News from the Streets — October 2024

Inspired by Camden Cyclists’ excellent series of the same name, this post is about the progress of the many cycling infras schemes with spades in the ground in Newham. We will post new ones as and when volunteer time allows and there’s something new to report.

Romford Road

As a large project which will take a number of years, the long-awaited Romford Road public realm improvement scheme is broken up into sections. Sections B eastbound (Water Lane to Radlett Close) and D eastbound (Woodgrange Road to Richmond Road) were the first to be consulted on, and are the first to have been substantively finished. Snagging work should now have been completed for both.

Work has now begun on section B westbound. We’d expect work on section D westbound to take a little longer, owing to the recent fire at Forest Gate Police Station. Work continues on sections H and I.

Romford Road looking west, with one with-flow cycle track coming towards the camera. The pavement and old cycle lane on the opposite side are now surrounded by hoarding.

The open cycle track on sections B and D eastbound is already being very well used by people cycling. In particular a lot of cyclists want to turn right into Dyson Road and the West Ham Park area, and so are already cycling around the barriers to use the zebra crossing.

A person cycles across a zebra crossing on Romford Road.

Westfield Avenue/Waterden Road

This excellent scheme, delivered by Newham in partnership with the London Legacy Development Corporation, is to improve the abysmal “stroad” type urban motorways left over from the Olympics. Work continues apace, and the part from Montfichet Road to Roundhouse Lane junction was (as of mid-September) expected to be complete by January. At the same time, we believe work will begin in earnest on the section from Roundhouse Lane junction to Waterden Road.

Looking from a cycle track over a bridge that is 4 lanes wide - the far lane is now taken up by hoarding with pallets of construction materials behind. The nearest lane is marked with central hatching. This leaves two lanes in the middle, one for each direction, separated by a solid white line. A white van passes through with care.

The massive carriageway on the Westfield Avenue bridge (2 lanes + central hatching!) has already been narrowed by the arrival of materials presumably associated with the construction work. This, combined with hatching on the opposite side, reduces the road width to its final configuration of one traffic lane in each direction. This appears to have already led to a significant reduction in vehicle speeds at what was a real danger spot for people driving, and bodes well for improved safety on the whole corridor for all road users.

West Ham Park LTN

The planters have been installed at the point closures on Ham Park Road for this LTN which is going live on Monday 4th November, although the formal “no motor vehicles” signage has yet to be installed. Signage for the other two point closures on Vicarage Road and Tavistock Road will also need to be installed soon.

You don’t need to stand on Ham Park Road long to see why this LTN is desperately needed! Even at 2pm on a Saturday when this photo was taken, large bursts of traffic were forcing their way through this narrow residential street from both the east and the west. We were somewhat concerned for the safety of a cat crossing the street (alas, not visible in the photo!) We look forward to this LTN coming into effect soon, for a safer West Ham Park for all cats (and humans.)

Two wooden planters at the side of a two lane street. A 4x4 speeds through the planters in one direction, while a white car prepares to turn through them in the other direction from a side road. A green "Road open to pedestrians, scooters, wheelchairs, cycles" sign is attached to the planter, but there's no formal "No motor vehicles" signage yet.

Greenway diversion

We are still waiting for the delivery of any measures at all to make the appalling Greenway diversion via Abbey Road safer. Our latest understanding is that speed cushions are imminent (a purchase order having supposedly been raised by Thames Water) and the ETMO to close Abbey Road to motor vehicles will be coming in late November (UPDATE: now cancelled because Newham Council chickened out) followed by permanent works to build out the south pavement to become a shared cycle track. We will post when we have more confirmed details. There is still no sign of permanent signage for the diversion, with portable temporary signage still in use and still regularly going missing.

A pavement under a bridge, with 'low bridge' janglers on a gantry. The pavement is narrowed by a storage unit. In the foreground, a "CYCLISTS DISMOUNT" sign stands on an a-stand, obstructing the pavement.

New “cyclists dismount” signage has appeared on the shared pavement under the bridge, which has been narrowed… by Thames Water’s own storage unit. “Cyclists dismount” signs are generally not helpful and should only be used as a last resort—they do little more than tell people cycling they’re unwelcome, and many people ignore them. They are also not inclusive of Disabled cyclists using cycles as mobility aids, who may not be able to easily dismount.

We feel this dismounted section can be avoided by extending the traffic light phase for the pedestrian crossing, sending cyclists on this phase through the section of carriageway under the bridge. This is eminently achievable, but requires Thames Water and Newham to collaborate on traffic light phasing, signage, and road markings that work.

Greenway users have now been exposed to over 6 weeks of unacceptable danger, all of which would have been avoided had Thames Water planned their works properly and not closed the Greenway until the diversion was kid-safe.

We continue to encourage you to complain to Thames Water, quoting ref BB00472913 and cc’ing both us at newham@lcc.org.uk and your councillors.

Beckton

Work around Beckton station is continuing. The priority pedestrian and cycling crossing on the Frobisher Road arm of the roundabout (into the Asda car park) is now available for use. Drivers leaving the roundabout are generally respecting the priority of people walking and cycling here. It remains to be seen how this develops with time as the scheme nears completion and the volume of cyclists increases.

A parallel pedestrian and cycle crossing connecting a pavement and a cycle track. A driver waits patiently for three people to walk across.

The connection with the Beckton Corridor route is closed for resurfacing. The traffic lights across the bus station are largely complete, although they’re not turned on yet. There’s an unusual detail of the cycle part of this crossing being separately marked as if it were a parallel crossing, although the traffic lights suggest a shared toucan crossing. The cycle part also uses non standard pedestrian “stud” markings, rather than the “elephants’ footprints” that are generally used in this country to mark a cycle crossing.

A wide crossing currently controlled by temporary lights. The markings almost look like two pedestrian crossings next to each other.

Royal Docks Corridor

This scheme is now well underway with work visible on site throughout the entire corridor from Canning Town to Connaught Roundabout. Kerblines have begun to appear on North Woolwich Road near Pontoon Dock, and the junctions are progressing nicely.

Extra work is now happening on the previously-opened eastbound cycle track near the Oasis Academy and petrol station at West Silvertown. The planting is generally in, although not looking as verdant as Romford Road just yet. Junctions south of the viaduct are still largely on temporary traffic lights.

Some value engineering is evident on the Silvertown Way viaduct, where the original plans for a fully stepped cycle track have been replaced by a semi-protected painted cycle lane with kerbs at intervals. The kerbed dividers seem sufficiently bulky that it seems unlikely people will be tempted to speed and risk crashing into them, but it remains to be seen whether drivers end up invading these lanes and parking in them.

A painted with-flow cycle lane on a viaduct, protected by rounded kerbs (each containing a single wand) at intervals. We're at a 'T' junction controlled by temporary traffic lights. A bus stop bypass is visible in the distance.

Work on the northern end near Canning Town station and the connection with Cycleway 3 seems largely complete, albeit not including the more direct crossing of Cycleway 3 across Canning Town Roundabout which we suspect may come as part of a later scheme.

Tidal Basin Roundabout

Work appears largely complete at the new Tidal Basin Roundabout, although the new shared pedestrian and cycle crossings are still mostly closed off.

This scheme is primarily to accommodate the enormous volumes of traffic which are likely to use the new Silvertown Tunnel, an urban motorway project which we have consistently opposed. Even with the new greenery, you only need to look at the wide, sweeping traffic lanes to see who the roundabout and tunnel are really designed for: heavy lorries, and large volumes of private cars. People walking and cycling will be expected to wait up to 5 times to cross this massive new incarnation of the roundabout, adding further delay and encouraging risk-taking on journeys to City Hall, Dock Road, and the proposed new housing at Thames Wharf.

It remains to be seen how this operates in practice. We remain deeply sceptical that the Silvertown Tunnel project will achieve its stated aims, and think it will be seen as an historic planning failure like the vestiges of the Ringway scheme from the 1960s. This roundabout, which expects those without a car to dance between traffic islands, is only part of that legacy.

Bow Roundabout

Work on this scheme has begun and will continue for some months. The usual “cycle gate” arrangement for Cycleway 2 at Bow Roundabout continues on temporary traffic lights.

Temporary cycle traffic lights turning amber into a cycle reservoir/cycle gate, which is red. An ominous flyover looms to the right.

We were not consulted on this scheme, which is—yet again—a mitigation for the Silvertown Tunnel, and was forced through by TfL as part of the development consent order. The first we learned it was happening was when the advance warning signs went up, and when Diamond Geezer shared the residents’ letter he had received. We had to raise a Freedom of Information Act request to obtain the designs, which we present below.

The effect will be to add an additional traffic lane on one side of the roundabout, create an additional eastbound lane for traffic leaving the roundabout onto Stratford High Street, create an additional westbound lane for traffic entering the roundabout from High Street, reverse the direction of the connecting lane under the flyover, and cut back the contraflow lane so that uses this connection to join the main westbound carriageway to go around the roundabout.

TfL declined to assess the new layout under their Cycling Level of Service or Judgment Assessment tools, because (cf. the FOI response) “the decision to separate cyclists from traffic at this location has already been established here and the route is a Cycleway.” We find this logic questionable:

  • The creation of additional lanes (and indeed this scheme being hurried through using the DCO before the Tunnel opens) suggests TfL believes traffic volumes will increase here.
  • CS2 eastbound is not physically separated from general traffic here. There is an existing issue where the painted lane is blocked by parked cars, forcing cyclists to merge into motor traffic that’s accelerating off the roundabout.
  • This issue will be compounded in the new layout by increased traffic volumes, the overwhelming majority of which will be through traffic, whose drivers may see the motorway-type design as an invitation to speed…
  • and by the new merge movement just west of Cooks Road, which runs the risk of drivers in the left-hand lane swerving into the cycle lane to avoid a collision with another vehicle merging from the right. While curtailing the contraflow lane is very welcome and will reduce the risk of motorists colliding head-on, we question why a new eastbound lane on High Street for the approx 60 yards before it merges into the first lane was considered necessary.

We will be monitoring this new layout very closely when it goes live, and won’t hesitate to hold TfL to account for any necessary mitigations to ensure the safety of people walking and cycling.

A wide pavement with a van parked on it facing traffic. The carriageway, narrowed by works, features 1 traffic lane and 1 painted cycle lane. A Next lorry and a bus thunder past. The cycle lane doesn't look especially safe or attractive, particularly with Bow Flyover looming over it ominously.
This is where 2 general traffic lanes off the roundabout will become 1—which may make the painted lane feel even more vulnerable than it currently is.

It’s frustrating this was not used as an opportunity to remove the outdated and hostile Bow Roundabout and flyover entirely. Instead (to paraphrase Diamond Geezer, when the now-mothballed Bow Vision was first mooted almost a decade ago) we have yet more sticking plasters across a dysfunctional junction, impeding the progress of road traffic without truly liberating other road users.

Other news from Newham

A pedestrian was killed in an appalling crash on Barking Road on the afternoon of Tuesday 15 October, when a Nissan Juke mounted the pavement at speed. The police are seeking witnesses and video. The person who died was Maryam Nabil Shuwey, from Stratford, who was just 18. Our deepest condolences to her family and friends.

The new Carpenters Estate entrance to Stratford Station has been formally opened, along with its new cycle racks, having been quietly available for use since July. This replaces a Network Rail car park.

The new series of BBC1’s Ambulance was partly filmed at London Ambulance Service’s control room at Dockside earlier this year, and features locations and events many will recognise (including the fire at Forest Gate police station.)

The Romford Road cycle track’s new planting helped inspire a firefighter to rejuvenate Stratford Fire Station’s own garden space. He was interviewed recently on Gardeners’ Question Time on BBC Radio 4. We think the rain garden past the fire station makes it one of the loveliest cycle lanes in Newham.

A person in a red top cycling east on a with-flow stepped cycle track, protected from passing cars. In the foreground, a rain garden with asters, grasses, and other purple flowers is visible and in full bloom.

Other news across London…

While Newham Cyclists focuses on Newham, your cycle knows no bounds and many of our journeys start and finish outside our borough. Here’s some news from our neighbours that may be of interest…