TfL unveils plans to build major new Cycleway in southeast London

Transport for London (TfL) has set out plans to overhaul one of southeast London’s roads in a bid to make neighbourhoods between Greenwich and Woolwich much safer for people walking and cycling, as part of its Vision Zero commitment to eliminating death and serious injury on London’s roads.

TfL reportedly plans to tackle this and improve air quality in the area by building a new 6.5km Cycleway, which would run between Greenwich and Woolwich. This would connect to the Royal Borough of Greenwich’s future Liveable Neighbourhood plans for Greenwich Town Centre and to Cycleway 4 to create a continuous safe cycling route from Tower Bridge to Woolwich.

Nigel Hardy, TfL’s Head of Healthy Streets Investment and Delivery, said: “We know that people in London want to choose greener and healthier alternatives to cars, but road danger and congestion remains unacceptably high on roads across the capital. Our plans for Woolwich Road would make a real difference to everyone who wants to walk, cycle and use public transport more often and to the communities who live along this busy and intimidating stretch of road.”

The plans include:

• A new two-way, fully segregated high-quality 2.5km Cycleway, which would run along the A206 Woolwich Road
• Six new pedestrian crossings with improvements to a number of others along the route, serving key local communities, schools, the Woolwich Ferry and Warspite Road, where a person walking was tragically killed in a collision in 2018
• Extending the existing bus lanes to make journeys by bus quicker and easier (half of all trips along Woolwich Road are currently made by bus)
• Widening the pavement at a number of locations, to give people walking more space.

TfL is also said to be working on significant improvements at the Angerstein roundabout, where two people have been killed while cycling in recent years. TfL is asking people for their initial thoughts on plans to simplify the junction and make it easier to navigate for everyone. This would mean that the junction would no longer be a roundabout and there would be a new fully segregated cycleway through the junction, with new signals.

Currently, traffic levels on the road mean that communities either side are split by the road. The changes aim to make it much easier for people to choose to walk, cycle and use public transport rather than travelling by car. There are two schools along the proposed route and the changes also aim to make it easier and safer for people to get to school using sustainable forms of travel.

TfL’s consultation into the first 2.5km of the route, between Charlton and Woolwich, is now open until 16 February 2020 and is available on the TfL website. A further consultation on the section between Charlton and Greenwich will follow later in the year.

London’s Walking and Cycling Commissioner, Will Norman, said: “I’m delighted that we’re pushing ahead with these bold plans – part of a new high-quality cycle route from Tower Bridge all the way to the heart of Woolwich. With additional pedestrian crossings and a new bus lane, the route will be made better and safer for everyone. The area around Angerstein roundabout has seen two fatalities in recent years, and we will continue to work closely with Greenwich Council to deliver these vital improvements as soon as possible.”

Simon Munk, Infrastructure Campaigner at London Cycling Campaign, added: “It is wonderful to see plans moving forward to tackle the infamous and lethal Angerstein Roundabout, something we have long campaigned for. This should not only help save lives, but also enable far more people to walk and cycle, cutting air pollution and climate emissions.”