Twenty five new cycling corridors have been identified in London where, it is said, infrastructure investment will make the biggest impact.

 

They include Shepherd’s Bush to Southall in the west; Canning Town to Barking in the east; Kentish Town to Wood Green in the north; and Streatham to Oval in the south.

 

Transport for London will now work with boroughs to conduct feasibility studies and develop cycling schemes that will help to deliver a long term strategic cycle network for London, as part of the Mayor’s forthcoming transport strategy.

 

London’s walking and cycling commissioner Will Norman said: “We’re committed to improving cycling provision right across the capital as we work to make physical activity a bigger part of Londoners’ everyday lives.

 

“While we are working hard to build new Cycle Superhighways and Quietways now, it’s also important that we look ahead to expand the cycling network and create the next generation of routes.” 

 

Data analysis is being used by Transport for London to identify where the next generation of cycling provision could make the biggest impact. Population growth forecasts, safety data and existing demand are among the factors being considered.

 

New figures show the dramatic growth in cycling that new routes have provided since 2014. They include a 54% increase in cycling along the East-West Cycle Superhighway from Parliament Square to Tower Hill, a 32% increase along the entire North-South Cycle Superhighway, and a 56% increase in cycling along Quietway 1 from Greenwich to Waterloo.

 

Transport for London says that more than half a million kilometres are ridden by cyclists on the average day within central London, a rise of seven per cent in three years. The busiest spots on the network are at Temple on the East-West Cycle Superhighway, Kennington Park on Cycle Superhighway 7 and Blackfriars Bridge on the North-South Cycle Superhighway.

 

Cycling UK’s policy director Roger Geffen said: “It is very encouraging to see how Transport for London is now developing and prioritising long term plans for comprehensive, joined-up cycle networks – not just individual disconnected cycle facilities that give up just when you most need them. We wholeheartedly commend this approach and urge other towns and cities to follow suit.”

 

He added that Transport for London now needs to “crack on” with delivering the highest priority schemes on the ground. “The most recent Cycle Superhighways are much improved compared with earlier schemes.

 

“However London’s cycle network needs to keep growing and improving if cycling is to become as ‘normal’ as it is in Denmark or the Netherlands, with all the health, environmental, economic and quality of life benefits that this would bring.”

 

London’s new 25 cycling investment corridors:

 

NORTH:

 

EAST:

 

SOUTH:

 

WEST:

 

(Photo: European Cyclists' Federation and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence)