Comfort, safety and security

A quiet walking surface came out as an important response to the initial consultation. The new walking surface (resin bonded aggregate) will be continuous, quiet compared to a street pavement, and will provide excellent anti-slip performance compared to the existing bridge.

Other responses said the bridge and its immediate surrounds should be well lit in the evening and on winter afternoons to ensure that users feel safe and comfortable. The bridge will include functional lighting integrated in its railings and at the bridge ends to create a sense of safety. The lighting system will naturally guide people along the different paths and will be compatible with the environmental requirements (avoiding undesired light spills on the water). The bridge will also include operational lighting to signal when it is opening or about to open, part of it recessed on the walking surfaces, and navigation lighting below the deck to define the permanent channel for smaller vessels.

The bridge will have gates to stop people being on the moving span when it is moving or about to move. These gates will be recessed within the bridge structure. The movement of the gates when raising will naturally guide people out of the deck. The space available to wait on the structure, out of the quays, will be 84m2 on the North Quay and 227m2 on the South Quay.