Cyclists in London are promised greater protection from traffic under plans announced by the Mayor to create a 29km cycle superhighway dubbed ‘Crossrail for the Bike’.

The east-west route from Barking to Acton through central London will be almost completely separated from traffic. Cycling groups have been largely positive about the proposal.

London Cycling Campaign chief executive Ashok Sinha said: "We are pleased to see commitments to substantially reallocate carriageway space to ensure protected space for cycling, particularly on the east-west superhighway where cyclists often make up almost half of traffic during the morning peak. Our main concerns are that some of the planned new junctions are not safe enough and the width of new cycle tracks are too narrow in places."

Transport for London (TfL) has launched a public consultation looking at the new superhighway, which will pass through Hyde Park Corner, Parliament Square and Victoria Embankment.

The consultation also puts forward plans for a 5km north-south cycle superhighway running between Elephant & Castle and King’s Cross.

London Assembly Transport Committee chair Caroline Pidgeon said: "The designs are without question a huge step forward.

"It seems that at long last the Mayor and TfL have learnt that real superhighways must involve far more than just putting blue paint on a road."

But business group London First’s infrastructure director David Leam said the plans "must not make life worse for those on London’s buses, cars, taxis, coaches and vans".

He said the proposals would mean longer journey times for goods and services vehicles on key cross London routes and on the roads approaching them, adding: “This could have a significant economic cost."

Image: © Mayor of London

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