Bus users and drivers face another fortnight of delays because of the closure of a short stretch of road outside Plumstead bus garage – and Greenwich Council insists its temporary traffic lights are not to blame for this week’s long queues.
Works to repair part of the bridge parapet at the junction of Pettman Crescent and Plumstead High Street resulted in gridlock across a wide area on Monday, and further delays on Wednesday.
The council is behind the works, which aim to fix persistent problems with the bridge which have caused closures in the past.
The council has denied that mistimed temporary traffic signals around the diversion caused Monday’s issues. Instead it said that the closure had not appeared on Google Maps, while some bus drivers were misunderstanding the diversion routes.
On Wednesday on social media, Greenwich Council pointed to a closure of the M25 in Essex – which had led to queues approaching the Dartford Crossing – as traffic ground to a halt again.
But upon visiting the site, The Greenwich Wire found there appeared to be issues with the signals, with roadworks staff manually directing traffic and even moving barriers to keep traffic flowing. The council has denied there were problems.
Greenwich Council said the dates for the roadworks – August 11 to September 5 – had been chosen to avoid school holidays; even though many pupils and teachers will be returning to the classroom in the final week.
The problems come in a difficult week for the council’s transport department, which scrapped plans for controlled parking zones in Plumstead and Shooters Hill on Monday after large-scale opposition from residents.
What’s happening?
Pettman Crescent is a gyratory that runs clockwise around Plumstead bus garage. Most eastbound traffic on the A206 uses it, while it is also the western access route to Thamesmead. It also enables access to and from Plumstead bus garage from slip roads.
A small section of the eastern arm of Pettman Crescent has been closed for the works on the bridge, with one lane completely removed and covered in blue material. A bus lane on Plumstead High Street has also been closed.
In an attempt to keep traffic flowing, the rest of Pettman Crescent has been made into a two-way route to enable traffic to travel from Woolwich to Thamesmead, with temporary traffic lights put into place as two lanes of traffic merge into one.
However, to make things more complicated, buses leaving Plumstead Garage at the start of their trips have to cross what is now a two-way Pettman Crescent – a crossing governed by another set of temporary lights.
A set of wider diversions have also been implemented, although no signage was seen in Woolwich town centre and the council’s webpage points only to a set of engineers’ maps.
Also not helping matters was the closure of the pedestrian underpass under Pettman Crescent — although users had taken matters into their own hands and simply opened up the fencing.
The council said: “The underpass is not accessible due to ongoing improvements. There is a diversion in place.”
What’s happening to buses?
Depends who you ask. Plumstead is one of London’s biggest bus garages, and the roadworks severely impede access for drivers and vehicles on busy routes linking the area with central London and north Kent.
Greenwich Council’s web page claims some routes are being diverted and others, such as the 53, 122 and 380, are terminating early.
But TfL’s website contains no information about buses being stopped short of their destinations and says that no stops are being missed. Users of some routes, such as the 53 and 380, are being given no news of any delays.
Greenwich Council said: “The diversions on our website are those that were agreed with TfL, and we rely on them to advise us if any further changes are made to those routes.”
The Greenwich Wire’s observations, on the ground and from bus tracking systems, is that TfL’s information is more accurate when traffic is flowing.
What’s going wrong?
Traffic ground to a halt on Monday, causing long waits for bus passengers across a wide area of southeast London and beyond, as far as Bluewater shopping centre. Traffic flowed more easily on Tuesday, suggesting whatever had caused this problem had been fixed.
But delays built up again on Wednesday after a fire on the M25 in Essex at lunchtime. This had led to queues south of the Thames, approaching the Dartford Crossing. The last M25 junction before the crossing leads to the A206 and A2016 dual carriageways, which feed into Pettman Crescent.
When The Greenwich Wire visited at 7.45pm on Wednesday, the temporary lights appeared to be stuck on red for an extended period at the exit from the bus garage, leaving roadworkers to marshal traffic themselves. That said, this may have been a measure to help traffic to flow.
While further along, pedestrians faced a crossing with signs stuck on “wait” at the junction with Western Way, an unpredictable flow of traffic and no help from roadworkers for part of the crossing. The council has denied there were problems with the signals.
Roadworkers were also opening up fences to allow traffic to make a banned right turn out of Pettman Crescent towards Woolwich.
Whose responsibility is this?
The roadworks – together with the temporary traffic lights – are the responsibility of Greenwich Council and its contractor, Metro Traffic Services. The council’s deputy leader, Averil Lekau, is in charge of transport, while its leader, Anthony Okereke, has specific responsibility for communications.
Bus services and fixed traffic lights are controlled by Transport for London, which ultimately answers to the mayor.
An emergency meeting between TfL and Greenwich was held on Tuesday. Greenwich said in a statement that daily meetings would now be held about the situation and that TfL had agreed to change signal timings elsewhere in the area.
Okereke appeared to blame TfL for the problems on Monday. On Elon Musk’s social media platform X, he retweeted a post from Woolwich Dockyard Labour councillor Asli Mohammed, claiming “this disruptive work could easily have been scheduled for overnight hours”.
A council spokesperson said: “Work is carried out overnight as well as during the day, to minimise the amount of time taken. We’re doing this during the holidays to avoid peak rush hour traffic too. But, the lanes must be closed due to waterproofing and curing, so there is no choice but to fully close them.”
What do Greenwich Council and TfL say?
Greenwich Council said: “Monday was the first day of works, so Google Maps had not updated. In addition, although diversion plans had been communicated in advance to Transport for London, it seems some bus drivers struggled to follow the diversionary route, adding to the amount of traffic on the road.
“Wednesday’s traffic appears to have eased today. Because access to the Dartford crossing was so difficult due to a lorry fire, lots of people were using alternative routes like the ferry, or the tunnels – so there were significantly more journeys being made through the borough as people tried to avoid the M25. Work continues at Pettman Crescent and the team is trying its best to keep traffic flowing.
“Transport for London are a key partner for us, and while these are our works they have oversight over London’s bus network. Our plans were communicated to Transport for London, however a high number of buses were sent out that did not follow the diversionary route, contributing to the congestion. We have had meetings with TfL every day since Monday and those issues have been rectified, and we’re grateful for their assistance.
“Letters were sent to residents up to two weeks before the works began, with email communication to other significant stakeholders. Signs were erected a week before the works started.”
Greenwich said it was considering closing three bus stops – WM Plumstead Road/Plumstead Station; WL Plumstead Road/Plumstead Station and WU Orchard Road/Griffin Road – to keep traffic moving.
A Transport for London spokesperson said: “The Royal Borough of Greenwich manages all traffic management on this project, including temporary traffic signals. We are supporting the council in managing the impact of their work on the road network.”
TfL said 12 bus routes were on pre-planned diversions.
What can I do?
Contact your local councillor, MP or a London Assembly member – an assembly member can raise this with the mayor and TfL – by using writetothem.com.
To check bus journeys and other options, visit tfl.gov.uk/plan-a-journey.
To report problems with the temporary traffic lights, call Metro Traffic Services on 01303 265 700.
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