Nine out of ten of the vehicles using the bridge will be counted as local traffic, including 44 tonne lorries from Brussels that will cross the bridge to stop off at Canning Town.
Jenny Jones said, “This is not what ordinary people think of as local traffic. The idea that a lorry can travel from Brussels to Canning Town and be counted as local traffic is just one of the many ways in which local people are being misled about this bridge."
Jenny is outraged that Mayor Livingstone has failed to answer questions about the impact of extra traffic on air quality and congestion. She is also concerned that no plans for an alternative smaller, local bridge have been put to the people who will be most affected.
Jenny concluded,"It is not a local bridge for local people, it is big strategic road designed for fast traffic to by-pass the poor of East London as vehicles make their way to and from Docklands.
People in Greenwich are being asked to choose between four pictures of the same big road, with the promise that in a few months time they might get to discuss what colour of grey it should be. That is neither a genuine choice nor genuine consultation.”
ENDS