Skip to main content

London’s cycle superhighways get the go ahead

London’s streets will become more accessible for cyclists now that the Transport for London (TfL) Board has approved plans for the construction of four new cycle superhighways and upgrades to the four existing cycle superhighway routes as part of the Mayor’s Cycling Vision. The schemes, which will cost around US$243 million to deliver between now and the end of 2016, will help treble the number of cycle journeys made over the next ten years and transform London’s streets and spaces to places where cyclis
February 5, 2015 Read time: 3 mins
London’s streets will become more accessible for cyclists now that the 1466 Transport for London (TfL) Board has approved plans for the construction of four new cycle superhighways and upgrades to the four existing cycle superhighway routes as part of the Mayor’s Cycling Vision.

The schemes, which will cost around US$243 million to deliver between now and the end of 2016, will help treble the number of cycle journeys made over the next ten years and transform London’s streets and spaces to places where cyclists feel they belong and are safe.

The Cycle Superhighway programme is essential for improving conditions for the hundreds of thousands of people who are already cycling daily in London, as well as help encourage more people to take to two wheels. The new routes, which in total cross nine boroughs, will further help cycling become an integral part of London’s transport network so that anyone can jump on a bike to get to work, to the shops or to discover London. Work to deliver these schemes will now begin within the next month.

Sir Peter Hendy CBE, London’s Transport Commissioner, said: “Cycling is clearly now a major transport option in London, with over 170,000 bike journeys now made across central London every single day. These schemes will revolutionise cycling in the capital and further demonstrate how London is leading the way in making its roads safe for all road users. There will, naturally, be some disruption due to these works but we have some of the world’s leading highway and traffic engineers, traffic models and modellers working tirelessly to ensure that this is kept to a minimum.”

Chris Boardman, British Cycling’s policy advisor, said: “This vision for large-scale, properly segregated cycle ways will make cycling a more attractive transport option, creating a more pleasant, healthy and sustainable London for everyone. The move brings the capital one step closer to creating a true cycling culture to rival cities like Copenhagen and Amsterdam. But most importantly of all, it will set a standard for the rest of the country.”

A wide programme of communication and traffic management will now be carried out to ensure that these works can be delivered with minimum disruption to London’s roads. This includes further investment in sophisticated traffic signal technology, which allows better management of traffic depending on differing conditions at any given time. TfL will also work with businesses along the route to help manage deliveries in the best possible way, providing advice to enable them to move away from deliveries during the busiest times and help reduce unnecessary congestion across London.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • On the road with France’s dream peddlers
    September 5, 2022
    Connected cycling is becoming more important in France as the way to keep cyclists from giving up their Covid habit of taking two wheels to work and for pleasure
  • Contactless payments introduced on London's buses
    December 14, 2012
    Bus passengers in London can now use their use their contactless debit, credit or charge card to touch in on the yellow Oyster card readers and pay the single Oyster fare on any of London's 8,500 buses. Introducing the scheme, Transport for London (TfL) says the new payment option will also be good news for the approximately 36,000 people per day who board a bus and find they have insufficient pay as you go balance on their Oyster to pay for their journey as they will be able to use the other card they may
  • London’s mayor launches fund to help retire polluting diesel taxis
    July 28, 2017
    In the latest in a series of measures to clean up London’s toxic air, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and Transport for London (TfL) have launched a US£55 million (£42 million) fund to encourage the owners of the oldest, most polluting diesel black cabs to retire them from the Capital’s fleet. Taxis are a significant contributor to London’s toxic air quality, and are responsible for 16 per cent of NOx and 26 per cent of Particulate Matter (PM) road transport emissions in central London. From today, the own
  • London transport to get contactless payment
    July 28, 2014
    Millions of customers are set for easier and more convenient journeys from 16 September, when Transport for London (TfL) will introduce contactless payments for all pay as you go customers on the Tube, London Overground, DLR and trams in addition to the capital's buses. The new option means that passengers will no longer be any need to top up Oyster card balances because fares are charged directly to payment card accounts. Contactless payments - credit, debit, charge or pre-paid cards or devices - work i