London mayor Sadiq Khan has unveiled a new Cycling Action Plan that aims to create a unified, London-wide cycle network while doubling cycling journeys in six years.
Next year Transport for London (TfL) will begin using a single brand for all cycle routes, merging the Cycle Superhighway and Quietway brands into a single system where a Pan-London network is delivered in line with new quality criteria, supported by ‘simple, easy-to-use signs’.
City Hall said the move comes after clear feedback from Londoners on the current brands, which can be misleading – especially for those new to cycling – and is in line with best practice from the world’s top cities for cycling. The identity for the new network will be revealed in early 2019.
The plan also includes launching ‘the world’s first Cycling Infrastructure Database, a comprehensive digital record of all cycling facilities on the streets of the capital’, which will be made available free of charge through TfL’s open-data platform.
The data will have a range of applications including personalised journey planning and information about on-street cycle parking.
Mr 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.’
City Hall said TfL has conducted a considerable amount of research into cycling in recent years, which has helped develop effective schemes that address the most pressing barriers to cycling.
It said new standards on the design of cycling infrastructure will include six quality criteria and ‘make it clear to boroughs what we will and will not fund’. The aim is that, where traffic levels are high, cycle routes will either need to reduce traffic below the new acceptable threshold, or provide segregation.
The plan includes confirmation of existing plans for new routes but new plans for cycling routes.
Construction work with Southwark, Lewisham and Greenwich councils on a two-way segregated cycle track between Tower Bridge and Greenwich (previously Cycle Superhighway 4) is set to begin next summer.
City Hall said TfL continues to work with Hammersmith and Fulham and Hounslow councils on plans for a major route between Kensington and Brentford (previously Cycle Superhighway 9).
Following a public consultation next spring, TfL will work with boroughs and local partners to build a new cycling route between Camden and Tottenham Hale.
Another new route between Hackney and the Isle of Dogs will also be consulted on next year and will be London’s first major orbital cycle route, 'providing connections to key routes on the capital’s emerging cycling network and linking communities along the route with employment hubs, town centres, parks and waterways'.
