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Visitors to London's controversial Garden Bridge when it opens in 2018 can expect to be monitored on CCTV and through the WiFi signals from their phones, a planning document has revealed.

The draft also shows plans to ban drones from flying over the bridge, though that would also seem to be covered under existing drone regulations.


The 77-page document -- which was submitted to Lambeth Borough Council as part of the planning process -- outlines how the Garden Bridge Trust will maintain a safe environment on the bridge. Only 2,500 people will be able to walk across the bridge at any one time, for an average of 15 to 25 minutes.

The Trust proposes monitoring visitor numbers using HD Smart CCTV, which will trigger an alert if too many people are counted. It will also track pedestrians using "the anonymous data code emitted by WiFi enable devices such as mobile phones."

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Stringent rules for what can be taken onto the bridge have also been laid out. Prohibited items include drones, kites and model aircraft, as well as "foot-propelled devices" (skateboards and scooters), musical instruments and alcohol. These are part of a longer list of 30 banned activities.


The seemingly idyllic bridge will cross the River Thames from Temple station, making a it a prime spot for views of St Paul's Cathedral and Somerset House. Construction on the £175 million project -- of which £30 million is from the Treasury, £10 million from TFL and the rest privately-funded -- is expected to start in 2016, and will be due to finish in 2018.

Caroline Pidgeon, a Liberal Democrat MP, fears the bridge exemplifies "a worrying trend of the privatisation of public places, where the rights of private owners trump those of ordinary people," according to the Guardian.

This document might serve only to further such fears; it outlines how "conditions of entry" will "maximise the will the opportunity provided by the status of the bridge as private land with permitted access, by introducing a set of conditions prior to opening to help manage the bridge environment." Sounds relaxing.