New figures suggest tolls on the Blackwall and Silvertown tunnels have forced five thousand drivers a day to find other routes. The £2 billion Silvertown Tunnel, which connects Silvertown with Greenwich Peninsula opened in April as an overflow crossing to ease pressure on the Blackwall Tunnel.
The route was initially free of charge but now drivers will have to pay a toll of up to £4 per journey, with discounts for automatic payments and travelling at off-peak times, says ITV.com .
TfL figures suggest that there were 96,000 vehicles a day using the Blackwall Tunnel before the Silvertown Tunnel opened, but that number has dropped to 91,000 a day using both tunnels. Critics say people are avoiding that by using the Dartford Crossing or the Woolwich Ferry.
London Assembly Member for Havering and Redbridge, Keith Prince said:
“I do know that there are businesses that won’t cross the river now to do a job. It’s stifling London’s economy, but TFL says speedier journeys will help.”
TfL, however, claims congestion is largely a thing of the past, thanks to the tunnel opening and that’s helping businesses.
TfL Chief customer and Strategy Officer, Alex Williams, said:
“Prior to the tunnel opening, a lot of those businesses were stuck in traffic for up to an hour time getting through the tunnel. They’ve now saved that time and it’s a much more productive time.”
The average speed Northbound drivers are traveling at has increased from 9 to 30mph and twice as many people are using public transport – at 20,000 daily trips, but the cycle shuttle bus is only being used by an average of about one cyclist per bus, and there are calls to let pedestrians on board.
Deputy Mayor of London for Transport, Seb Dance: “In terms of the purpose of the tunnel, it was to remove that semi-permanent traffic jam. We’ve done that. We now have three bus routes going through the tunnels as opposed to the one previously, and of course that one bus journey, not only did you used to have to pay for it, but it would be stuck in traffic for a lot of the time.
“Now you have three options and they’re all free.”
(Pic: TfL)
