Petition details
Stop the trial of all the time bus lanes
Newham, Brent, Ealing, Barking and Dagenham amongst other boroughs also have high levels of air pollution. Newham has the worst pollution levels in London, but none of the aforementioned boroughs have 'all the time' bus lanes, so why was this trial imposed on Tower Hamlets?
This Petition ran from 24/11/2020 to 29/12/2020 and has now finished.
108 people signed this Petition.
Council response
Thank you for the petition raised at Council on Wednesday 20 January regarding the above which you presented to the meeting. The meeting requested that I respond to your concerns.
As part of a trial from 13 September 2020, most bus lanes on the red routes (roads controlled by Transport for London) now operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. TfL’s reasons for implementing this trial are ‘to support a sustainable recovery from the pandemic by helping to make bus journeys more reliable and consistent’ and help ‘reduce bus congestion and create more space to help make the roads safer for cyclists.’ As part of the trial, any parking bay on affected red routes are suspended, although loading is still permitted as prior to the trial.
The affected roads in Tower Hamlets: East India Dock Road, Commercial Road, Whitechapel Road, Burdett Road and Mile End Road are all red routes which fall into the trial. Where boroughs do not have bus lanes on red routes there are no bus lanes eligible for the trial. This is the case in Barking & Dagenham, Brent, Ealing and Newham.
Regarding the impact on local businesses as a result of the trial, following discussions with the Mayor of Tower Hamlets, TfL have agreed to reinstate parking bays as per the table below:
Table 1: Reinstated Parking Bays agreed by TfL
Location Pre-existing parking restriction
208 - 220 Mile End Road - No Stopping Mon-Sat 7am - 7pm Except 10am-4pm parking 1 hour No return within 2 hours
314 - 316 Commercial Road 314 – 316: No Stopping Mon-Sat 7am - 7pm Except 10am-4pm parking 1 hour No return within 2 hours
235 - 247 Commercial Road 235 – 247: No Stopping Mon-Sat 7am - 7pm Except 10am-4pm parking 1 hour No return within 2 hours
The measures are likely to have benefits for residents, as the wider running of bus lanes should improve bus journey times and reliability, which will reduce time spent on buses for those who use them.
As mentioned in the petition, car ownership in Tower Hamlets is low, and while much of the population will be able to work from home, many keyworkers and workers who cannot work from home are reliant on buses to access (and in some cases retain) employment.
The measures also may help us in tackling effects of Covid by reducing traffic. Covid is a respiratory disease which may be exacerbated by air pollution caused by motor traffic emissions.
Finally, the measures are expected to improve safety and the perception of safety for those who choose to cycle on key routes in and through the borough.
If you have any further queries please contact Dan Jones, Divisional Director of Public Realm on dan.jones@towerhamlets.gov.uk
Kind Regards,
Ann Sutcliffe
Corporate Director, Place