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London: The City of the Future
In recent years, London has been absolutely booming, you could even suggest that at the moment it's the centre of the world. However, in order to stay relevant, the city is going to have to launch itself into the future, and fast! With that in mind, here are 5 proposed plans that would definitely help London become the Tokyo of the West:
1) Garden Bridge - Proposed Date: 2018
Conceived by actress Joanna Lumley in 1998 and brought to life by famous designer Thomas Heatherwick (the man who brought us the new Routemaster!), the Garden Bridge is pretty self-explanatory - a botanical bridge between Temple Station in the North Bank, to South Bank. Costing £175million, Construction is due to begin in January 2016 and should be completed by 2018... but knowing construction in London, expect it to be ready at least a year later.
2) Thames Deckway - Proposed Date: 2023
A proposed 24/7 floating cycle track between Battersea and Canary Wharf, the Thames Deckway has been proposed in order to relieve London of it's huge congestion problems and create safer roads. At a predicted cost of £600million, the project won't be cheap, but it is not even in research stage yet, with an Indiegogo page recently set up in order to raise £175,000 to be put towards research and redefining the Thames Deckway masterplace.
3) Thames Baths Project - Proposed Date: 2023
After hearing the plans of Thames Water to improve their sewage system and increasing the Thames water purity by 2023, Studio Octopi (a London-based architecture agency) have proposed the development of new Swimming Baths at Victoria Embankment. There are no current plans for construction yet, and even if it is constructed, don't expect to be able to swim in there 'cause it'll be immensely popular... in the Summer months anyway.
4) SkyCycle - Proposed Date: N/A
Dreamt up by Architecture firm Foster and Partners, SkyCycle would follow the existing London suburban rail service and will provide over 130 miles car-free cycle routes and over 200 entrance routes... a bike fanatic's wet dream. Sadly, that's all this plan is, a dream. With no confirmation that it will be built, SkyCycle is definitely something for the future.
5) 24/7 Tube Service - Propsed Date: Seemingly Never
With the proposal of 24 hour weekend tubes causing much outrage among tube drivers city-wide, it seems like we'll never get to go home at 4am on the tube after a night up London. So, for now, forget about 24/7 tubes, unless the proposed Siemens, AI-driven 'Inspirio' comes to our rails.
Sam
