New Greenwich footbridge installed – but any change to local area?

In recent weeks the main span of a new footbridge has been installed in Greenwich in advance of more traffic lanes being constructed below as part of Silvertown tunnel work.

The existing accessible footbridge is being removed to make way for a wider road, and for many years approach paths for pedestrians have been dire.

Now the span is in with further work underway for access ramps and stairs, is there any sign of improvements for pedestrians and cyclists?

In a word, no.

Despite Transport for London’s cycling czar continuing to promote the bridge as beneficial for cyclists and pedestrians, it merely replaces one accessible bridge with another for road widening while both Tunnel Avenue to one side and Boord Street remain hostile and off-putting for active travel.

Greenwich Council are still not cleaning Tunnel Avenue. At all. Months if not years of rubbish is evident along the entire road which acts as a link between east Greenwich and Greenwich pen

Boord Street sees cars regularly parked on pavements along both sides. Strangely most are expensive cars. Why expensive cars aren’t being ticketed is interesting.

But even if cars aren’t there, pavements are obstructed by street clutter and various obstacles regardless.

For all the PR, this area remains awful on foot and the new bridge right now appears a way to add more road lanes rather than encourage active travel.

A new bridge, new towers now underway nearby and two further towers submitted last week a short distance away yet the same old story remains either side.

Transport strategies, cycling czars and all the rest mean little without actual signs of improvement, and none evident here.