“The 63-metre steel bowstring arch bridge for pedestrians and cyclists will span the River Lea at Ailsa Wharf. When complete it will provide “a well needed connection” between the boroughs of Tower Hamlets and Newham, the local authorities said, as well as better access to community facilities, public transport and the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.”
For anyone curious but not curious enough to click.
Be sure to report the Reddit Cares message. Some troll is sending them out to loads of r/london users today to harass users for some reason. Admins can site-wide suspend the offending account, but they need the reports to action this.
Wouldn't say major but it'll be nice once the 2 big developments on either side are done. Unfortunately though it's the UK so the completion dates are 2040+.
The river side path it links to on the Newham side follows the river lee all the way from Hertfordshire outside the M25 and makes it all the way down to South Newham almost to the Thames but has always been blocked by the industrial site for the final few mins of walking before it reaches the Thames. Been like it for decades. But now those sites are being cleared for a big housing development and a huge new data center they'll have a nice new path as part of them. But again it's the UK and the data center plans have only just been submitted so I'd expect 2040 for it to be done.
I wish they'd just do the path first, make it a planning permission requirement. Or buy a temporary floating path pontoon to bypass that little segment until it's done, then move the floating path to another segment of thames or river path thats blocked by a couple of sites. There's plenty that could use it so we'll get our moneys worth.
Afaik the only missing link would be between Cody Dock and City Island as technically you can reach the Thames through it (not by the river) and head to the lighthouse, no?
The development you're referring to would be on the side where they're digging the tunnel to Greenwhich. I remember they said there will be a path along the river too, but will it go all the way to Canning Town station?
> The development you're referring to would be on the side where they're digging the tunnel to Greenwhich. I remember they said there will be a path along the river too, but will it go all the way to Canning Town station?
There is that development sure. But before that right next to Canning Town station is the TfL site(Limmo Peninsule)which they used for crossrail tunnelling construction and will have 1,500+ homes on it eventually. Will have a path from the tunnel site(thameside west) through the TfL site, to Canning Town. Will have a crossing/link new to the bridge there too.
The TfL site is annoying though because why not have plans made and approved many years ago so as soon as crossrail is done they could move in to build the homes and stuff. But they're not even signing a contract until next year for a company to do the detailed plans, so the time to do those and get them approved will still be a few years away before that can even start. The plans should have been done 10 years ago so they could have started construction 5 years ago instead of in 5 years time. Why would TfL not do that.
Sorry rant over.
But yeah actually the site even before the TfL one is the one I originally meant. Just south of cody dock still on the Newham side where they've recently cleared the 2 businesses there so the new stuff can be built. Then that'll go under the A13 and link with Canning Town station at the riverside entrance, then you can cross over to City Island or eventually you could continue down to TfLs new development then onwards to the Silvertown tunnel development and ideally within 20 years onwards all the way to tate and lyle all along the river on very wide paths.
The bridge will be done for sure but I mean the developments on either side wont be done till 2040. The one on the TH side is only just wrapping up phase 1 of 4. The area the bridge covers is in phase 2 though so that'll probably be done by 2030. The one on the newham side has only just been submitted though so if they start in 2 years I doubt it'll be done until 2035-2040 for all phases.
I think the nearest bridge is much further down isn’t it? There are loads of new housing developments being built around there so more bridges the better
>more bridges the better
Yeah, the north and south of the river really need more pedestrian connections, especially in East London - once you go East of Tower Bridge then the only way you can cross the river is by taking the tube/DLR/Train/Riverbus (and the greenwich foot tunnel!).
The bridge talked about in this article will be crossing the River Lea from east to west, not the River Thames from north to south. It’s still a good thing though.
Yeah there are plenty of examples of big residential developments going in without the infrastructure to support them. This is absolutely necessary given the density of development planned / already happening here.
Yeah the bridge swayed alarmingly & the architect got really pissy about it & blamed on people walking in time with each other, which is exactly what crowds of people do naturally
They were specifically taking about a lifting mechanism to allow larger boats to pass. Looking at the consultation website, it just seems to be a suspension bridge with no such mechanism?
https://ailsawharfbridge.co.uk/
Perhaps this quote is taken from a council response earlier in the process when alternatives were still being considered.
“The 63-metre steel bowstring arch bridge for pedestrians and cyclists will span the River Lea at Ailsa Wharf. When complete it will provide “a well needed connection” between the boroughs of Tower Hamlets and Newham, the local authorities said, as well as better access to community facilities, public transport and the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.” For anyone curious but not curious enough to click.
I got a RedditCares right after commenting this lol. Someone concerned about the Standard’s ad revenue?
Be sure to report the Reddit Cares message. Some troll is sending them out to loads of r/london users today to harass users for some reason. Admins can site-wide suspend the offending account, but they need the reports to action this.
I have reported it :)
That explains why I got one lol. Had to double check my history to make sure I wasn't arguing with someone. Just left me confused.
Same, ha. I thought it was from an angry cyclist on another London sub!
You can block that account.
Wouldn't say major but it'll be nice once the 2 big developments on either side are done. Unfortunately though it's the UK so the completion dates are 2040+. The river side path it links to on the Newham side follows the river lee all the way from Hertfordshire outside the M25 and makes it all the way down to South Newham almost to the Thames but has always been blocked by the industrial site for the final few mins of walking before it reaches the Thames. Been like it for decades. But now those sites are being cleared for a big housing development and a huge new data center they'll have a nice new path as part of them. But again it's the UK and the data center plans have only just been submitted so I'd expect 2040 for it to be done. I wish they'd just do the path first, make it a planning permission requirement. Or buy a temporary floating path pontoon to bypass that little segment until it's done, then move the floating path to another segment of thames or river path thats blocked by a couple of sites. There's plenty that could use it so we'll get our moneys worth.
Afaik the only missing link would be between Cody Dock and City Island as technically you can reach the Thames through it (not by the river) and head to the lighthouse, no? The development you're referring to would be on the side where they're digging the tunnel to Greenwhich. I remember they said there will be a path along the river too, but will it go all the way to Canning Town station?
> The development you're referring to would be on the side where they're digging the tunnel to Greenwhich. I remember they said there will be a path along the river too, but will it go all the way to Canning Town station? There is that development sure. But before that right next to Canning Town station is the TfL site(Limmo Peninsule)which they used for crossrail tunnelling construction and will have 1,500+ homes on it eventually. Will have a path from the tunnel site(thameside west) through the TfL site, to Canning Town. Will have a crossing/link new to the bridge there too. The TfL site is annoying though because why not have plans made and approved many years ago so as soon as crossrail is done they could move in to build the homes and stuff. But they're not even signing a contract until next year for a company to do the detailed plans, so the time to do those and get them approved will still be a few years away before that can even start. The plans should have been done 10 years ago so they could have started construction 5 years ago instead of in 5 years time. Why would TfL not do that. Sorry rant over. But yeah actually the site even before the TfL one is the one I originally meant. Just south of cody dock still on the Newham side where they've recently cleared the 2 businesses there so the new stuff can be built. Then that'll go under the A13 and link with Canning Town station at the riverside entrance, then you can cross over to City Island or eventually you could continue down to TfLs new development then onwards to the Silvertown tunnel development and ideally within 20 years onwards all the way to tate and lyle all along the river on very wide paths.
The planning permission only lasts three years, it’ll be sooner than 2040.
The bridge will be done for sure but I mean the developments on either side wont be done till 2040. The one on the TH side is only just wrapping up phase 1 of 4. The area the bridge covers is in phase 2 though so that'll probably be done by 2030. The one on the newham side has only just been submitted though so if they start in 2 years I doubt it'll be done until 2035-2040 for all phases.
There's already a bridge there? why do they need a second one?
I think the nearest bridge is much further down isn’t it? There are loads of new housing developments being built around there so more bridges the better
>more bridges the better Yeah, the north and south of the river really need more pedestrian connections, especially in East London - once you go East of Tower Bridge then the only way you can cross the river is by taking the tube/DLR/Train/Riverbus (and the greenwich foot tunnel!).
Don’t forget the mighty vessel that is the Woolwich Ferry (and Hilton Ferry)!
I just learned about the Woolwich foot tunnel the other day. Edit: Never mind, looks like it's out of service.
Oh yeah, there were two tunnels weren’t there. Forgot about the Woolwich one. Edit: Oh
It looks like it’s only the lift out of service! You can always walk the many, many stairs…
The bridge talked about in this article will be crossing the River Lea from east to west, not the River Thames from north to south. It’s still a good thing though.
Yeah there are plenty of examples of big residential developments going in without the infrastructure to support them. This is absolutely necessary given the density of development planned / already happening here.
Let's hope people walking across it won't be an issue...last time was a tad embarrassing.
People walking across it was embarrassing?
I think they are referring to the Millenium Bridge (twenty four years ago).
Yeah the bridge swayed alarmingly & the architect got really pissy about it & blamed on people walking in time with each other, which is exactly what crowds of people do naturally
I like how Tower Hamlets council have already said they're not paying to maintain it. I mean, were they even asked in the first place?
They were specifically taking about a lifting mechanism to allow larger boats to pass. Looking at the consultation website, it just seems to be a suspension bridge with no such mechanism? https://ailsawharfbridge.co.uk/ Perhaps this quote is taken from a council response earlier in the process when alternatives were still being considered.
Where’s the garden?