The Death of London's Garden Bridge, and the End Of An Era

It’s over. After years of debate and funding battles, London’s proposed Garden Bridge has finally received what must surely be its death sentence. London Mayor Sadiq Khan announced Friday that the city would not cover the project’s maintenance costs, which were a precondition for its approval but would have placed an open-ended (and never quantified), financial burden on the city.

This death has been a long time coming. Initially, the concept of a foliage-filled bridge—and the attractive renderings that came with it—had a ring of charm to them. But the Garden Bridge’s extremely murky procurement process, hazy costs, and utter lack of practical benefits soured the public against it, not to mention the funds it would have taken from city transit bodies, and the heavy security many thought it required.