Further Quietway cycle routes extending the network to every borough and substantial funding set aside for a series of major cycling schemes in outer London were announced today.
The announcement comes as TfL confirmed the start of building work on the first major junction to be transformed under the Mayor’s junction review programme.
TfL and the Mayor’s Cycling Commissioner, Andrew Gilligan, have written to all London boroughs committing to funding the second phase of Quietways, plus 9 major projects to overcome barriers to cycling in the suburbs.
They include substantial funding set aside for the redesign of Twickenham, and Ealing town centres; a new bike crossing of the North Circular; a new bike superhub at Abbey Wood station and better links to Thamesmead; a new bike route along the A316 in south-west London; the Hounslow and Hammersmith & Fulham sections of Cycle Superhighway 9 and a superhighway type scheme in Barking.
All these projects were proposed by the boroughs concerned as part of their mini-Holland bids last year.
The announcement comes as work is set to start on improvements to the Oval junction, in south London - the first of 33 major junctions which will be radically reshaped to make them safer for cyclists.
The works will install segregated tracks at Oval, which is on Cycle Superhighway 7, to separate cyclists from traffic and buses.
Four junctions in the area will also be radically redesigned to include new low-level signals, built specifically at the height of cyclists to help provide an early start for cyclists. Innovative 'hold left turn' and ‘two stage’ right turns for cyclists will also be delivered to further reduce conflict with vehicles.
The plans were consulted on in July and August. Seventy-nine per cent of those who replied expressed support for the proposals.
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “We know that most serious bike and pedestrian injuries and fatalities occur at junctions. That’s why we are overhauling some of the worst examples of these Sixties relics across London. In my Cycling Vision I promised to focus on making serious, meaningful improvements to our worst routes and junctions. We can turn these junctions into more civilised places for cyclists and pedestrians, while at the same time maintaining their traffic function.”
Since CS7 originally launched in 2010, the number of people cycling along the route has dramatically increased, with more than 2,400 cyclists an hour now using the route during the morning and evening peak.
More than 400 people responded to a recent consultation on the scheme’s design, with over 330 responses (79 per cent) supporting or partially supporting the overall scheme.
Impact analysis shows that, in most cases, changes in journey time along the route for general traffic and buses would be less than one minute, Transport for London (TfL) will be working with Lambeth Council and local residents to help mitigate any traffic impact, in particular due to these banned turns.
In February the Mayor announced a list of 33 junctions selected for radical and transformational change. Around £300 million will be spent on upgrading these locations, an average of £9 million per junction.
This will be funded through the £100 million Better Junctions budget announced in the Cycling Vision, the Vision’s Cycle Superhighways budget for those on superhighways, TfL’s Major Schemes programme budget and from confirmed third-party and developer contributions.
Seven of the 33 have been already launched for detailed public consultation - Oval, Aldgate, Tower Hill, Blackfriars, Elephant & Castle, Parliament Square, and Lancaster Gate. Vauxhall has also been consulted on as part of work for CS5. Almost a third are expected to be delivered by 2016, with others well underway across London.
Leon Daniels, Managing Director of Surface Transport at TfL, said: “Following detailed design and modelling, the hardhats are on and the spades are about to hit the ground on these hugely transformative schemes. Our redesign of Oval Triangle will provide more dedicated space for cyclists, better crossing for pedestrians and a more pleasant environment for all.”
As part of the continuing delivery of the Mayor’s Cycling Vision, TfL and the Cycling Commissioner have also written to all London boroughs, including the 15 outer boroughs who missed out in funding under the Mini Holland programme, outlining how we will work with them to fund a network of dedicated Quietway cycle routes across London, as well as help deliver transformative “big ticket” schemes in outer London, most of which were suggested in their respective Mini-Holland bids.
Andrew Gilligan, Cycling Commissioner for London, said: “We had excellent bids for mini-Holland funding from 18 outer boroughs. Only three boroughs could be selected for full funding but we are today delighted to announce that we are funding key elements of the bids made by many of the runners-up.”
The multi-million pound major schemes will help unblock key barriers to cycling, helping to link Quietways together and encouraging more people to take to two wheels.
Substantial funding is set aside to develop the “big-ticket” items in eight boroughs and are:
- Transformation of Ealing town centre to make it more welcoming to cyclists.
- Transformation of Twickenham town centre to make it more welcoming to cyclists.
- Segregated cycle route along part of A316.
- Cycle Superhighway 9 in Hammersmith & Fulham and Hounslow.
- New cycle crossings of the A406 North Circular Road at Neasden and near Ilford, the latter subject to agreement with LB Redbridge.
- New cycle superhub at Abbey Wood station and better links from there to Thamesmead.
Each borough has also received a letter outlining a number of new Quietway routes that TfL wishes to develop as part of the second phase of the Quietways.
Phase 1, seven routes entering a total of 15 boroughs, is already underway, with the first routes due to open in the spring. Phase 2 will extend the Quietway network to all 32 boroughs.
Delivery timescales will depend on the boroughs concerned but it is hoped that a significant number will be delivered, or be in process of delivery, by 2016. Quietways are direct, but low-intervention routes on low-traffic side streets, with interventions (such as segregation and junction improvements) where they have to use busier roads.
For more information about the Oval scheme and to see the full results of the consultation, please visit www.tfl.gov.uk/oval-triangle
Notes to editors
1. In March 2013, the Mayor launched his Vision for Cycling in London, which detailed his £913m programme to improve infrastructure and safety for cyclists in the capital.
2. TfL will work with the Department for Transport to get any relevant approvals required for the innovative junction designs and low level cycle signals in order to deliver the scheme.
3. TfL wrote to 30 London boroughs plus the Canal & River Trust and The Royal Parks. The City of London, Westminster and Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea were not written to as they mainly lie within Central London and will see improvements delivered as part of the Central London Grid network.