Infrastructure Update

We held a fruitful meeting with Richard  (Newham Council’s Sustainable Transport Officer) yesterday.  He, as always, was very helpful and open.

I am happy to provide further details to anyone who wishes –  either contact me now by e-mail or we can speak at our next monthly meeting on 28 September.

The highlights are:

• The Greenway:  Closure between Stratford High St and West Ham station could re-open before Christmas.  The bridge work causing the closure is due to finish in the spring next year.  Funding for the upgrade at over £3m is progressing well.  It would include 24 hour opening, lighting and CCTV plus creating/improving ramps linking it to (a) the Channelsea path,   (b) Corporation St,  (c) Newham General and (d) Lonsdale Ave & Stokes Rd.
• Stratford High St CS2x: (a) The work at Sugar House Lane to create a signalised junction at the foot of the Bow flyover  should end abut February next year; (b)TfL are now undertaking design work for a proper “left hold” scheme on the now notorious Warton Rd junction and monitoring the accident rate following some minor tinkering (c) there are no remedial plans for the Tramway Avenue left hook, although it will have to be addressed as part of the Stratford Gyratory work planned in 2019.
• The Victora Park to Hainault Quietway: The Council are reconsidering all of the (up to now unsatisfactory) junctions with major roads and in all but one case have a concept of  how each could meet the LCC criteria – mostly using “tiger crossings” as we have been advocating.  The exception is Dames Rd, where we are now going to seek to draw on LCC expertise to find an acceptable solution to a difficult problem.
• Olympic Park/Westfield: There is now a £15m remedial design (a sad indictment of the development and planning process, at which the objections of cyclists were ignored).  This would improve Westfield Ave, Montfichet Rd and Penny Brookes St.  The next step is to find the funding.  Various avenues are being explored.  We pressed the Council to seek money from developers – particularity connected with the extension to Westfield (“Cherry Park”).  The bizarrely designed Warton Rd is slated to become 20 mph – as we requested even before the Olympic Games.
• “Urban Newham” permeability schemes: The rolling programme of minor projects to increase permeability is proceeding with a number of contraflows in the Stratford Ward, and some improvements to the Roding Way route in Little Ilford, and starting to create permeability in Church Rd , Manor Park.  We have lodged formal objections to the proposed removal of pint closures at Palmerston Rd and St Anthony’s Rd.  Sadly the Council’s Upton Corridor Scheme, which can only be described as “useless”, seems to be going ahead, although Council Officials have proven remarkably reticent in answering requests for details of who authorised this and on what basis.

Arnold