John B wrote:

Blimey, you mean it's legal to walk through it? Always assumed it was
strictly motorway-tunnel-style "no pedestrians, cyclist, horses or
stuff that's on fire".

Gotta try that [note to MI6: the walking, not the being on fire] next
time I'm heading sarf of the river...

Bring Everest-style breathing apparatus. I suspect that the time saved by
driving through it rather than going via Tower Bridge is less than the time
knocked off my lifespan by the pollution.

On Thu, 20 Sep 2007, John B wrote:

On 20 Sep, 17:03, Mizter T wrote:

The other fact I like about the Rotherhithe Tunnel is that alongside
the 34,000 vehicles that use it daily there are 20 brave pedestrians
who walk through it!

Blimey, you mean it's legal to walk through it? Always assumed it was
strictly motorway-tunnel-style "no pedestrians, cyclist, horses or stuff
that's on fire".

Gotta try that [note to MI6: the walking, not the being on fire] next
time I'm heading sarf of the river...

MI5.

/pedant

tom

--
science fiction, old TV shows, sports, food, New York City topography,
and golden age hiphop

In message . com of
Thu, 20 Sep 2007 09:03:36 in uk.transport.london, Mizter T
writes

[snip]

The other fact I like about the Rotherhithe Tunnel is that alongside
the 34,000 vehicles that use it daily there are 20 brave pedestrians
who walk through it! I've no idea if the pavement through the tunnel

Where did you find that?

is officially shared by pedestrians and cyclists, but certainly no-one
will begrudge those cyclists who do take this subterranean route for
cycling on the pavement (which is what they do) given the very narrow
of the roadway.

I have walked through it once in each direction. It took me about 15
minutes. I would not recommend it because the pollution seems atrocious.
A dentist friend cycles it daily on his work journey. Cycles sensibly
and illegally use the footpath. I suggest using the wrong footpath as
there are some pretty wide, overhanging vehicles which squeeze through
the 7' 6" width restricting bollards. There are cameras on both
approaches to encourage compliance with the 20 limit.


Both cycling and walking through that Tunnel are some of the more
bizarre entries on my hypothetical 'things I haven't yet done in
London' list.


--
Walter Briscoe

"John B" wrote in message
ups.com...

Blimey, you mean it's legal to walk through it? Always assumed it was
strictly motorway-tunnel-style "no pedestrians, cyclist, horses or
stuff that's on fire".

Yep you can walk through it. I have done an amount of technical work
relating to that tunnel and even we are amazed that people choose to walk
through let alone cycle! I don't even like it when I have to go down for
work (Either driving through, or at night when its closed)

If you are planning a trip then don't hang around its gets quite 'foggy'
down there some days and everything is soot covered (So touch nothing!) and
watch out for the vans as the come round the bends - you don't want to get
taken out by a wing mirror.

As other have said all of the vent shafts are there - none are missing, and
all are very much in use.

If you drive through leave the car/van radio on - if your really really
lucky you might hear something interesting.

"Walter Briscoe" wrote:
In message . com of Thu,
20 Sep 2007 09:03:36 in uk.transport.london, Mizter T
writes

[snip]

The other fact I like about the Rotherhithe Tunnel is that alongside
the 34,000 vehicles that use it daily there are 20 brave pedestrians
who walk through it! I've no idea if the pavement through the tunnel

Where did you find that?

I was bored one day...

But that would be a fib! I found the figures in the footnotes of a TfL press
release from May '05:
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/media/newscentre/4049.aspx

I've no idea how accurate that count is. I think I may have seen someone
walking through once whilst I was driving through. I wonder if the count
really was for the whole 24 hours. I can imagine that it might seem like an
attractive route option late at night after one has been imbibing in a
hostelry - or perhaps I should say that I can almost imagine that *my*
fuzzified mind might think along those lines! That's perhaps the worst time
to walk though because as well as the wobble factor some cars do speed
through there late at night if they have a free run (though that said there
might be less traffic, so less pollution, plus fewer large vans). See later
in my post for moire info on why those speed cameras are no weapon agaionst
this.


is officially shared by pedestrians and cyclists, but certainly no-one
will begrudge those cyclists who do take this subterranean route for
cycling on the pavement (which is what they do) given the very narrow
of the roadway.

I have walked through it once in each direction. It took me about 15
minutes. I would not recommend it because the pollution seems atrocious.
A dentist friend cycles it daily on his work journey. Cycles sensibly and
illegally use the footpath. I suggest using the wrong footpath as there
are some pretty wide, overhanging vehicles which squeeze through the 7' 6"
width restricting bollards. There are cameras on both approaches to
encourage compliance with the 20 limit.

The speed cameras you mention appear to be normal Gatsos which aren't linked
to each other, and they are only present on the approach roads to the the
tunnel mouths so there isn't any speed enforcement in the tunnel itself.
This is unlike the SPECS system that's now in use on Tower Bridge to enforce
the 20mph limit which uses a pair of cameras at different spots and
calculates the intervening speed of vehicles - see
http://www.abd.org.uk/local/city_of_london.htm and
http://www.abd.org.uk/specs.htm.

Regarding cyclists, I think I've seen them going both directions on both
footpaths (but I've only ever seen a single cyclist down there at anyone
time). Your suggestion about using the 'wrong' footpath and facing the
oncoming traffic is of course most wise, though it does beg the question of
what might happen if two cyclists or a cyclist and one of these very rare
breed of hardy Rotherhithe Tunnel pedestrians might meet whilst down there!

It is of course not even remotely a sensible route for cyclists and
pedestrians, and it's not exactly that sensible a route for motor traffic
either! I have found it a good cross-river route at times though, but don't
have much experience of using it at rush-hour which I can imaginbe might be
somewhat hellish. Cyclists would be far better heading to London Bridge or
to the Greenwich foot tunnel and wheeling their bike through it.

However it's just one of the stupid things I feel I should do once - I won't
do it when inebriated though!

Perhaps some day over the rainbox the powers that be might give up on
motorised traffic through the Rotherhithe Tunnel and dedicate it as a walk
and cycleway. And then I'll consume my hat!

"Walter Briscoe" wrote in message
...
In message . com of Thu,
20 Sep 2007 09:03:36 in uk.transport.london, Mizter T
writes

[snip]

The other fact I like about the Rotherhithe Tunnel is that alongside
the 34,000 vehicles that use it daily there are 20 brave pedestrians
who walk through it! I've no idea if the pavement through the tunnel

Where did you find that?

is officially shared by pedestrians and cyclists, but certainly no-one
will begrudge those cyclists who do take this subterranean route for
cycling on the pavement (which is what they do) given the very narrow
of the roadway.

I have walked through it once in each direction. It took me about 15
minutes. I would not recommend it because the pollution seems atrocious.
A dentist friend cycles it daily on his work journey. Cycles sensibly and
illegally use the footpath. I suggest using the wrong footpath as there
are some pretty wide, overhanging vehicles which squeeze through the 7' 6"
width restricting bollards. There are cameras on both approaches to
encourage compliance with the 20 limit.


Wasn't it built with separate entrance stairss for pedestrians, nearer the
river, a bit like the Greenwich foot tunnel? Are they the round buildings
you can see above the route?

Paul

Mizter T wrote:
"Walter Briscoe" wrote:
In message . com of
Thu, 20 Sep 2007 09:03:36 in uk.transport.london, Mizter T
writes

[snip]

The other fact I like about the Rotherhithe Tunnel is that alongside
the 34,000 vehicles that use it daily there are 20 brave pedestrians
who walk through it! I've no idea if the pavement through the tunnel

Where did you find that?

I was bored one day...

Are you a tunnel?

Richard J. wrote:
John Rowland wrote:
John Rowland wrote:
The interweb says that there are four shafts, but I can only see
three. Does anyone know if shaft 4 (the northernmost one) is still
there?
Incidentally, on the shot here
http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v...3373&encType=1
you can see that the Rotherhithe Tunnel Southern Approach has its
own bridge over the East London Line.

Incidentally no. 2...

When you're coming out of the tunnel at the Rotherhithe end, the
road splits into 3 lanes just before the roundabout , and the right
one is bizarrely marked "ROTH TUN'L". I imagine this is supposed to
say "ROTH STN" or some such.

It says "ROTH HTHE" (= Rotherhithe). It's easier to see on Google
Earth.

I'm usually in one of the other lanes, but today I deliberately used this
lane. It says "ROTH HITHE". I'm not sure how I got it so wrong before.

Mizter T wrote:
"Walter Briscoe" wrote:
.... I can imagine that it might seem like an
attractive route option late at night after one has been imbibing in a
hostelry - or perhaps I should say that I can almost imagine that *my*
fuzzified mind might think along those lines! That's perhaps the worst time
to walk though because as well as the wobble factor some cars do speed
through there late at night ...

is officially shared by pedestrians and cyclists, but certainly no-one
will begrudge those cyclists who do take this subterranean route for
cycling on the pavement (which is what they do) given the very narrow
of the roadway.

I have walked through it once in each direction. It took me about 15
minutes. I would not recommend it because the pollution seems atrocious.
A dentist friend cycles it daily on his work journey. Cycles sensibly and
illegally use the footpath. I suggest using the wrong footpath as there
are some pretty wide, overhanging vehicles which squeeze through the 7' 6"
width restricting bollards. There are cameras on both approaches to
encourage compliance with the 20 limit.

Regarding cyclists, I think I've seen them going both directions on both
footpaths (but I've only ever seen a single cyclist down there at anyone
time). Your suggestion about using the 'wrong' footpath and facing the
oncoming traffic is of course most wise, though it does beg the question of
what might happen if two cyclists or a cyclist and one of these very rare
breed of hardy Rotherhithe Tunnel pedestrians might meet whilst down there!

It is of course not even remotely a sensible route for cyclists and
pedestrians, and it's not exactly that sensible a route for motor traffic
either!

I went through last week, southbound, in the middle of the day. The
tunnel goes went exactly where I was going, and with a lot more miles
to do that day I didn't fancy the detours via Greenwich or Tower
Bridge. The pollution didn't seem too bad - what got me was the slope up.

I didn't even consider using the footway. It looked about a yard wide,
and would have meant trying to ride a foot from the wall on one side
and the traffic on the other.

The slope in was a breeze - steady 22 mph, so no-one could complain
about being held up. On the way out speed gradually dropped to 13 -
somewhat annoying to those behind, but if you do the sums it probably
delayed them about 20 seconds compared to someone doing 20 all the way.

Of course, if I'd slowed below 10, they could have legally crossed the
solid white line to pass me - in the few gaps in traffic the other way.

However it's just one of the stupid things I feel I should do once - I won't
do it when inebriated though!

Certainly not stupid, and I'd do it again - but not very often and
probably not at busier times.

Colin McKenzie

--
No-one has ever proved that cycle helmets make cycling any safer at
the population level, and anyway cycling is about as safe per mile as
walking.
Make an informed choice - visit www.cyclehelmets.org.

On 21 Sep, 10:49, "Q" ..@.. wrote:
"John B" wrote in message

ups.com...

Blimey, you mean it's legal to walk through it? Always assumed it was
strictly motorway-tunnel-style "no pedestrians, cyclist, horses or
stuff that's on fire".

Yep you can walk through it. I have done an amount of technical work
relating to that tunnel and even we are amazed that people choose to walk
through let alone cycle! I don't even like it when I have to go down for
work (Either driving through, or at night when its closed)

If you are planning a trip then don't hang around its gets quite 'foggy'
down there some days and everything is soot covered (So touch nothing!) and
watch out for the vans as the come round the bends - you don't want to get
taken out by a wing mirror.

I've both walked and cycled through the tunnel.

For anybody contemplating walking I'd say "don't do it" simply to
avoid having to breathe in toxic air for 20 mins. It definitely made
me feel that I was damaging my lungs.

As for cycling, it's not too bad - as Colin M has said it's downhill
into the tunnel and you can reach the 20mph limit fairly easily. A
queue of traffic built up behind me as I climbed out of the tunnel but
I didn't experience any harassment from the car behind. If I found
myself on my bike in Rotherhithe and needed to get to Shadwell I'd
probably use it again. It definitely felt safer than navigating the
huge gyratory system on the north side of Tower Bridge.

PaulO