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The Mayor of London and TfL have unveiled a plan to create a unified, London-wide cycle network across London, with new quality standards for the building of new cycling infrastructure.
The Cycling Action Plan sets out how TfL and the London boroughs will use cycling to help address poor air quality and congestion, while improving infrastructure to make cycling easier, safer and more accessible.
The Mayor has said he wants to increase the proportion of people walking, cycling and taking public transport to 80 per cent of journeys by 2041, from 63 per cent now.
In 2019, TfL will begin using a single brand for all cycle routes, merging the two existing Cycle Superhighway and Quietway brands into a single system where a Pan-London network is delivered in line with new quality criteria, supported by signs.
The new standards will include six quality criteria to shape the design of cycling infrastructure and make it clear to boroughs what will and will not be funded.
These will include volumes and speed of motor traffic, numbers of HGVs and collision risk at junctions.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: “Getting more Londoners cycling is essential for our city’s future health and prosperity, and our new Action Plan launched today shows how we’re going to go further than ever before to make this a reality.
“The evidence is clear – where we’ve built new high-quality cycling infrastructure, the routes have been hugely successful in getting more people on their bikes.
“Despite this, too many Londoners still don’t have the high-quality cycle routes they need in their local neighbourhood.
“I’m delighted to be announcing some of the major new work that will start on cycle routes across London next year, and in introducing new quality standards for cycle routes, I’m determined to ensure every Londoner feels comfortable and safe getting on a bike, whatever their age, experience or background.”
Construction work on new cycle routes is set to begin in 2019.
The Cycling Action Plan also includes developing the Santander Cycles scheme, to give more people across London access to a bike.
