Why even car-hating urbanists should support building the Lower Thames Crossing

Some of the arguments used to support it are bad but we should build it anyway

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I hate my car.

It was purchased out of necessity when my partner and I moved out of London a few years ago, to an area where public transport is virtually non-existent.

And since then, my fury at the vehicle on my driveway has only grown.

I despair that outside of my house there is essentially a ticking time-bomb that randomly explodes. A couple of times a year, something will go wrong, requiring us to spend hundreds of pounds on a mechanic at short notice. And we can’t simply choose not to pay, because it will mean that we’re stranded.

I also hate what driving does to you psychologically, as I’m convinced that when you’re behind the wheel it breaks your brain, because it makes you think that you are the main character in the world – and that every mild inconvenience is the world conspiring against you.

I see it happen to myself. My brain tells me that queuing traffic, the car in front driving too slowly, or having to stop and give way to another vehicle is some grand injustice aimed specifically at me. Cars prime us for anger.

But the worst thing is because of the way Britain is built, outside of the centre of a select few cities, we have no alternative but to drive the rage box.

That’s why my car hate is also ideological.

Because I wish it could be different. My idea of a utopian society is basically the Netherlands – where dense towns and cities are served by abundant trams, buses and bikes. It’s not only better for the climate, and for congestion, it’s just a fundamentally more elegant way to live.

In other words, despite worrying that I would eventually go native and become a suburban car guy after moving out of London, three years on I am still the sort of ‘urbanist’ bore who advocates for public transport, and cycle lanes.

And this is important because of what I’m about to say next.

As despite being a transit bro, I can’t help but see the clear logic behind a major new motorway scheme.

However much I want to hate the £9bn project and argue the money should instead be spent on railways or trams, I just… can’t. Because building this enormous new road is a very good idea.

I’m talking, of course, about the Lower Thames Crossing (LTC), which is the proposed new motorway that will join up the North-East section of the M25 around London, with the Dover-bound motorways in Kent, crossing under the river in an enormous tunnel in the process.

These renders are supposed to be realistic but the weather is nothing like Britain.

And what makes the LTC particularly important now is that Transport Secretary Louise Haigh¹ is soon expected to make a final decision on whether to build it.

If the tunnel is approved, it means six new lanes of tarmac over what was previously farmland and woodland, and the creation of what will surely become one of the busiest roads in the country ripping through land close to what used to be sleepy villages.

And it will all be in the service of enabling private cars and lorries to travel more easily. There will be no accompanying train tunnel, and because it is a motorway, cyclists will literally be banned. So for ideological urbanist reasons, I should surely absolutely detest the plans.

But as I say, weirdly, I don’t. In fact, I’m convinced the Lower Thames Crossing is absolutely essential infrastructure. I hope that the Transport Secretary gives it a big thumbs up. Here’s why.