Lib Dems put case against Motorway Bridge (Greenwich Borough Liberal Democrats)

Greenwich Borough Liberal Democrats <mail@greenwich-libdems.org.uk>

Lib Dems put case against Motorway Bridge

January 16, 2006 10:00 PM

Abbey Wood Lib Dem campaigner says open space like Knee Hill are under threat

Abbey Wood campaigner, Edet Nteyoho, fears open spaces will be destroyed if road widening follows the new Thames Gateway Bridge. He welcomed the Liberal Democrats' evidence presented to the Public Enquiry by Susan Kramer MP. She was a member of the board of Transport for London (TfL) when they approved the Thames Gateway Bridge, and was one of those who voted against it.

In her evidence she called upon the Inquiry to "Act before it is too late and tell TfL to come up with a proper, sustainable, comprehensive transport package for the Thames Gateway".

Susan stated how the plans were controversial even within TfL. "It is the only occasion I can remember when the Board was so badly split in its views".

Susan cast doubt on the public transport element of the Bridge, particularly the upgrade to tram or DLR tracks, which "At the time I left the Board in May, no plans for actually delivering such transport schemes had even reached the stage of being a twinkle in TfL's eye".

Susan explained that some causes of the motorway style of bridge included linking to the potential future airport on the Thames Estuary at Cliffe, that was being considered in 2002. "The Thames Gateway Bridge is essentially in the form that would have suited such an airport" and because US banks demanded road access to Canary Wharf. "I was told that it is useless to explain to a US bank that public transport could be the backbone of travel rather than motorways".

Finally, Susan highlighted the problem with traffic mitigation measures in residential streets, saying that the bollards which would leave only a few access points would turn communities into "Fortress residential areas, moated off from the outside, which do not sound to me like healthy, vibrant communities".