We are frustrated by the apparent lack of progress on making Abbey Road, the most dangerous part of the Greenway diversion, safe for people walking and cycling. The result is that Thames Water’s closure of the Greenway is continuing to put local residents in danger on their day-to-day journeys.
A massive thank you to everyone who has shared pictures, videos, and stories of the Greenway diversion since we posted our statement last Monday. Please keep them coming to newham@lcc.org.uk or on Instagram and Twitter/X.
We have had a record amount of feedback about the closure. People are upset and angry that their safe route to work, school, or the park has been taken away, and that daily travel for them and their families is now unacceptably dangerous.
We are passing your feedback onto Newham Council and Thames Water to pressure them into taking action without delay.
We encourage you to write to your councillors (find out who they are here) and to complain to Thames Water too (quote ref BB00472913.) The more people tell them how this is affecting their day-to-day lives, the stronger our voice is.
We also invite everyone affected by the Greenway closure to our next meeting, where we will be discussing progress and our next steps. It will be at 7:30pm on Monday 30th September, at Forest Lane Lodge, Magpie Close, E7 9DE.
Our YouTube video showing the dangerous situation on the Greenway
Feedback we have received
This is just a selection of some of the feedback we have received. We have tried to credit the people who provided it where we can—please let us know if this is your feedback and you would like your name added (or removed.)
It was chaos this morning and the route is not safe. I had a 4×4 keeping at me over the bridge which then decided to overtake me on the bridge and beep her horn at me. —Kulsum, via Instagram
I was overtaken by a car who nearly crashed into the oncoming car on the bridge with my 6 year old on the back of my bike – we were both terrified —Anne Marie, via Instagram
I used the diversion today – not safe. —@SairaSundar, via Twitter
The crossing at the bottom of the West Ham exit is LETHAL! —Ben, via Instagram
This happened just yesterday morning with a car overtaking me and other cyclists on the blind hill which caused a car and bike coming the other way over the hill to brake sharply to avoid a crash. —Rachel, via email
We went in the pavement, my kids were nearly thrown on the road as there were pedestrians and it was narrow —a local mother with 2 children, via email
Then at the bottom right into i think Leywick Street is simply suicidal. I saw two cyclists nearly got run over. I cycled on the pavement. —@Emilybronte53 via Twitter
this [is] impacting the daily commute of NewhamHospital staff. It’s disappointing the closure was not delayed to help get alternative route safe. This was great route for new cyclists. —@CatrionaRowland via Twitter
Changes made on Manor Road
We are pleased that a small change has been made to the signage on Manor Road. People cycling west are now routed onto the shared pavement under the bridge, rather than to cross the road and ride on a narrow strip of kerbline. While a shared pavement is never a perfect solution, this should prevent near misses like those where people have fallen from their bikes on Manor Road. While this change should have been made before the diversion went live, it’s better late than never.
Lighting is also being improved under the bridge, which is welcome.
We understand some changes are coming in the next week to add tactile paving to the crossing of Manor Road. This is welcome, but should also have been in place prior to the closure.
Abbey Road is still abysmal
Abbey Road remains the worst and most dangerous part of the diversion, and we are frustrated to see no apparent movement on a safe solution for this part. Abbey Road is not part of the strategic road network. It cannot carry buses or heavy freight due to a 7.5t weight limit.
Some shots from Abbey Road on a Thursday rush hour. We have chosen to cover the faces of people cycling on the pavement. While it’s technically illegal, we don’t blame people for keeping themselves safe from impatient drivers.
Our view remains that an experimental traffic order (ETO) to close the bridge to motor traffic should be made without delay. The drivers who use Abbey Road would be better making a short detour via West Ham Lane, which is a main road and can accommodate large volumes of traffic more effectively and safely. Emergency vehicles, of course, would still be welcome to use Abbey Road.
Our position remains that Thames Water should not have closed the Greenway until the ETO was in place. If, for whatever reason, an ETO is going to take more than a week from today, Thames Water should pause their works, move their equipment out of the way, and re-open the Greenway until Abbey Road can be made safe.
We have also provided images for the next issue of Newham Voices.
We were very pleased to have the support of two of our local MPs, Sir Stephen Timms and Uma Kumaran, who have written to Newham Council to ask for an update on the application for the ETO.
Sir Stephen also wrote to Thames Water to pass on our concerns. The response he received, and passed on to us, claimed inexplicably that “there are no immediate and straightforward options available.” We don’t agree with this: an ETO is eminently feasible, as was delaying the start of the works until the ETO was in place.
Instead, Thames Water claim they are taking some “short term actions” to alleviate the problem, including… “Additional signage making it clear there should be no overtaking cyclists and the road is joint use.” This will not make any meaningful difference. Signs will not change the fact that Abbey Road is completely unsafe; in our experience, impatient drivers will simply ignore a sign that says “DO NOT OVERTAKE CYCLISTS.”
Thames Water also claim in their response to Sir Stephen that “The safety of everyone is our number one priority when it comes to carrying out any of our operations…” Our position is unchanged: if safety truly was their number one priority, Thames Water would have, as we asked, delayed the start of the structural works until the diversion via Abbey Road was to an acceptable standard. They declined to do this.
What needs to happen now
Newham Council urgently needs to make an ETO to close the Abbey Road bridge to motor traffic. This needs to happen without delay, within a matter of days, not weeks.
Going forward, Thames Water and Newham Council need to fix their processes so that nothing like this is allowed to happen again.
We are collecting people’s experiences, stories, pictures, and videos from Greenway users put at risk by the dangerous diversion. Please send to newham@lcc.org.uk or DM us on Instagram or Twitter/X. Thank you.
Newham Cyclists, part of the London Cycling Campaign, is today calling for Thames Water to immediately re-open the Greenway at Manor Road bridge until a safe diversion can be put in place.
As a volunteer group which exists to help more people access cycling, we are disappointed and angered by Thames Water’s and their contractors’ decision to close part of the Greenway, Newham’s only safe and inclusive north-south cycle route, while the diversion route is dangerously busy with car and van traffic. They chose to do this despite us warning them as early as July that this would be unacceptable and unsafe.
The result is that people who use the Greenway—from children and families cycling to school or the park, to dog-walkers, to workers at Newham Hospital—are being forced onto a narrow bridge at Abbey Road DLR with fast and heavy traffic. Cars and vans speed and emerge suddenly due to poor sight lines, which is a major collision risk. Some drivers are impatient, intimidating cyclists by revving and passing too close. Many people cycling, particularly children, are riding on the pavement in fear; the pavement is much too narrow for pedestrians as it is.
We have been inundated with messages from Greenway users reporting frightening encounters on the diversion. We think it is only a matter of time before someone is hurt, or worse.
Thames Water chose to close Manor Road bridge on the Greenway without waiting for Newham Council to deliver a safe diversion.
This is despite us asking Thames Water to plan for the possibility they’d need to close Manor Road bridge in mid-April; and despite us making clear in late July that any diversion must be “kid-safe”, particularly by the start of the school year.
Instead, Thames Water chose a course of action that deprived local residents of their safe route to work or school one week into the school year.
We have also raised concerns about the following:
confusing signage making it unclear where diverted cyclists are supposed to go and suggesting they should cycle on a narrow strip of kerbing. We are aware of at least one lady falling from her bike following these instructions
social safety on the diversion via Canning Road and Abbey Lane, particularly after dark for women and gender-diverse people
concerns about the attitude of some of Thames Water and Barhale’s workers on site. We received one report from a woman who has had contractors make comments towards her on two separate occasions. It should go without saying that we find this behaviour appalling and reprehensible.
Our demands
We are calling for the following measures:
Thames Water and Barhale: Re-open the Greenway to people walking and cycling until the diversion is safe. We don’t believe work has substantively started yet, so this should be possible. You can resume work once Newham have made the diversion safe by closing Abbey Road to motor traffic.
Newham Council: Get on with delivering a safe and inclusive diversion, with an experimental traffic order on Abbey Road.
What we want Thames Water to do
We want Thames Water and their contractors Barhale to immediately re-open the Greenway until Newham Council have delivered a safe and inclusive diversion that is suitable for everyone to use, including children. As of Sunday 15th September we believe work on the sewer barrels has not yet begun. It must be delayed, and the Greenway re-opened to people walking and cycling, until a safe diversion is in place.
To be clear, we told Thames Water in mid-April that they should start planning for the possibility they’d need to completely close the bridge. At this point, they should have contacted Newham Council to start planning a diversion and getting paperwork in order. As we understand it, they did not inform Newham Council of this possibility until early July, over two and a half months later.
Local people trying to go to work or school should not be put in danger by Thames Water’s utility works.
What we want Newham Council to do
Newham Council must deliver a safe diversion for the Greenway, quickly, so Thames Water can proceed with their sewer replacement work. The quickest and best solution is an Experimental Traffic Order to close Abbey Road to motor traffic, enforced with a traffic camera and fines. Abbey Road is not part of the strategic road network; no buses or heavy freight use it due to the weight limit on the bridge. The traffic that does use it can easily use the more appropriate route via West Ham Lane instead. Emergency vehicles would of course be welcome to use the bridge.
While we understand that Thames Water gave an unacceptably short notice period, particularly considering the summer holidays, Newham also needs to make sure it has the ability to respond to changes like this in a quicker fashion.
Given Thames Water’s history with closing the Greenway and failing to complete works on time, and their current precarious financial position, we suggest that the plans are prepared to extend the traffic order or make it permanent after 18 months.
Information for editors and casual observers
What is the Greenway?
The Greenway is an off-road walking and cycling path built on top of a Victorian sewer. It runs from Wick Lane (near Victoria Park) via Stratford, West Ham, and Plaistow, finishing in Beckton. It serves Roman Road Primary School, Brampton Manor Academy, Newham Sixth Form College/NewVIC, Newham University Hospital, and many other local amenities.
It is part of the London Cycleway network. It’s the only cycle route between the north and south of Newham that is traffic-free, and is generally safe for people to use at all times of day and night. Recent investments in lighting, barrier removal, adding greenery, and crime prevention have made a big difference. People use the Greenway round the clock. Greenway users are diverse: all ages, all genders, all ethnic backgrounds, all walks of life, making all kinds of journeys.
Because the Greenway is on top of a sewer, it is technically owned by Thames Water, the privatised water company in London. The Greenway is a so-called “permissive path” through private land. Recent improvements have largely been organised and funded by Newham Council.
What has happened?
Thames Water are currently refurbishing the sewer the Greenway lies on top of. Next to be refurbished is Manor Road bridge, which is near West Ham station. They need to close the entire bridge to walking and cycling in order to do their work. This is understandable.
What is unacceptable is that Thames Water closed the bridge to people walking and cycling with a diversion that is extremely unsafe.
Those following the official diversion are dumped onto Abbey Road, a narrow bridge over the DLR which is used by motorists as a shortcut to avoid West Ham Lane. Traffic comes thick and fast, with lots of cars and vans which speed around blind corners. Some drivers routinely intimidate people cycling by overtaking when that’s dangerous, passing too close (sometimes as ‘punishment’ for causing a few seconds’ delay), honking, or revving aggressively. The pavements are also much too narrow for large volumes of people walking, let alone cyclists who feel bullied off the road. No-one should have to deal with this on their way to work or school.
Abbey Road is owned by Newham Council, who are in the process of arranging an experimental traffic order (ETO) to close it to motor traffic (except emergency vehicles.) We think that Thames Water should have waited for the ETO to take effect before closing the Greenway. They chose not wait, and instead closed the Greenway on Weds 11th September.
This is an example of extremely poor planning and co-ordination on Thames Water’s part. At a site meeting with Thames Water in mid April, we told them that they should start planning for a “just in case” diversion in case they did need to close the Manor Road bridge completely. Had they engaged properly with Newham Council then, maybe the paperwork would have been ready for the ETO to go live on day one of the Greenway closure.
Instead, the Greenway has now been closed one week into the school year, with children, families, and other less confident cyclists expected to dice with death on Abbey Road in front of fast-moving traffic.
There are a number of other issues with the usability of the diversion:
Confusing signage making it unclear where people cycling are supposed to cross Manor Road, another busy road. We are aware of at least one near miss where a woman fell from her bike, while following signage that suggested she should ride on a narrow strip of kerbing rather than a wide shared footway. She is fortunately unhurt, but could easily have fallen into oncoming traffic.
Missing signage at turning points in the diversion making it unclear where people are supposed to go.
Poor lighting and environmental details on Canning Road leading to a poor feeling of social safety, particularly after dark and for children, women, gender-diverse and LGBTQ+ people, and those who feel more vulnerable in public.
Why does it matter?
The Greenway is the only safe cycle route that connects north-west Newham to south-east Newham, providing a connection between Cycleways 2 and 3 and serving schools, colleges, and Newham Hospital.
For many, cycling is more affordable, convenient, and reliable than public transport. Many people who live in Newham depend on walking and cycling for their day-to-day travel—particularly for non-discretionary journeys that they have to make, no matter what. People deserve to be able to make those journeys safely.
Timeline of events
2022: Newham Cyclists gets wind of the likelihood Thames Water will be planning long term closures or diversion to the Greenway in future.
Mid-April 2024: Thames Water starts work on the Manor Road bridge. At the time they believe they can keep the bridge open for walking and cycling at the same time as replacing the sewer barrels. Our co-ordinator at the time, Olawale Ajibola, spots the likelihood that this won’t be possible, and asks Thames Water to start considering what would happen if they needed to fully close the Manor Road bridge to walking and cycling.
Mon 8th July 2024: Thames Water contacts Newham Council to tell them they will be seeking to close the Greenway for 18 months at Manor Road bridge. Newham Council forwards this information to us and puts us in touch with contacts at Thames Water and Barhale, their contractors. We ask where the diversion will be, for how long, and how Thames Water proposes people will complete their journey without dismounting and without mixing with traffic. We receive no response.
Fri 12th July 2024: We follow up to ask if there is any information available. We are told we will have information on the diversion shared with us by Friday the following week at the latest.
Fri 19th July 2024: Thames Water tells us they plan to close the Greenway from Monday 19th August for 18 months, claiming they have made this “difficult decision” because there is no space on the bridge to maintain a through route and complete the work. When prompted, they provide us with a proposed diversion via Mitre Road. We tell them this is a concerningly short notice period, and won’t give time for them to address obvious issues with the diversion; we remind them of the importance of the Greenway to children and families. We arrange a site visit with representatives from Thames Water, Barhale, TfL, and Newham Council’s highways team on 29th July.
Mon 29th July 2024: Our Coordinator and Deputy Coordinator, Jonathan Rothwell and Dr Karen Flanagan, join the site meeting, and afterwards test the diversion together. We determine that the ramp down to Manor Road by West Ham station needs to be widened, but that Abbey Road is easily the worst part of the diversion—in fact both Jonathan and Karen receive a punishment pass from a driver while cycling safely and legally on the bridge. We explain in our summary email to those present that “no protection or traffic reduction here is not an option.” We urge LBN to start work on the traffic order at Abbey Road so that it can go live before the start of the school year in September. We receive confirmation from Thames Water’s representative that our notes match their recollection of the meeting.
Tue 30th July 2024: A representative from Thames Water tells us they will be making a press release about the closure of the Greenway, and asks if Newham Cyclists would like to provide a remark about the ongoing liaison. We don’t think this is appropriate at this stage because we don’t know what the ultimate state of the diversion will be like, so decline to provide a quote.
Weds 7th and Thu 8th August 2024: Thames Water runs a drop-in session at the Canning Road junction for Greenway users. While this engagement is welcome, it only runs from 10am-6pm.
Weds 14th August 2024: Thames Water tells us they will delay the closure of the Greenway until 2nd September, so that they can do work to widen the Manor Road ramp, one of the action points we identified on 29th July. We remind Thames Water that it is critical everything is done and ready by the start of the school year, noting: “If someone has a bad experience with them or their kids cycling to school in the first few weeks of the school year, they may end up driving for the rest of the year, which obviously isn’t what we want.”
Fri 16th August: We receive confirmation from a contact at Newham Council that they are working on the Abbey Road ETO option, within the resource constraints they have available.
Tue 27th August: We contact Thames Water and Newham Council to ask for an update, and receive no response as our contacts are on holiday. At this point it is clear the Manor Road ramp will not be ready for the proposed 2nd September closure date.
Fri 6th September: We again ask for an update. Thames Water now say they expect to finish the Manor Road ramp on Monday 9th September, and close the Greenway immediately after; Newham say they are working on the ETO to do the necessary statutory consultation with the emergency services in the following week; however it will not be done by then. We formally ask Thames Water once again if there is any possibility the Greenway closure can be delayed again until the ETO takes effect on Abbey Road, and receive no response.
Weds 11th September: Thames Water completes the widening of the Manor Road ramp, and closes the Greenway. Immediately Newham Cyclists begins receiving feedback on our website and social media about how dangerous and unsafe the diversion feels, particularly Abbey Road and the confusing signage crossing Manor Road.
Thu 12th September: We share the feedback we have received with Thames Water, and express our disappointment that our request to delay the closure of the Greenway until the ETO is in place was ignored—particularly in light of us having repeatedly made it clear that any diversion must be kid-safe if in use during the school year. We suggest that if work has not substantively begun, the closure be reversed until the ETO is put in place. We receive no response from Thames Water or Barhale. We are also contacted by a Greenway user who reports having received inappropriate remarks from Thames Water site workers while she was using the diversion.
Sun 15th September: Our Newham Parks Ride passes the Greenway closure, using the diversion. From both ends of the worksite, it appears work has not actually begun yet (see photos.) One of our riders has a near miss, falling from her bike while following signage that suggests she should ride on a narrow strip of kerbing rather than a wide shared footway. She is fortunately unhurt, but could easily have fallen into oncoming traffic. We are also contacted by a mother who cycles with her two young children to Victoria Park on the Greenway and had a frightening encounter on the diversion. We again ask Thames Water to re-open the Greenway to people walking and cycling until the issues with the diversion are resolved.
Who are Newham Cyclists?
Newham Cyclists is part of the London Cycling Campaign, a registered charity. We are a volunteer group who exist to help all kinds of people access cycling as a cheap, accessible, and convenient form of transport. We believe cycling should be for everyone, not just the fast and the brave.
Media contacts
Media enquiries should go to newham@lcc.org.uk, or to @NewhamCyclists on Twitter/X and Instagram. Your contacts are Jonathan Rothwell and Dr Karen Flanagan.
Please be mindful that we are a volunteer group, so will answer your queries amongst our work and personal commitments.
The Waterworks Bridge is being replaced. We have been informed by the team that work will start in September 2024 and should be complete winter 2025. During this time there will be adjustments to cycle and footpaths. Alternative routes, we are told, will be clearly marked.
A minor diversion of the cycle path on the west side of the river is required by 13 September. Subsequently, the cycle/foot path which connects the bridge with the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park (marked below as U03) will close at the end of September, and pedestrians and cyclists will be rerouted via the newly opened path (marked as U07).
We are hoping that disruption to cycling should be minimal. If you have any concerns please contact us at newham@lcc.org.uk
We rode from the Atherton Centre along the new Romford Road cycleways, and collected feedback from attendees. We then rode to Here East.
At the subsequent meeting we discussed:
The Romford Road cycleways – generally we are very happy with the improvements but have the following comments:
As we expected (and as we warned in our initial consultation response in January 2023) there’s a problem with the entrance to the cycle track after Woodgrange Road. The geometry is awkward and requires those cycling to take primary and then swerve to enter ’their’ lane.
The geometry of the ends of the cycle tracks makes it difficult for those cycling to re-join the carriageway.
We will ask for additional feedback via groups.io, and then send feedback to the Romford Road team.
Greenway closure for 18 months: we met with Newham Council (Highways and Sustainable Transport) and Thames Water earlier today and rode the proposed diversion. Our feedback was that Abbey Road is unsafe. It is possible that the road could be closed to traffic, and another possibility could be a diversion via Crow’s Bridge. We await feedback from Newham.
Excel – we received a complaint about cycling safety at Excel which we escalated. We have received a response from Excel which states that the waterfron route will reopen “in the autumn”. We will monitor the situation.
Proposed Silvertown and Blackwall tunnel tolls: we will respond to this consultation. We have already responded negatively to the ‘bike bus’ consultation and will continue to campaign for meaningful walking and cycling river crossings.
Woolwich foot tunnel Northern lift has been out of action for some time and one of our members has reported that there appears to be an impasse between Newham and Greenwich on cost of repairs. We contacted Newham Council. UPDATE: the councils have struck a deal to repair the lift .
TFL staff questioning legitimate bike transport on the Elizabeth line, at Liverpool Street – this has been referred to LCC.
Please contact us through this site if you would like further information.
a £4 charge at “peak times” for drivers using the Blackwall and Silvertown Tunnels. Peak times are northbound 0600-1000 and southbound 1600-1900 on weekdays only
a £1.50 charge at “off peak times” for drivers. Off-peak times are all times between 0600-2200 that are not peak
no charge overnight
At the same time TfL announced details of a “green and fair package of supporting measures”, including: free bus journeys on routes 108, 129 and SL4 for “at least 12 months”; free DLR journeys between Cutty Sark-Island Gardens and Woolwich Arsenal-King George V for “at least 12 months”; free travel for those cycling on the Silvertown tunnel cycle bus for “at least 12 months”, with the service guaranteed to run for at least 3 years.
We neither supported nor opposed the proposals.
Generally we support a fair and equitable system of road user charging. But this requires practical alternatives for people to make their journeys without driving.
TfL has no coherent strategy for non-motorised river crossings in east London, meaning there is no practical alternative to driving for many journeys. Future political campaigns and administrations will target the user charge for abolition, allowing unfettered cross-river motor traffic.
We continue to oppose the Silvertown Tunnel as a crossing for private motor traffic. It is a 1960s-quality urban motorway project that shouldn’t have been approved. We still have no confidence in TfL or the current Mayor ever delivering a viable cycle crossing east of Tower Bridge, despite the clear need for one.
We do not believe the proposed road user charge is high enough to deter people from making unnecessary journeys or switching to a more sustainable mode. We also think the alternatives are too expensive and too impractical.
It is particularly concerning to us that the proposed off-peak tunnel user charge of £1.50 is 25p cheaper than a single bus fare. Even at peak times, the tunnel user charge for cars is £2 cheaper than the Cable Car fare, and 10p cheaper than the Doubletree Rotherhithe ferry. At off-peak times, the Cable Car fare is a whopping four times the price of the charge a driver would pay.
We are disappointed that the “green and fair” package that TfL has supposedly already agreed for pedestrians and cyclists only guarantees free river crossings for those without a car for the first year, and only in specific circumstances. We maintain our scepticism about the practicality of the cycle bus, particularly considering it will finish at 9:30pm.
To apply a crude analogy: the stick is not big enough to be a deterrent, but is big enough to be annoying. Meanwhile, the carrot isn’t substantial enough to get people to move to a mode other than driving.
We urge TfL to work with the national Government to invest in and urgently progress the desperately-needed walking and cycling river crossings that east London has needed for decades.
Newham Council and LLDC consulted last month on some measures to improve some junctions in the Chobham Manor area.
The proposals are to
straighten out the zebra crossing from Honour Lea Avenue over Olympic Park Avenue into the Olympic Park, and add a parallel crossing to formally allow people to cycle across it with priority
add a mode filter at the junction with Temple Mills Lane and Abercrombie Road, only allowing buses and coaches
add speed cushions on Abercrombie Road and Olympic Park Avenue.
We were pleased to support these proposals, although we had reservations about the use of speed cushions which are not in line with best practice for cycle routes. We suggested the use of sinusoidal humps instead, and consultation with local stakeholders who use three-wheelers.
