Photo taken by Victoria Newman, XFM News.
After the reconstruction of Blackfriars Bridge, some believed that the use of the bridge would resume to what it had previously been- for pedestrians and cars. But that was not the case. As many know, currently, Blackfriars Bridge is only open for pedestrians.
“Right now and throughout the COVID pandemic, it has been closed to motor vehicles, and designated as a shared space for pedestrians and bicyclists,” said Doug MacRae, the Director of Roads and Transportation for the City of London.
This is because in the early days of COVID, the city did a review of “pinch points” within the transportation network in the city of London. They saw that there was a focus on bridges since social distancing was of utmost importance for everyone and their well-being.
“Blackfriars Bridge was identified as our first shared space conversion and the elimination of vehicles on it. Because of its narrow sidewalk that’s the result of its 1875 heritage design that really sort of confines pedestrians into a narrow sidewalk between the railing and the bridge truss, and also the location of it and the linkage between the pathways on either side of the river and the high number of pedestrians that use it on a daily basis. So, given all those factors it was identified as a shared space and we’ve continued to monitor that… and we’ll continue that monitoring to determine our future course of action,” he said.
But when asked if the bridge will ever open up again to motor vehicles, MacRae said that it is a possibility.
“But it’s anticipated at this time that it would return that that previous use. But that said, there is a future consultation and community discussion that we’ve committed to to revisiting whether that is the consensus on the way the bridge should be used or if it should be changed.”
But for right, due to the pandemic, the bridge will remain open only for pedestrians and cyclists to ensure they feel safe, maintain their ability to travel to the pathways on either side, and are able to abide by public health guidelines.
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