A new walkway that connects Canning Town and Poplar has been opened.

East London Advertiser: Mayors of Newham and Tower Hamlets, Rokhsana Fiaz and John Biggs, at the opening of the new walkway linking the two boroughs. Picture: Andrew BakerMayors of Newham and Tower Hamlets, Rokhsana Fiaz and John Biggs, at the opening of the new walkway linking the two boroughs. Picture: Andrew Baker (Image: Andrew Baker)

Mayor of Newham Rokhsana Fiaz joined her counterpart in Tower Hamlets, John Biggs, to unveil the £593,000 project.

The footpath, which took nine months to build, allows people to walk or cycle from Silvocea Way to Canning Town station, avoiding the busy A13.

It will contribute to both boroughs' ambition to provide a single route linking the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park with the River Thames.

Ms Fiaz said: "This new walkway will make walking and cycling to work a viable option for many more people in the two boroughs. It also opens up the River Lea river park and will allow Newham to make the most of its waterways."

Mr Biggs added: "I'm delighted that this important Lea River Park connection is now complete. It has been many years in the making and I know it was no easy feat.

"It will provide a great link to Canning Town for the residents of Tower Hamlets and specifically from Aberfeldy Estate, away from the A13."

Both mayors are involved in a joint Leaway forum, with the two boroughs working together to improve the area along the River Lea.

It was designed and built by Newham's highways and traffic engineers, with a team from Aberfeldy LLP - who are developing Poplar's Aberfeldy Village estate - contributing towards landscaping, tree planting, graffiti cleaning, light columns and path surfacing works.

Ms Fiaz added that the new link would help to reach Newham's environmental targets.

She said: "This path will provide residents with the opportunity to choose alternative methods of travelling around London, for example walking or cycling.

"This will help to contribute to reducing pollution and help Newham reach its target of being carbon neutral by 2030 and carbon zero by 2050."

And it won't be the last time the two boroughs will collaborate to make improvements in east London, either.

Mr Biggs said: "I'm looking forward to working on more projects with Mayor Fiaz, including the new parks, footpaths, cycle and pedestrian bridges proposed along the River Lea."