West London is set to get its first Cycle Superhighway under road design plans with segregated lanes to protect cyclists from traffic, unveiled this week.
Cycle Superhighway 9, announced by Mayor Sadiq Khan, would link Kensington Olympia to Brentford and create nearly six kilometres of cycle lanes on major west London roads.
The proposal would transform traffic-heavy roads in west Kensington, Hammersmith, Chiswick and Brentford town centre and extend the existing eight-route superhighway network. It is now under consultation by Transport for London.
“For many people in Hammersmith & Fulham, intimidation from the sheer volume of other road users prevents them from cycling, so in our Cycle Strategy we’ve set out to change that,” said Cllr Wesley Harcourt, Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport and Residents’ Services in the borough, which is working with TfL.
Five new traffic light crossings and more than 20 upgraded pedestrian crossings are included in the road plans, aimed at making walking in the area safer.
“This route will tame several dangerous junctions… and extend the Cycle Superhighway network to areas where cycling demand is high, but cycling infrastructure is virtually non-existent,” Simon Munk, Infrastructure Campaigner with the London Cycling Campaign, said.
Cycling has soared in popularity in London in recent years, with 670,000 bicycle trips made daily in the capital in 2015.
Work on the superhighway is set to begin late next year, subject to the results of the TfL consultation, which runs until 31 October 2017.