Finally there is some movement on the ETO, which will reduce traffic on Abbey Road. But the process will take some weeks. In the meantime we must keep the pressure on in order to achieve safety for all Greenway users.
Many thanks to all those who attend our meeting on Monday 30th September, where we presented the latest plans for Abbey Road from Newham Council. We shared your feedback and questions about the Greenway Diversion with Newham Council and Thames Water.
We were able to meet with Newham Council on Friday 4th October, and we received another update. We present the latest information below.
Update from Newham Council on Abbey Road
In order to make Abbey Road safe for cyclists and pedestrians, Newham Council are progressing 4 projects in parallel:
- Traffic calming – signs and speed cushions will be added to Abbey Road ‘in the next 5 days’. Cycle-friendly sinusoidal humps were investigated, but found not to be feasible on the bridge for engineering reasons.
- Experimental traffic order (ETO)– this will prohibit motor vehicles from using Abbey Road for the extent of the weight limit. This process takes time—emergency services need to be consulted and any concerns they have need to be addressed. The initial letter was issued on 2nd October, with responses required by 9th October. The earliest possible date that the ETO could be implemented and Abbey Road closed to general traffic is 31st October.
- Engineering works to provide cycling infrastructure – whilst the ETO is in place, the southern pavement on Abbey Road would be extended to 4m to provide a two way cycle route, with the northern pavement reserved for pedestrians. A single lane would be available for motor traffic, which would be one-way or two-way with a signalised shuttle. The likely timescale for this work is 3-6 months.
- Investigating an alternative diversion via Crows Road – there are discussions taking place, but no firm proposals as yet.
Our thoughts on the above:
- We feel that traffic calming on its own is an ineffective solution, but we understand that this is a temporary measure until the ETO is introduced, and many people have asked about ‘do not overtake cyclists’ signs as an interim measure. We raised the issue that speed cushions often nudge cyclists into riding too close to the kerb while encouraging drivers to straddle the cushions, making close passes more likely. We suggested an alternative implementation with half-cushions on the sides and full size cushions in the centre, inspired by the cycle street treatment on Vauxhall Street. We suspect it may be too late for our alternative to be considered, but we shall see.
- We have been campaigning for traffic reduction on Abbey Road whilst the Greenway diversion is in place, and we are delighted that the first steps have been taken. The ETO should be introduced as soon as legally possible in order to protect cyclists and pedestrians on Abbey Road.
- The proposed widened shared footway would be a safe and acceptable solution, but we are concerned about the optics of installing an expensive cycling scheme that is ripped out again in 18 months. We asked if it would be cheaper to extend the ETO for the full time that the Greenway diversion is in place.
- The alternative diversion via Crows Road has potential to be a great – and permanent? – cycle route, but we have no firm proposals to comment on yet.
Communication from Thames Water
Thames Water (TW) have issued a statement about the diversion, which we received on 4th October. This is summarised below.
- TW will be advising cyclists to use the Channelsea ramp and toucan crossing to avoid the right turn out of Canning Road.
- TW are sharing an alternative diversion route via Bridge Road.
- TW are committing to funding traffic calming measures suggested by Newham
- TW will change the existing diversion signage to signage attached to existing site furniture.
Our thoughts on the above:
- We previously advised TW that we have seen people crossing Abbey Road at the Channelsea ramp crossing. Whilst this avoids the blind corner at Canning Road, it means spending longer on Abbey Road, amongst fast moving traffic. We have also observed that some cyclists who join using the crossing then receive a punishment pass for their trouble, as some drivers perceive them as having ‘jumped the queue’. In addition, several people have raised concerns with us about drivers jumping the red lights at this crossing.
- We previously advised TW that the Bridge Road route is a good option for people going to Stratford, Leyton and other destinations to the east, and many people are already using this. However it adds considerable extra journey time (in the order of 10 mins) for those joining Cycleway 2 towards central London, and can almost double journey times for people accessing Pudding Mill Lane, the Olympic Park and Victoria Park. This includes the families with children who have contacted us. We also note that the Bridge Road route has a number of obstructions that make it unfit for large volumes of cyclists (the traffic on the Greenway was last measured as 3,200 cyclists per day prior to the closure, according to Newham Council). We feel that Thames Water should be funding improvements such as widening and barrier removal to the Bridge Road route if they are recommending it as a diversion.
- We note that on 20th September, TW wrote to Sir Stephen Timms MP as follows: “In the meantime, we are taking some short-term actions to alleviate the problem:
- Additional time added on traffic lights under the bridge
- Additional signage making it clear there should be no overtaking cyclists and the road is joint use (the Manor Road signs are in place and Abbey road will be added next week as specialist signs to fit the lampposts were needed)
- Signage will be added on Canning Road and the give way line will be reinstated as it is currently faded
- Improving the lighting under the bridge
- Next week we will be upgrading the crossing points to include tactile paving and wider ramps.” As of 4th October, none of this work has been completed and we asked TW about this on 26th September and 1st October. They responded with the communication above.
- Again, Thames Water said they would add semi-permanently attached signage w/c 23rd September, but there has been no movement on this to date (supposedly due to issues sourcing ‘specialist signage.’)
Our position remains that Thames Water should not have closed the Greenway until the ETO was in place.
All the measures that Thames Water say they are taking now are things that should have been organised and ready before the Greenway was closed to walking and cycling—particularly for an 18-month diversion where the closure was supposedly months in the planning. Even so, they are nowhere near sufficient to make the diversion safe for people walking and cycling, particularly during the school year.
This lack of forward planning by Thames Water has created considerable danger to which users of the Greenway have now been exposed for over 3 weeks, and will continue to experience for at least another 3 weeks due to the nature of the ETO process. We find this wholly unacceptable, and believe it was avoidable.
Manor Road
We have contacted Thames Water and Newham Council about your feedback on Manor Road. In particular you raised the issue of Manor Road pavements, which cyclists are directed onto, but these are not marked as shared use and pedestrians are understandably frustrated when they encounter cyclists. We have asked for this to be remodelled. Also you commented that the spadefuls of tarmac used to provide access to the pavements for cyclists are very narrow. We asked for these to be replaced with standard dropped kerbs.
The pedestrians/cyclists conflict has also worsened because Thames Water have narrowed the shared use pavement on Manor Road by constructing a storage unit on the pavement:
On 3rd October, Thames water told us that “The Manor Road crossing positioning will be altered following feedback from Newham – this has led to a slight delay as new traffic management plans are drawn up.” We look forward to a resolution of this issue.
Further feedback from Greenway users
This is another 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.)
We have also been contacted by Joyriders, who run weekly cycle sessions for teenagers who are inpatients at the mental health unit at Newham University Hospital. Their sessions are now “severely impacted” as going to the Olympic Park was one of their main routes, and Abbey Road “isn’t even an option at all!”.
Rode on the pavement as after a car overtook me at speed I decided it wasn’t worth my life to be on the road. — easthammerithome, via Instagram
I’m not able to use the greenway currently while diversion is so bad, & it’s my route to work. Come on @NewhamLondon when will there be some action on the ETO? —@helencbaron via Twitter
Thank you for your work on this. It’s so dangerous. Everytime I’ve used it I’ve been overtaken by a car on the blind hill. —@cattleprod via Twitter
The diversion onto Abbey Road is a death trap. I fear for my life everyday and have been trying hard to find another diversion that is safer. There is nothing. Abbey Road MUST be closed to cars or the Greenway is opened again. Sadly, it will only be a matter of time before there is a serious accident 🙁 —@NewMobile-p1q via Youtube
Was almost hit twice just cycling over the bridge in the rain! This really needs to be addressed urgently before someone is killed. —sophieabreu via Instagram
There’s inconvenience, and there’s real risk of injury or death. Cars get one, bikes get the other. —@Moondoox_ via Youtube
What you can do
We encourage you to complain to Thames Water quoting ref BB00472913, and copy your local councillors in too (find out who they are here.) They finally appear to be waking up to the risk of reputational damage to themselves and their contractors from the poorly-managed closure of the Greenway. We need to keep the pressure on, because we think they can and should be doing more than they are. The more people tell Thames Water how this is affecting their day-to-day lives, the stronger our voice is.
Please continue to share your pictures, videos, and stories with us at newham@lcc.org.uk or on Instagram and Twitter/X.
If you feel comfortable doing so, you should report any crashes or near misses on the diversion route to the Police within 24 hours. This way they’ll show up in the collision statistics.
Thank you for raising your concerns with elected representatives. Two elected representatives were present at our meeting with Newham Council, and they spoke about the very powerful stories that they had received from local residents. Sir Stephen Timms MP and Uma Kumaran MP have also emailed Newham Council about the correspondence that they had received from constituents.
What needs to happen now
- Newham Council needs to complete the delivery of the ETO to close the Abbey Road bridge to motor traffic. We expect them to make sure this happens as soon as is legally possible, i.e. by 31st October.
- Thames Water needs to pay Newham Council’s expenses in making the Abbey Road diversion safe for walking and cycling. Agreeing to fund traffic calming on Abbey Road is better than nothing, but it’s nowhere near enough to make the diversion safe. TW should also contribute to the capital cost of advertising the ETO, installing enforcement cameras, and any longer-term solution such as cycling infrastructure on the bridge or a diversion via Crows Road.
- Going forward, Thames Water needs to recognise the importance of the Greenway to the community and change their processes so that nothing like this happens in future years. We have been frustrated that Thames Water appears to treat the Greenway as an amenity, i.e. a “nice to have,” rather than as public infrastructure that is as important to people’s daily business as the sewer pipes running underneath it.
