Europe



Cyclists in London will be given a massive £160 million boost in a revolutionary new plan just approved by the board of Transport for London. Mayor Boris Johnson’s policy for the cyclists will now see segregated bike lanes installed across the city.

Cycle superhighway in London's East end.

Cycle superhighway in London’s East end. Image by Sludge G / CC BY-SA 2.0

The largest part of the investment will go towards the two ‘cycle superhighways’, ITV news reports. These controversial lanes will run east-west and north-south through central London.

The plans faces stern opposition from a number of quarters including, motoring organisations, taxi drivers together with the City of London and business groups, including Canary Wharf.

Part of the finance will be aimed at upgrading the safety of five existing cycle superhighways. There have been several cycling related deaths on these paths with campaigners saying the blue-painted lanes were unsafe. This was due to the fact that the bike riders were not protected from other road users but there will be kerb-stones put in to segregate traffic in future.

While there will be celebration at the news among the cycling fraternity, there is the flip side which will see longer delays for motorists across the city.

Undertaking work on the £47m east-west cycle superhighway is now due to begin immediately after the London Marathon in April and will open within 13 months.