Silvertown residents want action over bus stops loss

Laura Grainger near a bus shelter with no bus stop

Kay Atwal, Chief Reporter Thursday, October 11, 2012
12:00 PM

Canning Town Residents angry at the loss of six bus stops taken out of action as a result of construccon by Crossrail are demanding action.

Buses are diverted down side streets

They say they feel like a tiny island, disconneted from the rest of Newham. The bus stops are just the tip of the iceberg - they have also lost three post boxes.

Laura Grainger, who lives in Sheldrake Close, Silvertown, said the works by Crossrail were causing “absolute chaos” for North Woolwich and Silvertown residents.

She said: “The most pressing concern at the moment is the fact that Crossrail have taken out of action six bus stops. If you get a bus at North Woolwich the first bus stop you come to is almost half a mile away in Factory Road, Silvertown.

“At the weekend two bus stops were taken out of action which means come tomorrow morning an army of school children will have to negotiate two busy roads to pick up a bus to school. Residents have been asking Crossrail to install a zebra crossing at Lord Street for over two months and now, with this further loss of bus stops it would appear action will not he taken until someone is hit by a car, or one of the many lorries using Factory Road.”

A spokesman for Crossrail said: “To enable Crossrail tunnel construction at North Woolwich to proceed, one lane of Albert Road is currently closed until mid- 2015. The remaining lane is open to traffic travelling in a westerly direction with traffic in an easterly direction diverted around Holt Road, Newland Street and Winifred Street.

“As Albert Road is now single lane, with traffic flowing in one direction only, we had to close three bus stops in each direction. Two bus stops have been introduced at each end of Newland Street. One of these stops is closer to Sheldrake Close than the bus stop on Albert Road which it replaces.”

He said they were working with Newham Council to provide a pedestrian crossing on Albert Road between Tate Road and Lord Street.