New river crossing between Rotherhithe and Canary Wharf? Have your say

Sharing for our members that commute to CW and might benefit from a pedestrian crossing over the river:

https://consultations.tfl.gov.uk/rivercrossings/rotherhithe-canarywharf/?cid=r2cw-crossing

I doubt many pedestrians will walk for 25 minites from Canad Water to the river (and longer to get to Canary Wharf). It will benefit people who live in Rotherhithe (in terms of their connections to the rest of London and in terms of house prices).

For cyclists i would expect it to be very beneficial.

Can i suggest we plant it with trees and shrubs and create a green vista across the Thames. We could call it a ‘garden bridge’.

This is a win-win. Will reduce congestion on Canada Water station, and offer a cheaper alternative than the expensive but brief river ferry option between the Hilton and Canary Wharf.

For people living at the far end of Salter Road, it’s the best part of 20 mins walk to Canada Water.

The Rotherhithe peninsula is a lovely bit of the River to walk along, but currently disconnected!

Rotherhithe to Canary Wharf Crossing: Project Update

"Dear Stakeholder

You have previously responded to a consultation on, or shown an interest in the proposed new pedestrian and cycle crossing between Rotherhithe and Canary Wharf. I would like to update you that having now investigated the potential for a bridge in greater detail we have decided to pause our work on this option, as we do not believe it is affordable at this time.

We still believe there remains a strong case for a new river crossing for pedestrians and cyclists between Rotherhithe and Canary Wharf to relieve congestion on existing transport links, encourage more active travel and support growth in the Canada Water and Isle of Dogs Opportunity Areas. We will therefore now be exploring options for a new fast ferry service to provide an improved route across the river for pedestrians and cyclists.

We have carried out a substantial amount of complex and in-depth work to develop proposals for a bridge in this location following consultation and engagement with stakeholders. This would be a world-first piece of infrastructure and we now have a high-quality design, detailed procedures for how it would operate and plans for how it could be built.

As we have developed this complex scheme however, it has become clear that the cost will be substantially greater than we originally anticipated. Further, we have been unable to identify any other substantial funding sources. Given the continued pressure on TfL’s finances we do not believe the bridge will be affordable at this time. We will take our work on design, construction and operational plans to a logical end point to ensure that this can be reviewed and picked up again in the future.

We will provide a further update once our proposals for a ferry service have progressed. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to get in touch."

So that’s sad, but basically they are admitting they don’t have the money - which is understandable given the current financial position of tfl. The following report suggests they break even in 2021-2022, after fare increases in 2020, and presumably under a new Mayor:

I guess if all goes well, they may reopen the river crossing ideas after that time, unless it could become a Mayoral election issue.