SUMMARY
CONCLUSIONS
1. The Docklands Forum is working in partnership
with Government, the New Millennium Experience Co., the London
Boroughs and the transport providers to ensure that the developing
transport and ticketing strategy and its implementation delivers
the most sustainable transport package possible for this major
international event (para. 8).
2. Regrettably, the Docklands Forum has come to regard
the developing transport strategy as one which still commands
serious concern within this region (para. 6).
3. A far greater number of existing and temporary
purpose built Park & Ride parking spaces ought to be secured
at 'outer' London sites thus ensuring that the least number of
vehicles are attracted onto existing inner London heavily congested
roads (para. 13).
4. This whole Falconwood Park & Ride exercise,
bar proving futile, has raised public anxiety over the potential
adverse implications of the transport strategy and has highlighted
a distinct lack of community and regional sensitivity on the part
of NMEC to the issue of protecting East London's environment (para.
14).
5. The strategy to direct traffic movements to appropriate
routes and crossings is critical and requires more than a ticketing
marketing strategy to influence movements to the Site (para. 16).
6. As air quality is a major issue in East and South
East London, clearly a code of conduct for on-site coach parking,
reinforced with substantial penalties, must be developed and be
in place to curtail a diesel emission hot-spot in such close proximity
to a major international event (para. 17).
7. The Forum, having consistently promoted the Thames
as the "widest and most underused highway in Britain"
takes particular delight that the Millennium Experience could
well succeed in acting as a catalyst for a revival of passenger
river traffic on the Thames (para. 18).
8. The Forum is particularly keen to support the
furtherance of Millennium Park & Sail services down river
(para. 22).
9. It is quite clear that Park & Ride sites close
to the Greenwich Peninsula will undermine the attractiveness of
the Park & Sail sites further afield. The Forum suggests that
the Park & Sail routes be re-tendered in the light of any
firm Park & Ride site decisions (para. 23).
10. As the original assessment of the Angerstein
alignment to the Site was undertaken some time ago, when the Dome
was not expected to have a significant life-span, the economic
viability of such a heavy rail site access proposal must surely
be worthy of greater current consideration (para. 24).
11. The North Kent Line peak Millennium bound services
demand requires reviewing and improvements secured (para. 24).
12. The Forum is concerned that the proposed Charlton-Millennium
Dome link will prove nothing more than a glorified shuttle bus-link,
and one which for considerable elements of its route would be
subjected to the congestion which the area already suffers from.
The Forum believes that the connections to and from the site secured
for the Millennium Experience should be fully segregated (para.
25).
13. The Forum is of the opinion that there is much
to be gained from promoting a dedicated service to Greenwich Town
Centre which could link with the DLR at the Cutty Sark site (para.
26).
14. It is self evident that any further delays in
securing the opening of the Jubilee Line Extension would undermine
the entire transport strategy (para. 29).
15. No details of contingency transport plans are
currently known for the potential scenario of an Underground system
failure, and the Forum would press that such plans be forthcoming
for the Site (para. 30).
16. The Forum is particularly concerned to ensure
that any new bus contracts awarded should be low floor services
ensuring that the accessibility of the JLE station and trains
is likewise complemented by the integration of the bus services
(para. 31).
17. The Forum is concerned that the developments
in upgrading infrastructure does not facilitate a spate of associated
Millennium car dependent developments attracting very significant
numbers of vehicles to the area. The Forum is particularly concerned
by the current proposal to site a superstore and leisure development
adjacent to the Millennium Site with an accompanying 1,400 car
parking spaces (para. 33).
18. The Forum would support Blackwall approach and
link roads as well as one lane of each tunnel being designated
as high-occupancy lanes (para. 33).
19. Any Millennium road signs should indicate targeted
audience, for bus and HGV (para. 34).
20. The Forum is only too acutely aware that the
transport strategy for servicing the site has not to-date received
detailed examination (para. 34).
21. The cable car may prove to be an attraction in
itself as will the sheer presence of the Dome, and as such may
generate car visitors to the area (para. 35).
22. Enforcement of the Greenwich Foot Tunnel existing
no-cycling regulation by the relevant agencies (local boroughs)
is clearly required. The Forum would also suggest that the hours
of operation of the tunnel lifts be extended. Furthermore, realising
the already existing and potential increase in use by tourists
and cyclists a new no-smoking policy and instructions to use the
left-hand side of the tunnel to traverse it would be prudent (para.
37).
23. The Forum has viewed its involvement in the Millennium
Access Steering Group as the central tenet for representing the
interests of the communities throughout the region that will be
most affected by any adverse transport implications. The Forum
will be requesting to the Minister for Transport in London that
its continued involvement in the new steering group be secured
and calls upon the Committee to endorse this stance (para. 39).
24. The Forum views that, as the majority of journeys
will commence from London, the opportunity to integrate a travelcard
with the price of an Experience ticket is critical to the realisation
of the transport strategy for the "majority" of visitors
to travel to the Dome by public transport (para. 40).
25. The 10 am start time for the normal session means
that visitors would be travelling at peak times and therefore
would not be able to benefit from usual off-peak fares unless
it could be negotiated with operators. The Minister Without Portfolio
has stated that affordable access to the Millennium Experience
was one of the highest priorities and people should not be deterred
by travel costs and the Forum certainly endorses this objective
(para. 42).
26. Negotiations, particularly with train operators,
are imperative to develop marketing opportunities to facilitate
access to the Experience ensuring that further road congestion
is minimised (para. 42).
27. The Forum is keen to encourage Londoners to share
in the Millennium Experience, it would be prudent for tickets
to be made available at London Underground ticket booths and licensed
distribution agencies (para. 43).
28. The Forum strongly believes that the courtesy
of inviting local people from the host borough should be extended
to local people on the north side of the Thames, across from the
site, as it is those very communities who will suffer the main
brunt of the traffic impact, as well as the noise and light intrusion
of the activities on site (para. 44).
29. The Forum recognises that although London City
Airport is primarily a business airport, its leisure passengers
account for 20% of total passenger flows. The Airport, particularly
as it is located only a few miles from the site, could act as
an attractive air gateway servicing East London and the Millennium
Dome. This role could be developed with support from the NMEC,
particularly as it has received planning permission to increase
its throughput from 1 million to 3 million passengers (para. 47).
30. Due to lack of details, the Forum has expressed
concern about the provision of late evening transport from the
site for the expected to be 6,000-10,000 visitors attending the
Baby Dome activities and the fact that car access restriction
might well be relaxed generating unnecessary traffic generation
in local areas late into an evening (para. 48).
31. The Forum is of the opinion that the current
transport strategy still lacks robustness and detail. Marketing
strategies alone cannot curtail private modes of travel to the
site or the surrounding inner London area. It would be prudent
to adopt a precautionary approach and plan for the worst case
scenario, but at the same time not encourage needless access to
inner London Park & Ride sites. Most importantly, a major
enforcement exercise and a Millennium Traffic Control Centre requires
commissioning (para. 49).
32. The Forum remains committed to the Millennium
Experience and would welcome the opportunity of presenting its
evidence to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee (para. 50).
June 1998
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