Connect with us

TFL looking Underground to solve London traffic problems

News

TFL looking Underground to solve London traffic problems

Pic: Traffic going northbound on A2 towards Blackwall traffic (Credit: Tiffany Lee Alonzo Instagram @tiffalonzophoto)

A new purposed tunnel to help ease traffic in and out of however there is much opposition to the purposed new tunnel, Nicholas Newton reports.

The West Slivertown Tunnel will run parallel to the Blackwall Tunnel.  The entrance to the runnel will be to the right of the Blackwall Tunnel. The A2 will be the main entrance point to the West Slivertown Tunnel. Four lane traffic will spilt and two of the lanes will go to the Blackwall and two lanes will go to the West Slivertown Tunnel. This will ease traffic and help drivers go to more specific parts of London. Instead of having to fight through the Blackwall Tunnel.

Peter Sutton regularly drives through the Blackwall Tunnel to go to work. I met Peter at Bow Church roundabout, less than 11 minute drive from the roundabout. While I waited for Peter to pick me up, I could see the stream of traffic, as Peter approached me. When Peter creeped towards me, I had waited nearly 15 minutes before he pulled over. Once I got into his van, we continue to creep towards the Blackwall Tunnel. I questioned Peter how he felt having to do this every night. Peter said: “I  don’t know why that Crossrail construction don’t just go to the East a bit and just make another tunnel.”

I asked Peter about a possibility of a new Tunnel. “Of course another tunnel will make a difference. It will give another option”. After meeting Peter at around 5:20pm, we made it through the tunnel onto the other side of the water at around 6:10pm. The journey was estimated to take around 15 minutes. One of the main problems that we faced, is that many vehicles have to move out into the outside lane before entering the tunnel. Peter added: “This just slows the process down, because you have to allow them back in on the south side.”

The No to West Slivertown Tunnel, feels strongly against the proposed idea. A spokesmen said: “Studies have shown that building new roads is likely to increase the overall amount of traffic.” With the research that I mentioned earlier, I would have to agree with the comments mentioned.  However this does raise the question of what other alternatives for drivers, like Peter, who are struggling to get cross the River Thames via car can do. They will still struggle to travel through the Blackwall Tunnel on a daily basis.

As constructed Blackwall Tunnel cannot continue to take as much traffic as it does now. Therefore a new situation is in order to solve the problem. At the moment the only real possibility is the West Slivertown Tunnel. This may cause more traffic, as the No to West Slivertown Tunnel campaign mentioned. However in a situation where the Blackwall Tunnel could be shut or have one of its lanes closed, resulting in no alternatives for drivers today.

 

Generating football stories and creating new content

More in News

To Top