Dear Boris
You will no doubt be aware of the difficulties currently being experienced by motorists in South East London as a result of the ongoing nighttime closures at the Blackwall Tunnel, which are due for completion in December 2012.
I recently met with David Brown, Managing Director of Surface Transport at Transport for London, and other senior officers to discuss these problems and was reassured to find that TfL are currently in negotiations to enable the Woolwich Ferry service to remain open until 22:00, as opposed to its current closing time of 20:00.
Although this will come as a partial relief to motorists, I am concerned that it will simply not be enough to alleviate the impact of the nighttime and proposed weekend closures. With this in mind, I would like you to explore the option of extending TfL’s current proposals significantly, perhaps to include a 24-hour ferry service, throughout the period of the works.
While I appreciate that the provision of such a service would have inevitable cost implications for TfL, the difficulties that have arisen due to the renovation works should have been anticipated prior to their commencement and opportunities to alleviate them, including funding, fully explored.
Given the strength of feeling in South East London towards the current closures, I would be grateful if you could provide me with your views on my proposal as a matter of urgency.
Yours sincerely
Len Duvall AM
I'll keep you posted on his response.
Len
