Silvertown tunnel should be renamed 'Sadiq Khan Motorway' to shame mayor on road-building, says Lib-Dem
The Silvertown tunnel should be renamed the “Sadiq Khan motorway” to highlight the damage it will do to the mayor’s green credentials, the Lib-Dem mayoral candidate Rob Blackie said on Thursday.
The twin-bore tunnel is due to open in summer 2025 and will link the Royal Docks and North Greenwich.
Drivers will have to pay a toll – likely to be about £4 per crossing – though precise details are not due to be revealed until the autumn.
Mr Khan’s decision to press ahead with the £2bn Silvertown tunnel – first devised when Boris Johnson was mayor – has been hugely controversial because of concerns it will add to traffic pollution in east and south-east London, including an influx of HGVs.
Mr Blackie, who was joined by fellow Lib-Dems near the tunnel entrance at North Greenwich on Thursday, proposed renaming it after the mayor in a “name and shame” approach to highlight what he regards as Mr Khan’s disregard of environmental concerns.
He unveiled a mock road sign bearing the words “Sadiq Khan Motorway”.
If elected on May 2, he pledged to restrict its use to “low carbon vehicles” – likely to be battery-electric and hybrid cars – and to offer discounts to residents living nearby.
These discounts would also apply to the Blackwall tunnel, which will also be tolled – at the same rate as the Silvertown tunnel – when the latter opens in a year and a quarter.
Mr Blackie said that with construction so far advanced it was not feasible to cancel the tunnel. Instead he would aim to “green the tunnel” and increase the number of bus routes expected to use it.
He said: “Sadiq Khan has spent £2bn on the Silvertown tunnel - more than anything else he has done. But he virtually never talks about it. At a recent mayoral hustings the Labour party representative wouldn’t even say the word ‘Silvertown’.
“We will name this mess the ‘Sadiq Khan Motorway’. If he’s a fan of it, I would challenge him to live next to it.
“This tunnel makes a mockery of the mayor’s claim to be the greenest mayor ever.
“The way to cut pollution and climate change is to encourage people to walk, bicycle and use public transport. This multi-billion pound project does exactly the opposite.
“Sadly, it is too late to stop the road being built. But the Liberal Democrats have a plan to green the tunnel and make the best of the £2bn debt that the Mayor has left us.”
Mr Khan’s spokesman said: “Sadiq has taken world-leading action to tackle pollution in London.
“He is asking Lib Dems and other progressives to lend him their vote to stop the Tories and ensure he can continue building a fairer, safer, greener London for everyone.“
Mr Khan has repeatedly insisted that building the tunnel is the only way to reduce gridlock at the Blackwall tunnel, where there are tailbacks throughout the day, particularly for drivers heading north under the Thames.
The older of the two Blackwall tunnels – now used for north bound traffic - was opened in 1897. The southbound tunnel was opened in 1967.
Last month the Tory assembly member Tony Devenish said Hammersmith bridge, which has been shut to vehicles for five years, should be renamed the “Sadiq Khan bridge” to highlight the alleged lack of action from Transport for London in getting the west London river crossing reopened after it was closed by Hammersmith and Fulham council because of safety fears.
