An amendment to the Mayor’s budget supported by Sian Berry AM today proposed cancelling the Silvertown Road Tunnel, using a trial of smart road charging at the Blackwall Tunnel to both reduce traffic and pay for any cancellation costs.
During today’s London Assembly meeting on the Mayor’s final budget, four practical steps were outlined to enable the Mayor to cancel the Silvertown Road Tunnel, develop a trial for smarter road charging, implement charging at the Blackwall Tunnel and cover the cost of cancelling the Silvertown Road Tunnel through borrowing against that income.
The proposals were voted for by Green and Lib Dem London Assembly members but were not backed by Labour or Conservative members.
Green Party London Assembly Member Sian Berry said:
The Assembly had an opportunity to do the right thing here by cancelling the toxic Silvertown Road Tunnel.
The Blackwall Tunnel is an infamous spot for traffic jams and the perfect place to trial smart road user charging.
Not only can doing this achieve wider transport and climate goals more quickly, but it can also improve resilience and reduce congestion.
Cancelling this costly mistake is possible, is practical, and is far more affordable than carrying on.
I am disappointed that the Assembly could have compelled the Mayor to include it in his Budget and chose not to today.