Blackheath Tunnel closed again

by | Apr 9, 2025 | Trains, Travel

 

Blackheath Tunnel to be closed for 10 weeks. Again!

Just over a year ago, the Blackheath tunnel was closed so that renovation work could be done on the 175-year-old Victorian structure. Well, it would seem that they didn’t do a very good job, as once again the tunnel is to be closed for another 10 weeks.

The tunnel, which was opened in 1849, is still prone to leaking and water damage, so from Sunday, 18th May until Sunday, 27th July, the 1-mile-long tunnel which links Charlton to Blackheath station is to be closed again.

To get from station to station, the best way is to get between them is to take a short walk at each end and use the nearby 380 bus route or take the Greenwich line rail to Greenwich station, then take the DLR train to Lewisham, then back one stop to Blackheath and vice versa.

This time, Network Rail will be once again replacing thousands of bricks in the tunnel, which hopefully will prevent the leaks causing the damage in the future.

 

 

 

LTN Chaos

by | Dec 7, 2024 | Community, Greenwich Park, Travel

Greenwich Low Traffic Network Chaos.

As I left to walk to Charlton train station this morning (Monday 2nd December) I could not understand why Victoria Way and Charlton Church Lane were a mess of heaving traffic and the roads between were busy with traffic that are normally very quiet.

At first, I thought the traffic was caused by the Blackwall tunnel being closed for some reason,  but that was not the case.

I later learned that this was all caused by the new traffic Lower Traffic Network (LTN) project between  Westcombe Park, Vanbrugh Park and East of Greenwich Park. Well, thank you Greenwich Council you’ve made our lives a living hell at the expense of a quiet life for the affluent middle-class areas around Westcombe Park, Vanbrugh Hill,  Maze Hill and Greenwich Park East.

Greenwich Council said before this project was implemented that they suspected there would be more traffic flowing through Charlton and they said they were going to monitor the situation. Well, Greenwich  Council it is like every weekday is now like the closing time of a Charlton football match day. All you have done is move the problem onto the Charlton residents.

The single-car wide bridge near the bottom of Victoria Way was especially mad, with frustrated drivers driving up the hill being blocked by inconsiderate drivers coming down the hill and not giving Way as they were supposed to.

On the third day, I looked down the hill to see hardly any cars, and I thought that perhaps I had got it all wrong. That was until I looked up the hill to see the number 380 bus blocking the whole road as it struggled to turn right from Eastcombe Avenue into Victoria Way. With the extra traffic, the 380 bus service has struggled in Eastcombe Avenue and Charlton  Church Lane where traffic flow is often reduced down to a single-width road.

What does amaze me though is that when I return from work in the evening, all the traffic that you would expect to be there as it is in the morning rush hour is non-existent.

Where is all the returning rush hour going? and why can’t they use that route in the morning?

 

 

Low Traffic Neighbourhoods

by | Sep 14, 2024 | Community, Travel

 

Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTN’s)

During the Covid chaos Greenwich council introduced LNT’s into the equation to control traffic for some unknown reason. This I cannot fathom out as when we were all in lockdown it was noted how the air quality improved dramatically as no one was driving. So why did we need low traffic neighbourhoods or LTN’s for short.

Greenwich seem to have jumped on the bandwagon that other London boroughs were partaking in.

You may be shouting at the screen right now shouting “you anti-social right wing petrol head” but you could not be more wrong. I am all for well thought out reasonable LTN’s but Greenwich council plans to cut off traffic flowing from the top of Greenwich Park along the A2, down to Trafalgar Road and the centre of Greenwich, during rush hour  will have to travel as far as the  of Greenwich South Street or Greenwich High Road and come back on yourself.

Anyone wanting to get to anywhere within the forbidden zone during peak rush hour will have to be registered with the council as a resident within the LTN.

Forget your early morning or evening delivery for your online shopping site if you live in the LTN. You will have to wait. They want to deliver to you but can’t do it within your rules.

I’m sure most of the people living within the LTN’s are all for it, If I lived in one so would I, but it does have a downside to other people and I’m not just talking about the local commuters who may have no choice but to take their vehicles with them. Not everyone can just hop on to public transport.

The other people that I am talking about are the people that live to the west of the A102 otherwise known as the Blackwall tunnel approach. The traffic that would have probably have gone by Coombes Hill, Royal Hill, Westcombe Hill, Vanbrugh Hill, or Maze Hill will have to find new rat runs originating in or around Charlton.

Unfortunately, I am one of the people affected by the Charlton rat runs and at the moment the traffic that uses Victoria Way is manageable and not too bad, unless it is a Charlton Athletic match day, then it becomes hell.

Even when there is no match on, during the rush hour it can get busy and one of the things that make it a nightmare to drive down is the weak railway bridge that was made into a single lane road between the barriers.

The rules of the road dictate that cars driving up a hill will always have priority of vehicles coming down the hill, and this is how the signage on the road is set out. This rule is also regularly ignored by arrogant drivers who either do not know this or are of the opinion that the rules only apply to other people and not them.

With regular frequency you will get road rage and a belligerent arsehole who will drive down ignoring the signs and when his path is blocked by the vehicle in the right will shout obscenities and threaten the other driver and occasionally it gets physical.

This will only get worst when all this diverted traffic is pushed down roads like Victoria Way or Charlton Church Lane, which are roads that cannot cope with mass two-way traffic.

The council know this will happen as they have stated that they will be monitoring the situation. This is council speak for, they know what will happen but are not going to do anything and cannot be bothered.

Tunnel Woes

Tunnel Woes

by | Sep 12, 2024 | Community, Travel

 

 Blackwall and Silvertown Tunnel Woes

Coming next year most Greenwich  motorist will be hit with the realisation that getting from the South to East London and visa versa is going to get expensive, especially  if you commute via the Blackwall tunnel.

Peak hours weekdays northbound 6am – 10am it will cost £4

Peak hours weekdays southbound 4pm – 7pm it will cost £4

There will be an off-peak rate of £1.50 at all other times between 6am and 10pm, including at weekends, but only if you register with Autopay. If you don’t register with Autopay you will be charged £4, the same as peak weekday times.

There will be no charge between 10pm and 6am on any day of the week.

If you ride a motorbike, moped or motor tricycle the charge will be £1.50 for off peak and £2.50 for peak hour rates.

For large vans the charge will be £2.50 off peak and £6.50 for peak hours.

HGV will be charged £5 off peak and £10 peak hours.

These prices are for each time you pass through the tunnels so a typical car commuter driving to work will have to fork out £8 each day, a van driver will have to fork out £13 each day and the HGV driver will have to pay £20 each day.

This is just for the tunnels, if you work in the centre of London you will have to also pay the £15 congestion charge and maybe the ULEZ charge if you drive a diesel or non-compliant vehicle and don’t even get me started on the extortionate London parking charges.

I believe that on the first few days of the Tunnel charges coming into effect thousands of drivers will try and take the Rotherhithe tunnel or Tower Bridge route but they will give up after they realise the whole area  will be grid locked.

Another thing that I suspect will happen is that a small minority may try and get around the number plate recognition  system by attaching false number plates to their vehicles in order to divert the payments to some poor innocent victim who will have to pick up the tab.

The act of cloning went up by 80% after the introduction of the ULEZ expansion, so this is just another incentive for the low life to pass the cost to some other motorist.

If you fail to pay on time due to not registering, or you are some poor bugger who has had their number plate cloned the you will have to pay up a whopping £180 , reduced to £90 if you cough up within two weeks of getting the charge.

 

Charlton Sinkhole

Charlton Sinkhole

by | Jul 23, 2024 | Community, Street Food, Travel, Uncategorized

 

 Charlton Sinkhole

A small sinkhole suddenly appeared at the junction of Delafield Road and Swallowfield Road in Charlton. You can just about with difficulty turn the corner if you have a small car but you can forget it if you have aA lorry or van.

To make things worse, there are no warning signs at the entry to either of these roads to say the road is blocked at the junction.

Some bollards are laid down by the side of the sink hole which I presume is for the equipment to be used to repair the hole and allow some traffic flow along Delafield Road..

As I said with a struggle you can get around the corner in a small car from a certain direction but surely with a sinkhole the hole could open up even further if the area around the hole is disturbed such as driving around the edge of the hole.

Greenwich is no stranger to sinkhole and in the past it has taken months to fix them.

Last year in Dunvegan Road, Eltham a sinkhole the size of a car appeared.

In 2016 a large hole appeared outside  Benefice of Charlton St Thomas’ Church, in Charlton which swallowed a parked people carrier.

In December last year a burst water mains in St Marys Street in Woolwich caused a sinkhole seven meters deep and resulted in the evacuation of a number of properties  nearby.

Who could forget the big one on Blackheath Hill that appeared in April 2002 and took 8 months to repair.

It looks like this latest small sinkhole has been caught in time and is being sorted out alright, but I would still criticise the road management layout.

At the end of my working day, I walked past the hole. The hole has been filled in but there is a square patch with no top surface of tar mac covering it. Hopefully this will be rectified tomorrow. Personally, I am impressed with the speed in which the council is rectifying this small sink hole problem.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blackheath Tunnel closure

by | Mar 2, 2024 | Trains, Travel

Blackheath Tunnel closure.

 More Greenwich train line frustration which will affect anyone going to Blackheath, Lewisham, St Johns and New Cross station.

according to the Greenwich Wire website: Homepage – The Greenwich Wire

From the 1st June until 11th August the 175 year old Blackheath tunnel will be closed for repairs and maintenance due to major tunnel leakage.

Anyone wishing to get to Lewisham or Blackheath will have to go to Greenwich and change onto the DLR to Lewisham and travel onwards to St Johns and New Cross or travel back from Lewisham to Blackheath.

A better way to Lewisham or Blackheath would be to get the 380 bus service from Charlton to Blackheath and Lewisham.

Luckily the work is being carried out during the Summer holidays when the kids will not be at school so the buses should not be packed with screaming kids making your journey a living nightmare, and the traffic shouldn’t so bad then.