Warning London Blackwall and Silvertown Tunnel charges could 'trigger price increase and affect traffic'

Rush hour traffic begins to buid up heading North through the Blackwall Tunnel
-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)


A council outside London has warned that plans to impose charges on the Blackwall and Silvertown tunnels could 'significantly affect' drivers from its patch. Kent County Council said the proposed tolls could impact the area's traffic, including at the Dartford Crossing.

Currently, car drivers - including trailers, motorhomes and any minibuses that have nine or fewer seats (including the driver’s seat) - have to pay £2.50 to cross as a one off payment, or £2.00 with an account. Transport for London (TfL) has proposed charging cars and small vans £1.50 during off peak times and £4.00 during peak times (from 6am until 10am northbound and 4pm to 7pm southbound) to pass through the Silvertown and Blackwall tunnels.

The move has been subject to a consultation with the public. A final report is currently being compiled.

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The BBC reports that KCC said, although it supports TfL's ambition to 'improve journey reliability and reduce air pollution', the authority believed that the planned charge could 'significantly affect' drivers from the county. This includes residents' and businesses' finances.

The council added that Kent drivers make up 10 per cent of Blackwall Tunnel's users. KCC's cabinet member for highways and transport, Neil Baker, said he is 'deeply concerned', and that it is 'vital' to make sure that charges would not lead to a 'continuous cycle of price increases' at the Dartford, Silvertown and Blackwall crossings in order to maintain the price difference.

'The financial impact on Kent residents would be unacceptable'

The councillor added: "This would be devastating for the Kent economy, and the financial impact on Kent residents would be unacceptable.” KCC also said it had 'emphasised the need for a thorough assessment of the economic consequences' before finalising the charges.

TfL's director of strategy Christina Calderato said measures would be in place to ensure the new Silvertown Tunnel reduced congestion, provided resilience at the Blackwall Tunnel. MyLondon reported in July that Sadiq Khan has claimed that having no toll for passage through the Silvertown Tunnel would mean drivers would be stuck in queues of traffic.

Caroline Russell AM asked the Mayor of London: "What is the expected vehicle capacity per hour of Silvertown Road Tunnel, assuming all lanes are used for vehicular traffic? Could you supply the modelling across a 24-hour period, with and without tolling."

Sadiq Khan and Angela Rayner visit John Lewis in Oxford Street
Sadiq Khan claims that locals will be able to 'enjoy economic and environmental benefits' as a result of the new Silvertown Tunnel -Credit:Adam Toms/MyLondon

Mr Khan replied: "To maintain safety within the Silvertown Tunnel, one lane will be dedicated for use by buses, coaches and HGVs and one is available for general traffic Transport for London has modelled a range of scenarios, including with and without user charges.

"The modelling indicates the overall capacity of Silvertown Tunnel is not likely to be exceeded due to it being primarily used for access to the Royal Docks and Isle of Dogs areas, with the majority of through traffic continuing to use the Blackwall Tunnel. The modelled flow through both Silvertown and Blackwall Tunnels is circa 100,000 vehicles across a 24-hr period, which is similar to the level of traffic through Blackwall Tunnel today.

"Without the user charge an additional 20,000 vehicles could be attracted. This would result in the reintroduction of extended queuing on the tunnel approaches and the detrimental environmental impacts associated with this. This underlines why user charging is a core part of the Silvertown Tunnel scheme."

Christina Calderato, Director of Strategy at TfL, said: "The Silvertown Tunnel is now less than a year away from opening in 2025 and when open will help deliver quicker, more reliable journeys in east London by easing congestion and making journeys up to 20 minutes faster.

"We recently carried out an eight-week consultation on our user charging scheme, so Londoners could have their say on the proposed charge levels and wide range of discounts and exemptions.

"This proposed package of supporting measures aims to ensure the scheme is green and fair for Londoners and businesses. These measures will ensure that the new tunnel delivers on its objectives of reducing congestion and providing resilience at the Blackwall Tunnel, while ensuring we support local residents on low income, small businesses, sole traders and local charities. The consultation closed on 3 September, and we are now assessing the responses ahead of presenting our recommendation for the final proposed charges, discounts and exemptions to the TfL Board for their consideration and approval before the end of the year.”

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