A two-way cycle lane will be installed on the north side of the Greenwich one-way system after plans were approved by Anthony Okereke, the council leader.
The gyratory will remain for now, but space on College Approach used for waiting and loading will be given over to a new cycle lane. The plan also includes relocating a playground on Welland Street, on the Meridian Estate.
Riders heading towards Deptford will be encouraged to cycle from Cutty Sark Gardens, along College Approach, right into Greenwich Church Street then left into Welland Street, Thames Street and left into Norway Street before joining the existing Cycleway 4 at Creek Road.
The council hopes the route will plug a gap in Cycleway 4, which currently runs from Tower Bridge to Charlton and is currently being extended to Woolwich. At present many cyclists simply use the Thames Path and Cutty Sark Gardens, even though riding bikes is officially forbidden in Cutty Sark Gardens.
A consultation carried out in January found that 57 per cent of respondents thought the route would improve the town centre, with 28 per cent against. However, a report says that residents of the Meridian Estate at a consultation event were opposed to having a cycle lane running through it.
The two playgrounds on the estate will be combined and a new, larger playground built to the north.
There are long-term plans to run Cycleway 4 along the full length of Creek Road and rip out the gyratory, turning Nelson Road into a two-way street. However, construction work is not scheduled until the end of 2027, so the route through Thames Street is intended as a stop-gap measure. No detailed designs have yet been finalised.
Notably, the “interim” scheme does not include College Way, the route through the Old Royal Naval College that was signed during the pandemic; since then both the council and the college’s management have rowed back on it being an official route. Instead, cyclists are expected to use a path to the route to the north of the campus that is also a shared footpath. Both ways through the college are closed at night.
In January, Calum O’Byrne Mulligan, the Creekside Labour councillor, said on social media that there had been “a lot of effort” to get College Way officially recognised but the Naval College “won’t budge”. He predicted that cyclists would continue to use College Way.
O’Byrne Mulligan is now the interim cabinet member for transport, filling in for Averil Lekau, the council’s deputy leader, who is unwell. However, the decision was taken by Okereke rather than Lekau or O’Byrne Mulligan.
The council says that the scheme will not result in increased congestion while Transport for London said it would not replace bus services. It expects 1,300 cyclists to use the route each day.
How to tackle the traffic in Greenwich town centre has vexed policy-makers for decades. In the 1960s a bypass under Greenwich Park was considered, in the 1980s a bypass under the Thames was briefly put forward.
More recently Greenwich Council has sought to remove the gyratory – with one plan proposed and then shelved before the 2012 Olympics – but has come up against the problem of how to keep access for traders and shopkeepers around Greenwich Market.
This scheme would include some loading bays for market traders in College Approach, and would remove parking spaces.
Councillors have until next Thursday to call in the decision for further consideration or a hearing where council officers will have to explain their decision. If this does not happen, the the decision to build the lane will be confirmed.
The full papers are on the Greenwich Council website.
📩 Follow The Greenwich Wire on Bluesky, Facebook, LinkedIn or Threads. You can also sign up for WhatsApp alerts – or subscribe to our emails through the blue box above.
You must be logged in to post a comment.