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Boris turns tide on tunnel policy
11:43am Thursday 5th June 2008
IN ANOTHER reversal of policy, new London Mayor Boris Johnson has agreed to restore the tidal flow arrangements to the Blackwall Tunnel.
The tidal flow allowed one lane of the southbound tunnel to be used for northbound traffic at peak times, to enable traffic heading into London to flow more easily.
This system had been in place for 30 years until it was axed in April last year.
The decision by Transport for London (TfL) caused anger in Bexley and people blamed it for severe congestion on Bexley's roads as drivers searched for alternative routes to the Blackwall Tunnel to avoid the long tailbacks on the A2.
One TfL chief engineer was asked to come to Bexley to explain the decision and said it was taken because police officers, who controlled the tidal flow, feared prosecution after TfL had declared two-way traffic in the tunnel was inherently dangerous.
Bexley and Bromley London Assembly member James Cleverley said there were still legal and administrative problems to iron out.
He said: "The wheels are very much in motion and making this change is clearly a priority."
Your Say YourNews Shopper
Rob, SE9 says...
12:42pm Thu 5 Jun 08
z, south east london says...
2:42pm Thu 5 Jun 08
Alex, London says...
3:47pm Thu 5 Jun 08
It's also great news for the environment as anyone who has seen the two or three miles of morning rush hour traffic queuing along the nortbound A102 to the Tunnel will testify.
Matt, Greenwich says...
4:37pm Thu 5 Jun 08
Tommy, says...
4:58pm Thu 5 Jun 08
There is still some hope this madness can be stopped. Two way traffic in the tunnel is madness and accident waiting to happen. With a bit of luck TfLs insurers will refuse to allow the tidal flow to be restored after they suspended it on safety grounds.
martin, eltham says...
6:48pm Thu 5 Jun 08
George, SE 3 says...
7:09pm Thu 5 Jun 08
Tommy wrote:I agree all it does is move the traffic from one side of the tunnel to the other, I speak as someone who uses the tunnel at different times in either direction. The northbound tidal flow takes so long to put in, southbound traffic is reduced to one lane about 10 mins before the first northbound car is allowed through then after about 30 mins its closed off northbound. Once again only one southbound lane open for another 10 mins. As for no accidents I was hit in thr tunnel during one of these tidal flows, the other car took off & I got no help from tunnel cctv as they said its real time only no recording. I hope Boris drops this stupid idea.
A disaster for those of us travelling south in the morning whose journey was much improved. This is senseless pandering to Boris voting Bexley residents. Along side the reported scrapping of the Thames Gateway Bridge, they must be like fat turkeys who hear that Christmas has been cancelled. There is still some hope this madness can be stopped. Two way traffic in the tunnel is madness and accident waiting to happen. With a bit of luck TfLs insurers will refuse to allow the tidal flow to be restored after they suspended it on safety grounds.
Patricia Griffith, says...
8:01pm Thu 5 Jun 08
John SE18, says...
8:04pm Thu 5 Jun 08
phil, barnehurst says...
8:53pm Thu 5 Jun 08
Me, Orpington says...
8:09am Fri 6 Jun 08
Lizzielooloo, says...
3:18pm Fri 6 Jun 08
Rosie, Welling says...
3:39pm Fri 6 Jun 08
I have been using the Tunnel for over 20 years and since the
tidalflow has been stopped, traffice is unbearable. It takes sometimes over an hour to get from sun & sands to the tunnel. Can't wait until the tidal is back on.
June SE28, says...
9:41pm Fri 6 Jun 08
petrol head, norway says...
12:28am Sat 7 Jun 08
martin wrote:well said martin,i too have been using the tidal flow for over 20 years and have never seen an incident in the tunnel or traffic backed up on the north side,ken really was a conniving b'stard trying to get more money out of us already overcharged motorists. i also think that traffic would be non existent at blackwall if there was no toll at dartford, so come on boris give your support to the MP who wants the toll to be scrapped and maybe talk him into having a bridge or tunnel built between kent and essex nearer the thames estuary this would take so much traffic off the m2/m20 and a13/a127/a12 heading towards dartford and blackwall!!!!
shut it tommy i`ve been using blackwall for years and have never been held up by a crash in the tidal flow, it was kens idea so he could impose a congestion tax on the people using the tunnel. good on you boris do you have the power to scrap the toll at dartford this would reduce the traffic that uses blackwall because the queues would dissappear from there overnight.
Beabarb, London says...
2:17pm Sun 8 Jun 08
Tommy wrote:TfLs insurers will refuse to allow the tidal flow to be restored after they suspended it on safety grounds. Actually Tommy I think you will find that TFL, like most other goverment quangos is "self insured" they just have to prove that they have sufficient funding & don't have to pay insurance premiums like us mere mortals.
A disaster for those of us travelling south in the morning whose journey was much improved. This is senseless pandering to Boris voting Bexley residents. Along side the reported scrapping of the Thames Gateway Bridge, they must be like fat turkeys who hear that Christmas has been cancelled. There is still some hope this madness can be stopped. Two way traffic in the tunnel is madness and accident waiting to happen. With a bit of luck TfLs insurers will refuse to allow the tidal flow to be restored after they suspended it on safety grounds.
Phil, Eltham says...
4:21pm Mon 9 Jun 08
Matt, bromley says...
7:35pm Mon 9 Jun 08
ajk, Bexleyheath says...
12:20am Sun 15 Jun 08
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Pink Kitten, London says...
12:32pm Thu 5 Jun 08
We love you Boris!