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Segregated cycle lane planned for £600m east London bridgeProposed_Thames_bridge_in_east_London_(picture_credit_HOK_and_Arup)

Segregated cycle lane planned for £600m east London bridge

Plans unveiled for claimed much-needed link – but will it see the light of day?
by Simon_MacMichael
Tue, Jul 01, 2014 16:52
37

A design for a new £600 million bridge across the Thames in east London that would include a segregated cycle lane has been published by architects and engineers working on the proposed project. Whether it will see the light of day is another matter, with Mayor of London Boris Johnson having scrapped earlier plans for a similar crossing.

Campaigners led by the London Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI) say that the bridge, which would span the river between Beckton and Thamesmead, would help ensure an Olympic legacy for the east of the capital and improve transport links.

The concept, designed by architects HOK and consulting engineers Arup, was launched yesterday, the 120th anniversary of the opening of Tower Bridge. East of there, the capital has just two fixed river crossings for road traffic, the Rotherhithe and Blackwall Tunnels, with cyclists only permitted to use the former.

Other options for bike riders wishing to cross the river in the east of the city include the Greenwich and Woolwich Foot Tunnels – although they have to dismount – and the Woolwich Ferry.

Since the conclusion of a successful six-month trial, they are also permitted to use the Docklands Light Railway, which crosses the Thames at two points, and the Emirates Airline, with each car taking a maximum of two bicycles.

The only bridge currently downstream of Tower Bridge is outside Greater London, the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge linking Thurrock in Essex with Dartford in Kent, but to use it, or the Dartford Tunnel which runs northbound, cyclists need to be taken across in one of the crossing operators’ vehicles.

Colin Stanbridge, chief executive of LCCI, which has organised a petition to gather support for the bridge, said yesterday: "Nearly half of London's population lives east of Tower Bridge yet they are served by only two fixed road river crossings.

“It is an area with huge amounts of potential and while the Olympics acted as a crucible for creativity and dynamism in the area, its future growth is being held back by this gap in transport infrastructure.”

During his first term in office as mayor, Mr Johnson cancelled plans for a major river crossing in east London, but Mr Stanbridge is urging him to reconsider his stance.

He said: "We know that the Mayor shares our enthusiasm for helping the east of the capital to maximise its exciting reinvention. The area is currently attracting the worlds brightest and best whether to the financial heartland of Canary Wharf, the Royal Docks development or the high-tech firms flocking to Silicon Roundabout in Shoreditch.

"New road river crossings linking east and south east London over the Thames will bring new jobs and homes to an area of the capital that has been overlooked for too long," he added.

However, Green Party London Assembly Member Darren Johnson said that the proposed crossing was not wanted by locals, and that it would add to traffic and create more pollution.

He told the London Evening Standard: “This new road bridge will bring more traffic, congestion and pollution to the streets of east London.

"Local people have been rejecting this bridge for over thirty years and the latest set of pretty artist drawings won’t disguise the fact that this new road will bring pollution and traffic jams to their area. East London has been growing fast and has benefited from several new public transport links in the last few years.

“Evidence to the last public inquiry on this new road showed that it wouldn’t help the local economy, but it would create pollution and congestion.”

London
Simon MacMichael

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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37 comments

Avatar
glynr36 replied to bikebot | 9 years ago
0 likes
bikebot wrote:

I don't have any problem with that, in fact I support the principle. I just find it damn annoying when someone begrudges us spending any money on infrastructure of our own. If you're jealous of our smelly traffic congested bridges, then build your own!

Totally, I think most people are envious of the drive of the TfL policy, cycling or other forms, other LA's just seem to do bugger all about it

Avatar
levermonkey replied to Leodis | 9 years ago
0 likes
Leodis wrote:

Yet more UK taxpayers money spent on London with the odd scraps thrown to elsewhere.

Yes, and when the rest of the country can generate the same income from such a modest investment then ... 19

I came down to London in 2002. The difference then between a Crane Operator up in Yorkshire and a Crane Operator down here was about £25k a year. London and the South East are the massive engine that powers the UK economy. That is a fact whether you like it or not!

Avatar
OldRidgeback replied to Rich71 | 9 years ago
0 likes
Rich71 wrote:

Cycling in London is an utter nightmare,its a fantastic way to explore parts of the city you would never see but the state of the roads,the traffic and lack of dedicated cycling infrastructure make it a death trap for the novice cyclists
Id advise anyone planning to cycle not to unless you are very very experienced,strong fit with excellent bike handling skills
Despite all the bullshit emanating out of Bozo Bullingdon mayors putrid backside cycling safety and investment in London has been an illusion,a fake PR propaganda exercise apart from abit of paint splashed here and there with no segregation from road traffic whatsoever
This country is just a regressive cynical self serving selfish pit of shit run by public school scum who bank on the plebs to vote them in every 5 years and promptly give us all a good buggering for our efforts
nothing will change here,not now,not ever,NEVER
Britain is just an uncivilised backward shitheap and i expect to die on my bike by the likes of Mr Penishead,its inevitable

Calm down mate. You're going to burst a blood vessel at this rate
1

Avatar
OldRidgeback replied to Rich71 | 9 years ago
0 likes
Rich71 wrote:

Cycling in London is an utter nightmare,its a fantastic way to explore parts of the city you would never see but the state of the roads,the traffic and lack of dedicated cycling infrastructure make it a death trap for the novice cyclists
Id advise anyone planning to cycle not to unless you are very very experienced,strong fit with excellent bike handling skills
Despite all the bullshit emanating out of Bozo Bullingdon mayors putrid backside cycling safety and investment in London has been an illusion,a fake PR propaganda exercise apart from abit of paint splashed here and there with no segregation from road traffic whatsoever
This country is just a regressive cynical self serving selfish pit of shit run by public school scum who bank on the plebs to vote them in every 5 years and promptly give us all a good buggering for our efforts
nothing will change here,not now,not ever,NEVER
Britain is just an uncivilised backward shitheap and i expect to die on my bike by the likes of Mr Penishead,its inevitable

Calm down mate. You're going to burst a blood vessel at this rate
1

Avatar
jacknorell replied to Sven Ellis | 9 years ago
0 likes
Sven Ellis wrote:

...This bridge would probably only have 500m ramps, ie 10%. A bridge here may be bike-accessible, but it won't be bike-friendly.

So? I'd rather have the climb than another 8-10 miles of detour...

Avatar
OldRidgeback replied to jacknorell | 9 years ago
0 likes
jacknorell wrote:
Sven Ellis wrote:

...This bridge would probably only have 500m ramps, ie 10%. A bridge here may be bike-accessible, but it won't be bike-friendly.

So? I'd rather have the climb than another 8-10 miles of detour...

Yep, me too. I used to ride across the Forth Road Bridge very regularly and seem to have survived intact. Now that's a longer climb across a much windier bridge.

Avatar
Buffalo_Bill replied to OldRidgeback | 9 years ago
0 likes
OldRidgeback wrote:

The bridge is needed. The eastern part of London has crossings at Dartford and the Blackwall Tunnel and nothing in between, other than the Woolwich foot tunnel and of course the DLR and tube links. I'm curious how many of the people making negative comments in this thread about this proposed bridge live in east London, either to the south or north of the river. And how many of those slating the idea make regular journeys using the existing links? I'm guessing not many and I've noted that the positive comments in favour of the bridge seem to come from those who know the area and understand the transport problems.

The writer of the 853 blog post that I linked is actually a resident, and makes regular journeys using links.

As he says, what is needed is more links such as the East London Line, which is already running close to capacity only a few short years after opening, and has helped to put Haggerston back on the map after 40+ years in oblivion, not another road link.

A decent public transport link similar to the East London Line might help to regenerate Canning Town and North Greenwich, which are currently almost completely isolated from the rest of London, not least by the A13 trunk road, which shows how a big trunk road can decimate local neighbourhoods in cities, not regenerate them.

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