Mayor of London confirms doubling of protected cycle routes since May 2016

The Mayor of London has today announced that in the three years since he become Mayor, he has doubled the amount of protected cycling infrastructure built in the capital.

Giving the keynote address at the London Walking & Cycling Conference at the Guildhall today, Sadiq Khan announced that 116 km of protected cycle lanes are now either complete or under construction in London, increased from 53 km in place when he first become Mayor.

During his speech, Khan praised the work of councils like Enfield, Hackney, Camden and Waltham Forest for their work and support in building cycling infrastructure, however criticised the likes of Westminster whose lack of action is, “harming the health of Londoners.”

The Mayor announced he is currently on course to meet the commitment he made to London Cycling Campaign to treble the amount of protected space delivered for cycling across the capital by May 2020.

He said: “I said before the election that I wanted to increase the pace of change building new cycling infrastructure. I’m delighted that in just three years we have achieved more than the last Mayor did in eight years, already doubling the amount of protected cycle routes on streets across London.

“I want to now deliver even more high-quality cycling and walking infrastructure across all parts of the capital, but even with record investment from the TfL we can’t achieve that on our own. Boroughs across London must recognise the huge benefits of getting more people out of their cars and cycling as part of their everyday routine – getting more people active, improving their health, and reducing the air pollution on our streets which causes so much harm.”

The amount of protected space delivered since May 2016 is made up of 20 km in the Superhighways programme, 5 km in the Quietways & Central London Grid programme, 21 km in the mini-Holland programme, and 17 km from other schemes.

At the conference, the Mayor also revealed TfL’s new strict Cycling Quality Criteria (CQC) with all new Cycleways (the rebranded name for London’s growing cycling network) required to meet it.

TfL’s CQC includes criteria based on:

• Total volume of motor traffic, to ensure the number of motor vehicles mixing with people cycling is low
• The speed of motor traffic, to reduce the risks caused by vehicles travelling at higher speeds
• The width provided for people cycling, to ensure that there is plenty of space to both cycle and overtake.
• The collision risk between people cycling and turning vehicles
• Reducing the interaction between HGVs and people cycling to a minimum
• Minimising the impact of any kerbside activity on people cycling

This criteria will be used when designing cycle routes to decide where protected space is necessary to keep people safe while cycling, and what other changes to infrastructure are needed on new routes.

Looking ahead to the summer, construction work is proposed to begin on Cycleway 4 in south east London and Cycleway 9 in west London.