Garden Bridge

[womanofdulwich]

I am very disappointed in the Mayors decision. We cant house people, we cant provide the health care they need let alone educate them and yet we can invest in this? What a sell out. :(

[steveo]

?38 million already spent.

Yep, you heard right

http://londonist.com/2016/05/mayor-says-garden-bridge-would-cost-more-to-cancel-than-go-ahead?utm_content=buffer6522b&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

[Jah Lush]

Complete and utter waste of money. Not one of Boris's better ideas. Not that he had any good ones that I can think of... No, can't think of one. An utterly useless Mayor who has left us with this utter shitheap of a bridge. God help us if he ever makes it to Number 10.

[*Bob*]

You never know with these things though do you? The 'Millennium Wheel' hardly got a warm reception during design, construction and opening - and yet there it still is - one of the most popular attractions in London. Sometimes you don't see it until after it's been sucked.

I'm ambivalent on the bridge itself, but if you take the general 'why?' argument to its logical conclusion - what other things are also superfluous to basic human requirements like shelter, heat and food? What else don't we 'need'? Well.. that would be 'most other things'. In which case, we shouldn't bother doing anything extraneous while other things need doing more.

Half of historic London that most people who live here and get to enjoy was built at a time when most of the population were washing in mud and eating their own faeces.

[Nigello]

Could have gone to helping improve rail services to SE London and/or putting in a tram or even a trolleybus system from Camberwell (for example) to Aldwych. It is a nice looking project but it ought never to have been a priority.

[????]

He got rid of the bendy buses, that's worth something IMO

On the other hand, looking forward to the new mayor's idea of making our commute more comfortable, less crowded and better by freezing fares ......yup, Labour economic know how shining though - reduce LT investment and make it cheaper to travel, that'll fix overcrowding *scratches head*

All a bunch of twats in my view...

[DulwichFox]

When it comes to The 'Millennium Wheel' although it does make money.. the Government did miss out.

It they had legalised Cannabis the 32 pods would of made excellent greenhouses rotating like a giant rotisserie

in the summer sun.. :)

Foxy

[Earl Aelfheah]

As an 'attraction' it's one thing. My big issue is that once again (as with the gondola) Boris raided the TFL budget, claiming that it wasn't just a tourist attraction, or vanity project, but an important piece of transport infrastructure. But then Boris repeatedly gets away with outrageous untruths, lazy misjudgments and bad behavior.... basically because he's quite funny, has a well practice bumbling persona and floppy hair. It's maddening.

The London Eye was funded privately and wasn't built at the expense of desperately needed transport improvements.

[steveo]

Here's why it is...

A Bridge too Far

By the Dulwich Raider

http://deserter.co.uk/2015/09/a-garden-bridge-too-far/

[Jeremy]

Jah Lush Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> God help us if he ever makes it to Number 10.

Luckily I don't think that will ever happen. I think he's burning his bridges (ha) with the tory party at the moment.

[*Bob*]

You can't have a piss in the turbine hall either, or busk, or build a fire, or have a water fight, or do any other number of things.

But people seem to have accepted that that's not what it's for, so it's not really a big problem.

[????]

You really think so Jeremy? Burning bridges with Cameron (who'll be gone) and Osbourne whose political capital is dropping, maybe but the Tory party? Many Tory MPs and the majority of their members like/love him.

I suspect our choice in 2020 will be Johnson or Corbyn....brilliant eh? I can't wait....

[miga]

*Bob* - I agree people need beauty, as well as the basics. It would be a sad world if we lost orchestras, galleries, public parks etc. even if sometimes these things seem like fripperies in the face of housing shortages, the failing NHS and so on.

However, I think the Garden Bridge is a poor example even in this category. Our general part of London (SE) suffers from unmaintained public spaces, crumbling listed buildings and so on. The area where the garden bridge will be doesn't need further attractions. Why not make something beautiful in Plumstead, Catford or Penge?

Just a thought.

[Jeremy]

???? Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> You really think so Jeremy?

Well if the country votes decisively to remain (and I think we will) then I imagine the major parties are going to align themselves accordingly...

[maxxi]

Beauty? Attraction? The Gridge* is hideously ugly - like a couple of tupperware cake-stands.

"Grudge the Gridge" T-shirts available please send me ?16.99**

*Courtesy of the PR group that brought you "Brexit" and "BoJo".

**T-shirts and ink not supplied.

[Jeremy]

I like it - but in infrastructure terms, it's unnecessary.

Don't know off hand whether this could be justified purely in terms of the tourism industry?

[miga]

maxxi Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Beauty? Attraction? The Gridge* is hideously ugly

> - like a couple of tupperware cake-stands.

That's a matter of taste. The intent was to build something beautiful for the edification of the masses, with this infrastructure justification bolted on. My comment was more general on the subject of public spending needing to address acute social need.

[Seabag]

It feels unessasary and for that I'm wondering WTF

But in the grand scheme of London, a garden bridge is quite a nice idea

I like the bridge, but not Boris

[civilservant]

the garden bridge is being compared to the NY High Line - but the Peckham Coal Line would be a closer analogy, and that's not getting any Mayoral money. Boris may have got rid of bendy buses, but he replaced them with those ugly and pokey (have you ever gone upstairs on them?) fake Routemasters, also designed by the ubiquitous and over-rated Heatherwick

I will chiefly remember him as the man who caused my daily commute to work to double in length from one hour to two

[malumbu]

There is a stat on commuters using the cable car - 40 or something like that

What 40,000

No

40 hundred

No

40

Some daft vanity projects. Ken had some too.

Bendy buses dropped due to revenue - they were nice to sit in but shite to cycle past

[edcam]

All depends on how good it is. It would have to go some to match something like The High Line in NYC (which is fantastic and worth every penny (cent). Am looking forward to the Peckham Coal Line too.

[Michael Palaeologus]

The new Routemasters are small because they have to be. They are used on services that include roads that normal size double deckers cannot easily use. That is why bendy buses were tried, they are more maneuverable, but their length caused problems for other road users and they tended to end up bunched together. On some routes they were replaced by single deckers on others the new purpose designed Routemasters. So, not a vanity project, but required for s specific need.

I welcome the Garden Bridge. Yes, of course the money could be spent on other more worthy causes, but that is always the case whenever a new high profile development is mooted. No wobbly bridge, no London eye, no Tate Modern, no Globe Theatre, no Borough Market, no South Bank Centre.

The place would be dull and grey but terribly worthy.

[*Bob*]

RE new routemasters, it seems to me they've sacrificed window height on the top deck (which is what would make it feel nicer on the inside) in order to achieve the curvy roof (which looks nicer from the outside).. quite claustrophobic up top. You feel like you're in a tin can with a small window to look out of.

[Earl Aelfheah]

Michael Palaeologus Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> The new Routemasters are small because they have

> to be. They are used on services that include

> roads that normal size double deckers cannot

> easily use. That is why bendy buses were tried,

> they are more maneuverable, but their length

> caused problems for other road users and they

> tended to end up bunched together. On some routes

> they were replaced by single deckers on others the

> new purpose designed Routemasters. So, not a

> vanity project, but required for s specific need.

>

> I welcome the Garden Bridge. Yes, of course the

> money could be spent on other more worthy causes,

> but that is always the case whenever a new high

> profile development is mooted. No wobbly bridge,

> no London eye, no Tate Modern, no Globe Theatre,

> no Borough Market, no South Bank Centre.

>

> The place would be dull and grey but terribly

> worthy.

The point is that the Tate Modern, the Globe theatre etc., weren't paid for by funds diverted out of tfl's budget. My objection is not with creating 'attractions', but Boris plundering the transport budget to do so.

[Otta]

I think the bridge would be a wonderful addition to London if money was no object. But we shouldn't be spending on this when we're failing in so many areas.