The length of London’s cycle network has quadrupled since Sadiq Khan took over as mayor, Transport for London announced on Wednesday.
This comes after TfL welcomed the completion of Cycleway 4, which will link Tower Bridge and Greenwich.
According to TfL, the cycleway network – which includes routes that are largely but continuously isolated or protected from vehicles – has now grown from 56 miles in 2016 to 223 miles.
Will Norman, Walking and Cycling Commissioner for the City of London, said: “I am delighted that work on Cycleway 4 has been completed, which will allow cyclists to travel from Tower Bridge to Greenwich more easily and safely. I mean that.”
“This completion means the Mayor, TfL and London boroughs have reached a milestone in quadrupling the size of the Strategic Cycle Network, from 90km in 2016 to more than 360km by the end of this month.”
But campaigners say the new section of Cycleway 4, which bridges the gap between Rotherhithe and Surrey Quays in Southwark and Deptford in Lewisham, was originally due to be completed by 2017 under previous Southwark City Council plans. ing.
They said the Labor-run borough council would spend £1.8m on “active travel” over the next two years after planned parking control zones across the borough were abandoned, leaving its finances in crisis. He warned that he had decided to reduce the amount.
TfL also confirmed that a £3 ‘day pass’ for renting manual ‘Boris bikes’ has been introduced in a bid to reverse a decline in the use of Santander-sponsored bikes due to price increases two years ago.
Lime e-bikes currently appear to dominate the capital’s bike rental market, but TfL plans to add a further 1,400 e-bikes to its fleet of 600 this summer.
The latest stage of Cycleway 4 on Lower Road includes approximately one mile of protected two-way cycle lanes that connect with previously completed sections of Jamaica Road and Evelyn Street.
There are also eight new and 28 improved pedestrian crossings along the route, as well as six ‘Boris Bike’ docking stations.
Almost a quarter of Londoners now live within 400 meters of a “high quality” cycle route, according to TfL. There were 1.26 million bicycle trips made per day last year, an increase of 6.3% year-on-year and 20% above pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
By comparison, there are approximately 4 million subway rides and over 5 million bus rides on weekdays.
However, as many Londoners returned to pre-pandemic commuting patterns, the share of all journeys in the capital by bicycle fell from 6.1% in 2020 to 4.5% last year.
TfL said 20 new cycleway sections had opened in the past 12 months.
Key additions to the Cycleway network since 2016 include:
*C4 Between Tooley Street and Greenwich
* C9 between Hammersmith and Kewbridge
* C17 along Rosendale Road, Lambeth.
* C24 Tottenham between Hale and Walthamstow
* Between C38 Angel and Finsbury Park
* C42 between Ilford and Barking Riverside
* Work to complete the “missing section” of C1 between Edmonton and White Hart Lane.
In the next financial year 2024/25, an additional £19.5 million will see cycle paths completed between Lea Bridge and Dalston, Deptford and Deptford Creek, and Hammersmith and Kensington Olympia.
It will also allow cycleways planned for Bexley, Harrow, Hounslow, Newham and Redbridge to move forward to the next stage.
Helen Kancic, head of healthy streets investment at TfL, said: “The new section of Cycleway 4 is the final piece of the London Bridge to Greenwich puzzle.
“We will continue to work closely with local governments to connect more capital to high-quality bike networks.”
Jakub Mamczak, Senior Campaign Officer at London Cycling Campaign, said: I’m so happy that it’s finally open.
“Even before the Lower Road gap was closed, we were able to see thousands of people cycling on this road, which would never have been possible before.
“Cycling journeys in London already account for up to a third of journeys on the Underground. The following routes will be proposed by the Mayor, TfL and all boroughs to help London become a true cycling city. I’m looking forward to it.”