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news
Greenwich Foot Tunnel (The Diving Journo)“Why do cyclists believe that they have a right to endanger pedestrians?” Council promises to install anti-bike barriers in foot tunnel, as locals and politicians claim “speeding” cyclists are “almost hitting” families and “abusing” pedestrians
Greenwich Council has pledged to install barriers in both the Greenwich and Woolwich foot tunnels in a bid to ensure cyclists using the key commuter routes dismount, after local politicians, residents, and media outlets launched a renewed campaign attacking those who ride their bikes through the tunnels, claiming that they “go too fast”, pose a danger to families, and respond with abuse when confronted.
Responding to the complaints raised by locals using the Greenwich foot tunnel – which is used by an estimated 4,000 cyclists and pedestrians a day and forms part of National Cycle Route 1 – the Royal Borough of Greenwich Council said it recognises that “some cyclists are making pedestrians feel unsafe” and announced that it is working alongside the tunnel’s joint owner Tower Hamlets Council to improve safety, including the installation of new cycle barriers.
Over the past few decades, with the development of the financial district centred on Canary Wharf, London’s north-south Greenwich tunnel, first opened in 1902, has become a key commuting link for people who work there but live south of the Thames, given the lack of other convenient crossings in the area.
But despite forming part of National Cycle Route 1, linking Dover and the Scottish Highlands, cyclists are currently only allowed to walk their bikes through the tunnel (since 2014, bikes have been permitted on Docklands Light Railway trains, but only at off-peak times).
In 2017, Labour-controlled Greenwich Council, which is responsible for maintaining the tunnel, sanctioned plans to allow cyclists to ride through it at certain times, a proposal which requires approval from its joint owner Tower Hamlets Council, where the Aspire Party, which in 2022 controversially ripped out a school street in the borough, has the majority.
Despite electronic signs being tested in the tunnels, indicating when cyclists can use them, the scheme has faced opposition from Tower Hamlets Council, with Conservative councillor Peter Golds arguing at the time of the initial proposal that the Edwardian tunnel “was never designed for cycling”.
A user group for the tunnel was disbanded in 2021, as members expressed their frustration at the lack of progress in resolving the cycling issue, as well as problems with the tunnel’s lifts, which were installed in 2010 during a much-criticised refurbishment.
The proposals came under the microscope once again in early 2023, when Golds claimed there was “huge popular support” in the area for “rigorous” health and safety checks to be implemented before any ban on cycling in Greenwich foot tunnel is lifted.
And this week, local media outlet MyLondon has reignited the debate by highlighting the apparent concerns of residents and tourists about “dangerous” cycling in the tunnel.
> Isle of Dogs fury that cyclists may be allowed to ride through Greenwich foot tunnel
One person interviewed by the site, Shirley, a tourist who’s staying in the Isle of Dogs and visiting a friend around Cutty Sark, claimed she was subject to abuse by cyclists she reprimanded for riding through the 370m-long tunnel.
“People completely ignore the ‘no cycling’ signs,” Shirley said. “Even responsible-looking individuals cycle because everyone else is doing it! I’ve seen families almost get hit, and when you confront cyclists, they often respond with abuse.”
The MyLondon reporter also claimed that Shirley was “met with swearing” when she criticised a cyclist for riding their bike, while another pedestrian was allegedly told by one person on a bike to “mind your own business”.
That commuter, Vince Soodin, who says he knows someone who received a £100 fine for cycling through the tunnel, added: “Some cyclists go too fast, even when the tunnel is crowded. As a cyclist myself, I understand the temptation, but safety should come first. The tunnel is as narrow as a pavement, yet some ride as if it’s a road.”
"There are plenty of signs indicating that people shouldn't cycle on this staircase and in the tunnel itself,” Rosalind Goodwin said. “However, the temptation to get through quickly often leads to people ignoring the signs. I’ve written to the Tower Hamlets Council in the past, but nothing has changed.”
Meanwhile, another pedestrian said that “with cyclists speeding and kids running around, it becomes really dangerous” in the tunnel.
“People with impaired hearing wouldn’t hear a cyclist coming, which is even more risky. Even to me, it’s unnerving to have cyclists zoom past me, causing me a lot of anxiety,” a daily commuter added.
> Greenwich foot tunnel bike commuters face months of carrying bikes up stairs
Following the story’s publication, Conservative councillor Golds took to social media to write: “I have been raising this for years on behalf of users far and wide. Why do cyclists believe that they have a right to endanger the safety of pedestrians?”
Responding to the complaints, a spokesperson for the Royal Borough of Greenwich said: “We take people’s safety extremely seriously and recognise that some cyclists are making pedestrians feel unsafe.”
“We are continuing to liaise with the London Borough of Tower Hamlets to improve safety in the tunnel. One solution is changing the byelaws, but both parties need to agree to this before we are able to move forward.
“There is a plan underway to regenerate both the Greenwich and Woolwich Foot Tunnels, including replacing the lifts, and installing barriers. A new lift servicing and maintenance contract is also currently being organised.
“CCTV monitoring is already in operation throughout the tunnel, stairs and lifts. Help points are also provided within the tunnel and are monitored 24 hours daily.”
As noted above, in January 2023 Tower Hamlets councillor Golds claimed that the “growth of illegal cycling” in the tunnel was a “major issue” and that “rigorous” health and safety checks would need to be implemented before cyclists are permitted to ride through the tunnel alongside pedestrians.
“The issue here is the growth of illegal cycling in the foot tunnel which is increasingly dangerous,” Golds said.
“We constantly get issues of families going through the foot tunnel and suddenly finding people coming towards them, shooting through at speed on bicycles, frequently blowing whistles to expect people to get out of the way.”
Another member of the council, this time from Labour, also called for barriers to be installed along the path to stop cyclists “zooming across from one end of the tunnel to the other”.
However, Green Party councillor Nathalie Bienfait argued that the discussion only served to give “unhelpful airtime to the false narrative that cyclists are fundamentally irresponsible and lawless”.
After obtaining a PhD, lecturing, and hosting a history podcast at Queen’s University Belfast, Ryan joined road.cc in December 2021 and since then has kept the site’s readers and listeners informed and enthralled (well at least occasionally) on news, the live blog, and the road.cc Podcast. After boarding a wrong bus at the world championships and ruining a good pair of jeans at the cyclocross, he now serves as road.cc’s senior news writer. Before his foray into cycling journalism, he wallowed in the equally pitiless world of academia, where he wrote a book about Victorian politics and droned on about cycling and bikes to classes of bored students (while taking every chance he could get to talk about cycling in print or on the radio). He can be found riding his bike very slowly around the narrow, scenic country lanes of Co. Down.
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88 comments
Barriers that force cyclists to dismount do nlt work. How about wheelchairs users? They cannot dismount, thus making the barriers a bad idea.
I've already seen disabled people complaining about barriers before, this is not gonna end well!
sounds like most drivers I encounter on my daily commute. Why do drivers believe they have a right to endanger cyclists. Of course everyone's safety should be considered, but I would expect with limited funds available the priority should be on reducing the most frequent causes of serious injury and death for people just trying to get somewhere. There are thousands of videos uploaded to Operation Snap for dangerous close passes, every one of those incidents could easily have resulted in death of the cyclist and much more likely than the death of pedestrian caused by a cyclist in one of these tunnels. The vast majority of those Snap videos are disregarded by the police, but any mention of cyclists endangering pedestrians gets the Mail readers frothing at the mouth and reaching for their pitchforks.
I think that soapbox is for another topic.
But good of you to respect the fact that it's all about safety.
I disagree entirely, if a politician is going to start traducing one particular type of transport user and accusing them of putting people in danger, it's wholly appropriate to question what that politician is doing to mitigate the dangers from the transport users who kill and seriously injure many thousands of times more people per year than the ones whom they are attacking and spending public funds to control.
I remember when Sadiq was going to build a walking and cycling bridge to Canary Wharf. Instead he built the Silvertown Motorway Tunnel and pedestrians and cyclists have to fight each other over the scraps as usual.
Carspiracy strikes again.
I used to use the Greenwich tunnel until recently and the number of arrogant people on bicycles who simply refused to walk their bikes through amazed me, whilst walking my bike through I would point out the no cycling rules and was told to f off or shut up W anchor so good luck with this latest attempt I very much doubt it will stop them.
yup.... wizzing past on +£5 of carbon, garmins pinging and popping up their rear ends with self importance and indignent rage that they can do what the heck they want. Zero F's for creating a shared space. Just their own personal "I am all right Jack so F you". Madness. No idea what makes cyclists so entitled. And this is coming from a cyclist who has commuted by bike almost exclusively since 2008 in London. Its crazy. Totally at a loss to it all. Hey ho. I just cycle safe and with respect for cyclists, cars, the highway code and of course pedestrains.
£5 of carbon? You can pay north of 12 quid and you don't even get wheels!
Funnily enough in my considerable experience of using the foot tunnel the full kit expensive road bike crowd are the most likely to follow the dismount rules. The worst offenders are young lads on mountain bikes and anyone on a Lime bike or similar. Don't let that distract you from a good old Daily Mail rant though.
I stopped usuing in 2010 and moved north of the river. At that time it was bankers on Carbon who wouldnt get off even if a £50 note was on the floor.
[Snip]
I stopped usuing in 2010 and moved north of the river.
[Snip]
You're entire post is based on something you stopped doing nearly 15 years ago?
That makes it *totally* relevant.
He's an obvious 'I'm a cyclist myself' troll.
I was promenading down the Strand in a leisurely manner in my landau the other day when my coachman was forced to pull up very sharply as a hooligan on a dandyhorse shot straight across in front of me, totally disregarding the clear instructions of the peeler on crossroads duty. Scoundrel!
Were you with a friend using a wheelchair at the time?
Too many years to remember walking that tunnel heading to work, but you can get some head of steam up on those slopes!
Get off and walk, only safe way to do it!
I havent been down there for a few years; does the Woolwich ferry still run, and are you allowed on as a cyclist?
Yes to both. I enjoy using the Woolwich ferry but it's not really a reasonable alternative for going to the Isle of Dogs from Greenwich or vice versa, on the Greenwich side that means either using some of the busiest and most dangerous roads in London (with some of the most ignorant drivers, I have to say) or the riverside path which is pretty shabby in places and dangerous after dark. Additionally, it's about a 12 km trip to go around that way, fine for leisure and sport riders but a very significant and possible dealbreaking extra distance for commuters.
I have only cycled once through Greenwich, not something I wish to repeat any time soon!
I've got the solution. Once the Silvertown tunnel is built the Rotherhithe tunnel should become a dedicated cycling tunnel. It has cycle superhighways at either side of it already so will be easy to integrate into existing cycling infrastructure.
The Rotherhithe tunnel is over 100 years old and frankly isn't fit for purpose given how wide modern cars are. Remind anyone of another tunnel? Once it's become a cycling tunnel they can strictly enforce no cycling in the Greenwich foot tunnel and put in barriers to their hearts content.
The cars will have the Blackwall tunnel and Silvertown tunnels so will be well served.
As an aside, as bikes are legal in the Rotherhithe tunnel, anyone actually ever tried cycling in it? I did once and I'm not sure that my lungs will ever recover.
I used to ride through it occasionally on Sunday mornings when it was quiet. It was fun and seemed fine - although you don't really know how much of what you're breathing in. Pretty much anything larger than a car is prohibited these days, though, and exhaust emissions are much better than they used to be, so I don't think I've harmed myself too much.
I've never cycled through the Rotherhithe Tunnel but I did go through it many times on my motorbike and that was scary enough. I stopped even driving through it years ago.
It's not really fit for purpose with regard to motor vehicle traffic and yes, I think converting it to a cycling link might be a good idea.
In my sabbatical year as a motorcycle courier (2002/3) it had the nickname amongst my fellow riders of "the coffin" as in the place you are most likely to be found dead. Avoided it whenever possible, if time demands meant I had to go through there it was probably the only road in London where I felt genuinely frightened for my safety.
A guy I worked with did have a crash on his motorbike in the Rotherhithe Tunnel. This was a long time ago. He was lucky to survive and spent some months having a leg rebuilt.
Nasty. It was always one of my concerns riding through there that not only was I at high risk of being clobbered but also the thought of how long the emergency services would take to get to an incident in the middle of the tunnel at rush-hour.
I recall commuting in the 2000's with the manned lifts. I walked through with my bike as the lads knew who did/ didnt and I chatted with them. It was also empty. Since the 2012 olympics cycling has shot up and this is brilliant. However that tunnel was a death trap and I felt sad that so much entitled lycra were PB'ing with zero F's given for folks in the tunnel and when challenged were so rude. Each year the cycling in london has got worse and worse and worse. No helmets, no lights, earphones in, no signlinng, traffic ping pong, red lights - F these. The world is a lot more selfish now and I side with people wanting to stop cycling through the tunnel. If you need to get to the Wharf and your're a cycle warrior. GO over tower bridge and get your miles in. That or Walk the tunnel.
In my experience the issue isn't lycra warriors but e bikes which make the tunnel an awful place, especially the derestricted ones that can go at a rapid speed. It's especially bad when one of the lifts aren't working and the Lime bikes just get dumped in the tunnel.
Death trap? What's the body count? Same old "blame cyclists" lyrics.
Issue as always is that some people can't behave responsibly.
When I use the foot tunnel, I will ride - fast if it's clear, slowly if there are pedestrians about and walk if it's rammed. And I don't appreciate the library prefects who tell me what to do.
But I can see politicians point: in such a confined space, irresponsible behaviour- riding too fast for the circumstances or deliberately walking in front of cyclists to prove a point - needs to be sanctioned or prevented
Only one of those is breaking the law, and it's not pedestrians. You're actually saying that pedestrians who walk in front of cyclists who are choosing to break the law are the ones who should be sanctioned? If there are pedestrians about, just obey the law and walk. I don't obey the law if the tunnel is completely clear but I'm not so arrogant to think that I get to judge if there are pedestrians about what level of concentration makes it acceptable for me to keep on riding, I just get off and walk. It's 320 metres, it will cost you three minutes out of your day, are you really so busy and important that you can't afford that?
Sorry, duplicate post for some reason.
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