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East London River Crossings: Assessment of Need & Options East of Silvertown

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East London River Crossings: Assessment of Need & Options East of Silvertown TRANSPORT FOR LONDON RIVER CROSSINGS: EAST OF SILVERTOWN CROSSINGS SUPPORTING TECHNICAL DOCUMENTATION This document contains NEEDS AND OPTIONS information relevant to the REPORT following options: TfL 07 July 2014 Woolwich Ferries X This report examines the need for new Bridges X river crossings in east and south east Tunnels X London and assesses potential options. It sets out the process of identifying Gallions Reach shortlisted options, and provides more Ferries X detail on their potential impacts. Bridges X Tunnels X Belvedere Ferries X Bridge X Tunnels X Others – various East London River Crossings: Assessment of Need & Options East of Silvertown Date: July 2014 TfL Planning River crossings: Assessment of Need and Options East of Silvertown CONTENTS SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................ 3 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 11 2 Policy Context .............................................................................................................. 15 3 Needs Analysis ............................................................................................................. 26 4 Consultation to date .................................................................................................... 85 5 STUDY Objectives ......................................................................................................... 87 6 Options short-listing ..................................................................................................... 90 7 Description of short-listed Options............................................................................. 110 8 Conclusions ................................................................................................................ 167 APPENDIX A – ENVIRONMENTAL SUMMARY OF SHORT-LISTED OPTIONS.......................... 171 APPENDIX B - MODELLING................................................................................................. 187 2 TfL Planning River crossings: Assessment of Need and Options East of Silvertown SUMMARY Background and purpose London is growing rapidly, and needs many more jobs and homes to support the rising population – and this growth will generate travel. Growth needs various types of transport infrastructure as set out in the London Plan – this includes both public transport and road infrastructure. East and south east London are expected to see a lot of this anticipated growth – there are also many key drivers of growth on the north side of the Thames in east London such as Excel and London City Airport. The East London sub-region has a (2011 census) resident population of some 2.3 million, with communities on the north of the river (some 1.5 million people) being separated from those to the south (some 800,000 people). This population separated by the Thames is similar in size to either the Manchester or the West Midlands conurbations, the two largest built-up areas outside London. Transport for London (TfL) has already consulted on river crossings in general, and has decided to take forward a preferred option for a new road crossing between North Greenwich and Silvertown. This new Silvertown Tunnel would significantly reduce existing and future congestion at, and improve the resilience of, the Blackwall Tunnel, the strategic river crossing in east London. The question now remains of what, if any, other crossings are needed east of Silvertown, including a potential replacement of the Woolwich Ferry. The study area under consideration for this part of the river crossings programme is therefore the area east of Silvertown to the Dartford Crossing, including the boroughs of Newham, Barking and Dagenham, Havering, Greenwich and Bexley. Policy Existing regional and local planning and transport policy gives general and specific support to new road-based river crossings in east London to: improve public transport, and address identified significant strategic and local needs for cross-river accessibility. Policies include specific references to the consideration of a new vehicle ferry at Gallions Reach, and a longer-term fixed link at this location; other locations may also meet river crossing policy requirements and are not precluded. Policy also sets out ‘criteria’ to be taken into account in the assessment of new transport infrastructure proposals. Emerging policy also points to the increasing importance of growth in the areas adjacent to the river in east and south east London and in 3 TfL Planning River crossings: Assessment of Need and Options East of Silvertown the east sub-region of London as a whole. Assessment of existing needs Sustained investment in public transport in the area has resulted in a step change in the provision of cross-river rail connectivity over the last 20 years, and a further high capacity rail crossing in the form of Crossrail is under construction. There is no evidence of unduly limited rail capacity arising in the foreseeable future, although TfL is currently reviewing the transport implications of growth projections. In terms of bus access, there is only a single cross-river bus service in east London due to the lack of suitable road river crossings (there are 47 cross-river bus services in west London). There are few walking and cycling crossings in east London, and none east of the Woolwich Ferry. However there are only three highway cross-river links between Tower Bridge and the Dartford Crossing, leaving a stretch of some 14km between the Woolwich Ferry and Dartford Crossing without a crossing, a significant connectivity gap. All of the existing crossings are limited in capacity and have height, width, and/or load restrictions. This leads to major resilience problems, lack of connectivity and longer journey times. Incidents at crossings causing obstruction and delay are excessively frequent and have significant adverse impacts across the wider road network. The Silvertown Tunnel project aims to address the existing lack of capacity and resilience currently experienced at the Blackwall Tunnel, although it does not address resilience further east. While other transport modes are important, road based travel accounts for more than two thirds of all personal travel in four out of the five study area boroughs, the exception being Newham, where it accounts for some 49%, and is particularly important for freight.. While road-based mode share is expected to decrease over time, supported by TfL’s significant investment in public transport, it is clear that, given this dominance of road-based trips and the growth of population and employment expected in east London, increased highway travel overall is expected, and the pressure on the existing river crossings will increase. Currently the Dartford Crossings and Blackwall Tunnels provide the strategic traffic carrying function in the study area. The Woolwich Ferry, with a much lower capacity and slower journey time, has a more local function, although it is also used by certain categories of vehicles and loads which cannot use the Blackwall Tunnels. Taking account of TfL’s proposed Silvertown Tunnel crossing to relieve the Blackwall Tunnel and the DfT’s proposals to improve conditions at the Dartford Crossing, the residual need for a new crossing in the study area relates mainly to 4 TfL Planning River crossings: Assessment of Need and Options East of Silvertown meeting existing and forecast local road traffic demand, though clearly, any crossing would also carry some longer distance traffic. Accessibility comparisons show that the barrier of the river constrains the economic and social opportunities available to residents and businesses on both sides of the river east of Tower Bridge, whereas no significant river barrier effect is indicated to the west. In addition two thirds of local businesses report that the ability to cross the river by road in East London is important to their business, with a third rating it as very important or essential. Only 18% feel current crossings are adequate. Assessment of future needs East London contains areas of high deprivation and is one of the largest regeneration areas in the UK - the east sub-region contains 14 opportunity areas and areas for intensification, accounting for 27 percent of London’s overall development land potential. The delivery of sustainable development in this area is absolutely essential to maximising London’s significant economic potential. However, movements within the sub-region are significantly constrained by the ‘barrier effect’ of the Thames. This ‘barrier effect’ limits local firms’ access to markets, the size of retail and leisure catchments and residents’ access to employment opportunities, in a way that is peculiar to the eastern half of the Capital. This constraint on economic activity makes delivering the significant scale of development planned for the area more uncertain. Growth in east London, which appears to be happening far more quickly than had previously been forecast, is predicted to significantly increase the volume of road traffic in the study area together with associated levels of congestion. Assessment of needs conclusion The overall conclusion is that there is a clear lack of road-based connectivity in east London, with the distance between crossings constraining movement and making cross-river highway trips longer and more costly, and severely limiting the ability to
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