A lobby group has been pushing for a pedestrian bridge to be built linking Canary Wharf with Rotherhithe – a route currently serviced by either a ferry service or (via a short walk) the Jubilee Line. It is being reported, with the expected screams of anguish that the plan will not be getting any funding from Transport for London – and is hence highly unlikely to go ahead.

Now, I happen to think a pedestrian link between the two points would be very good, so while disappointed that a link is not going ahead, I am bouncing with delight that the proposed bridge has been scraped.

Something slender such as the wobbly millennium bridge at Bankside would add greatly to the area, but the proposed monstrosity would have ruined it. The bridge has to be over-sized for its usage due to the need to allow boats to pass upstream to Tower Bridge and hence it would dominate the area, and not in a good way.

Personally, I think a sunken tunnel would have been a much better idea. By dredging out a channel and then dropping in pre-cast concrete tunnel units, a large pedestrian/cyclist tunnel could have been swiftly built. I also note that there are two former dock inlets on both sides of the river which would provide ideal landing points and the necessary length for the tunnel to slope down to the sub-aqueous sections. Once the sloping tunnels entrances are built, the docks can be reinstated above them again to hide the tunnel.

I’d expect the cost to be similar to the bridge (if not cheaper) and it would not result in the gigantic spiral eyesore ruining the area.