Updated story: Greenwich Council has changed its mind and will extend a grace period for drivers in its new low-traffic neighbourhood after all because of problems with the signage in the area.
The rush-hour traffic curbs on both sides of Greenwich Park came into force on November 27, but drivers who break the new rules have only been sent warning letters rather than fines because a grace period, originally due to last three weeks, is in place.
Signage only started appearing in the area on November 26, with even some cameras not in place on the day the scheme started.
Averil Lekau, the council’s deputy leader, said on Wednesday that she had extended the grace period from two weeks to three weeks because of the lack of signage, and that penalty charges of £130 would be applied from December 18.
But on Friday evening the council said in a statement that it would be extending the grace period until January 2 after “listening to what communities have told us over the last week”.
“To ensure we’re as clear as possible, we will be reviewing, changing or removing certain signs which have caused some confusion,” the statement said.
Most through traffic in streets east and west of Greenwich Park is now officially barred between 7am-10am and 3-7pm on weekdays. Buses, taxis, minicabs, cyclists and pedestrians will not be affected while there are a range of exemptions.
At Wednesday night’s council meeting Lekau said there had been delays to installing equipment because of “unforeseen logistical challenges, including some challenges around installation of signage at some locations”.
She said she would be reviewing work so far with Anthony Okereke, the council leader, and Debbie Warren, the chief executive, on Thursday to decide if changes were needed.
However, it took until 6.30pm on Friday for an announcement to be made about the extension to the grace period, which will now take in all of the Christmas and New Year period.
One issue raised by Matt Hartley, the Conservative opposition leader, was ambiguous signage about exemptions for Blue Badge holders. Even though the signs, bearing a wheelchair logo, have been approved by the Department for Transport, they do not explicitly indicate that Blue Badge holders need to apply for exemptions.
Other issues about the placement of signs – a process which was meant to be completed on Friday – have also been raised on social media.
Hartley told The Greenwich Wire on Friday evening: “I’m glad the council administration has U-turned so quickly on this, after initially rejecting my proposal to extend the no-fine period at the Town Hall. It was completely absurd for the council to be fining residents for confusion they themselves have caused thanks to their botched implementation of these changes.
“This troubled start for the council’s latest traffic scheme imposed on Greenwich and Blackheath hardly bodes well for the next 18 months. And this will only add to the sense of history repeating itself, as so many of us warned would happen.”
The scheme covers large parts of Greenwich and Blackheath and aims to stop traffic using cut-throughs to avoid the A2, and comes many years of residents complaining about queues and antisocial behaviour from drivers in their roads. The council is confident that many drivers will simply avoid the area altogether, others fear it will simply divert traffic into neighbouring areas.
It follows an earlier attempt to close streets in west Greenwich, which was scrapped before the 2022 council election.
One campaigner against the low-traffic neighbourhood, Eleanor Restell, addressed the meeting after presenting a 760-name petition earlier this year.
She said that her resident association’s own camera monitoring had recorded a 40 to 55 per cent rise in traffic this week on Eastcombe Avenue in Charlton, one of the roads surrounding the scheme and one which already suffers from drivers using it as a cut-through.
Restell said: “The council promises to create safer, greener and healthier neighborhoods, but poor signage has led to multiple examples of dangerous reversing and new terms within the project area. Many of these examples are outside Halstow and James Wolfe primary schools.
“In boundary roads we’re obviously concerned about additional pollution, but the extra traffic brings other risks. Drivers are speeding through the top of Eastcombe Avenue where pupils from four local schools cross the road to use the underpass. Examples from the last week show that this is an accident waiting to happen.”
Lekau responded: “What we’ve said consistently is that we are going to be monitoring the boundary areas. We’ve extended the information [sent to residents] to boundary areas and we are extending the full consultation of the boundary areas. While it says the whole programme takes 18 months, certainly within the first six months of understanding the traffic impacts we’ll be looking to see what adjustments, if any, need to be made.”
A consultation into the scheme – officially called a “neighbourhood management scheme” by the council – has opened at greenersafergreenwich.commonplace.is.
What streets are affected?
West of Greenwich Park:
- Crooms Hill (junction with Burney Street) – Camera-enforced traffic filter
- Circus Street (junction with Royal Hill) – Camera-enforced traffic filter
- Royal Hill (junction with Royal Place) – Camera-enforced traffic filter
- Royal Hill (junction with Point Hill) – Camera-enforced traffic filter
- Winforton Street (junction with Point Hill) – Camera-enforced traffic filter
- Maidenstone Hill (junction with Point Hill) – Camera-enforced traffic filter
- Lindsell Street (junction with Greenwich South Street) – no entry (into Lindsell Street)
East of Greenwich Park:
- Westcombe Hill (junction with Station Crescent) – bus gate
- Halstow Road – Camera-enforced traffic filter
- Vanbrugh Hill (junction with Dinsdale Road) – bus gate
- Maze Hill (junction with Tom Smith Close) – Camera-enforced traffic filter
- St Johns Park (junction with Vanbrugh Park) – Camera-enforced traffic filter
- Langton Way (junction with Old Dover Road) – Camera-enforced traffic filter
There are maps of the scheme and details of how to access affected roads. The scheme only applies on weekdays from 7am to 10am and 3pm to 7pm.
Who’s exempted?
Buses, black taxis and minicabs (including Uber) will be exempted. Blue badge holders will need to apply for an exemption, as will organisations which hold blue badges. Other residents will also be able to apply for an exemption based on special circumstances – chiefly, if you or a child you’re travelling with has a chronic health condition that means sitting in a car on a longer journey causes additional distress.
To apply, visit the Greenwich Council website.
Story rewritten at 11.30pm after the council announcement.
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