Transport
North London has three critical central transport challenges that are restricting its growth and accessibility:
- Congested orbital routes, including poor public transport, from east to west.
- Inadequate rail capacity, north to south, particularly along the Upper Lee Valley with weak links to
Stratford. - Public transport to support development along the M1 corridor.
We are concerned that these weaknesses will also impact on the successful delivery of the Games, hindering access during the construction phase and also the Games themselves. The possibility of fasttracking proposals for transport improvements needs to be urgently considered.
North Circular, orbital public transport and interchanges
The North Circular (A406) is an Olympic priority route, linking Stratford to Wembley and the M1. This network is vital to sustain the bid team’s commitments to provide speedy road transport routes to the Olympic Family. The A406 will be an important logistics route during the construction of the Olympic facilities. In addition many of the proposed parking facilities to support the Olympics lie in North London and many people will wish to access these by travelling down the M1 from the Midlands and North West. The North Circular will be vital to support the associated park and ride facilities.
Currently the route is blighted with high levels of congestion at a number of well-known bottlenecks and lacks adequate public transport. This level of congestion also acts as a barrier to effective north – south movement, including the large number of bus routes that use and traverse the North Circular. The North Circular is a vital artery for North London linking our network of town centres and areas of opportunity and growth, such as Brent Cross / Cricklewood and the Upper Lee Valley. Without investment, the growth in the sub-regions population combined with increasing pressure from external growth areas is likely to intensify the problem.
West Anglia Route
The West Anglia Line lies along the Upper Lee Valley and provides a key route between Stansted and the City. The Government has asked BAA to bring forward proposals for a second runway at Stansted Airport, increasing passenger throughput from 18m.ppa (2003) to up to 80m.ppa. In addition it will play an increasingly important role in supporting the London - Stansted - Cambridge - Peterborough Growth Corridor. The draft East of England Plan envisages 40,000 new jobs and 63,250 new dwellings within the Corridor. The West Anglia Line will become an increasingly vital transport artery in the coming decade.
However the line is currently only twin track – one line north, one line south. Pressure for more fast
passenger trains along the route will have a significant impact on the services to smaller stations that lie along the Upper Lee Valley, threatening to further isolate some of North London's most deprived communities.
The importance of securing the West Anglia Route Modernisation Enhancements before 2012 is clear, specifically - additional capacity on the Lee Valley Line, including the Stratford – Tottenham Hale, better connected stations link and other improvements to enhance access to the Olympic Zone from Stansted Airport. This investment will ensure that the Upper LeeValley can play a strong role in supporting the growth areas to the north and east. In the long term it will help to ensure that North London can play its role in providing the skilled employees needed in locations such as Stratford City.
Relatively small investments, such as the reinstatement of services along the Hall Farm Curve and reopening of Lea Bridge station plus an increase in services along the Tottenham Hale to Stratford line could make a significant impact on the transport services to the Olympic zone and bring the whole of the Upper Lee corridor much closer.
M1 Growth Corridor
Luton Airport will also become an increasingly important transport route for the Olympics as a replacement runway and a new terminal ahead of the Games is planned. Ensuring the effective delivery of Thameslink 2000 will be vital, which in addition supports the 10,000 new homes planned at Brent Cross/ Cricklewood.
