the world I think! I think we can forgive them that.

Also, will be adding comments to TfL. To avoid work if nothing else.

That was the Wapping to Rotherhithe tunnel, now used by London Overground.
[ame]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thames_Tunnel[/ame]

I am a local resident in North woolwich and my life is marred horrendously by this issue of river crossing. The original idea was to build a bridge between gallions reach and thamesmead - a solution which i wholeheartedly support as i use the a1020 on a daily basis and find it a perfectly amicable road, mainly due to it's dual carriageway and lack of speeding traffic. This solution was scrapped in 2010 even though infrastructure was built 20 years previously in support of this idea as it was meant to link into the thames gateway growth project of housing and buisness in the area and incorporate a dlr link to dagenham dock which would increase job prospects and commuter access within the local area. When this government funded project fell to the dust as no one was willing to invest in any area east of the excel centre which has seen fads such as the emirates airline spring up.

I disagree with the two new proposals and have protested in print, online and at local meetings. The silvertown tunnel as previously mentioned would not be accessible to cycle traffic and the gallions ferry would be temporary as admitted by the secondary tfl consultation documentation and just be an excuse to build infrastructure in preparation for a bridge but have an excuse to stymie investment over a longer period of time and fob of local residents. Also due to 'apparent' work on the foot tunnel as we have no lifts unlike the greenwich tunnel and crossrail work access to north to south river crossing are dangerous at best.

I implore any cyclist reading this to reply to the current consultation and petition for a bridge at gallions to thamesmead that is useful for everyone and have a system as mentioned above that would give cyclists more useful access to current foot tunnels to help traffic flow more freely as currently greenwich tunnel is overtaken by riders but not served appropriately.

This issue frustrates me hugely as i head north to south and back again on a regular basis and slumping it through the dim foot tunnel adds extra time to my journey. Plus I have many amusing ferry fail stories.