London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s bike bridge over the River Thames is branded a ‘vanity project’ as estimated cost ‘doubles to £400 million’
- The cycling and pedestrian bridge would link Canary Wharf with Rotherhithe
- It has drawn comparisons to predecessor Boris Johnson’s failed Garden Bridge
- There are concerns that not enough people would use the 590ft bridge
Sadiq Khan’s plan to build a huge bridge over the Thames has been branded a ‘vanity project’
A plan by London Mayor Sadiq Khan to build a huge cycling and pedestrian bridge over the River Thames has been branded a ‘vanity project’ amid claims that its estimated cost has doubled to £400 million.
Transport for London (TfL) has already forked out £11.6 million on the proposed bridge linking Canary Wharf with Rotherhithe in East London.
But there are concerns that too few people would use the 590ft-long structure.
Opponents claim Mr Khan is repeating the mistakes of the ‘Garden Bridge’ fiasco when the cost of a footbridge championed by his predecessor Boris Johnson reached £200 million before it was axed, left taxpayers with a £46.4 million bill.
A proposal for the Garden Bridge, which was never built after Mr Khan’s predecessor Boris Johnson spent £200 million before the project was axed
‘This could be another Garden Bridge,’ said Karryn Beaumont, a chartered accountant who is leading the opposition.
‘The cost is astronomical. It’s nothing more than a £400 million taxpayer-funded vanity project.’
A spokesman for the Mayor said there was ‘significant public support’ for the plan and the final cost would be ‘determined once the design work has been completed’.
Source: Read Full Article