Improvements to Bishop's Bridge Road
A public realm action plan has been drawn up for Paddington’s Bishop’s Bridge Road, to address severance and make it safer for all users. Commissioned in February 2021, the action plan contains a wide range of ideas to tackle severance between Paddington Station and the surrounding Paddington Opportunity Area, centred on Bishop’s Bridge Road, between Eastbourne Terrace and Harrow Road.
Consultation Report
A consultation website went live in July and closed at the end of December 2022, where anyone could give their views, and any other ideas to improve Bishop's Bridge Road. You can read the full consultation report here.
The study, funded by Neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) through the Hyde Park Paddington Forum, dovetails with the emerging North Paddington Vision led by WCC’s Place-shaping team and is an extension to the City Council’s Paddington Places work. The ideas have been generated through extensive discussions with Westminster City Council, Network Rail, Canal and River Trust, Transport for London, Marylebone Boys' School and members of The Paddington Partnership.
Bishop’s Bridge Broad presents a barrier to pedestrian movement. Whereas a new pedestrian crossing has been commissioned at the Eastbourne Terrace end, the remaining three crossing points on the bridge frustrate pedestrian users, hamper access to bus stops and Paddington’s waterspace and have been identified by people who live and work locally as needing review.
The lack of cycling facilities is out of step with current thinking, pavements are cluttered with redundant signage and poles, and the coach stop can result in blocked pavements.
Wayfinding is poor, surfaces tired and there is a lack of contrast in terms of colour, character and green infrastructure.
Bishop's Bridge Road in its current form was opened in 2006. A project by Westminster Council had seen the replacement of previous structures over the canal and the railway. As the project was about to start, a 19th-century iron bridge designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel was discovered buried within the brickwork spanning the canal. Built in 1838, Brunel's bridge was designed without bolts, locking like a jigsaw, with bulb-headed cast iron girders, hidden for almost a century. The dismantled bridge remains in the care of English Heritage, in storage near Portsmouth. In a nod to this remarkable discovery, and Paddington's heritage, proposals for improving today's Bishop's Bridge Road could potentially incorporate engineering or artistic references to Brunel's original bridge over the canal.
Sightlines from the bridge are poor, with little indication that Paddington Station or the waterspace lie below. The bridge hides from view the many canalside assets and amenities on offer. It is often unclear how to access Paddington Station from Bishop's Bridge, with users passing the crossing before realising there are steps to the canalside.
For the majority of passengers leaving Paddington Station (and the Elizabeth line station) Bishop’s Bridge Road is the connector between Paddington Station, Paddington Central, Little Venice, Merchant Square and the canalside. Its current layout presents severance and crossing the road is daunting for many pedestrians, even if they are not first-time users. Undertaken by 5th Studio, the study identifies a series of ideas including widened pavements, an additional pedestrian crossing, green infrastructure, improved lighting, dedicated provision for cyclists, creating new sightlines to the canal below and public art.
