Boris Johnson yesterday (7 November) announced £35 million of investment to improve cyclists’ safety on London’s busiest bike lanes (Evening Standard).
The Mayor was in Stratford to officially open the extension to Superhighway 2, or CS2, and announce a wider scheme to improve safety of the superhighway network.
The Evening Standard report says that CS2 has come in for criticism from some quarters, most recently by the coroner investigating the deaths of Brian Dorling and Philippine de Gerin-Ricard, both of whom were killed on or near the route.
The stretch from Stratford to Whitechapel will be completely overhauled with cyclists physically separated from vehicles for large parts of the route using concrete curbs or “rumble” strips.
New cyclist-only traffic lights – the first of their kind in the UK – will give riders a head start at five major junctions and separate them from left-turning vehicles.
The overhaul of CS2, which carries up to 400 cyclists an hour into the City, will begin next year and cost £20m.
Yesterday, London cyclists got their first fully segregated superhighway, a £4 million, two-mile, two-directional stretch from Bow to Stratford town centre. The prototype – delayed by the Olympics – also showcases bus-stop ‘bypasses’ which allow cyclists to safely undertake stationery buses.
Boris Johnson said: “This superhighway is the first physical fruit of my promise to improve the experience of cycling in London.
“I am also today announcing that we will build a second substantially-segregated cycle superhighway through the heart of central London – adding a north-south segregated route to our already-announced east-west route.
“I share people’s impatience for change. We have taken the time to ensure that it is done properly – but that physical change is now underway.”
According to the Evening Standard, all other superhighways will be overhauled, starting with the City-bound route CS7 through Tooting, Balham and Clapham.
While not all existing superhighways will be fully segregated, they will be improved using a combination of better junctions, segregation, semi-segregation and other measures to reduce exposure to traffic.
The £35m overhaul of the superhighways is the first major allocation out of the mayor’s £913m cycling fund to deliver his cycle vision over 10 years.
Click here to read the full Evening Standard report.
Hi Idris,
I may be wrong here but I think that this is designed to last longer than one day. My understanding is that it will probably last indefinately. Also, if/when London becomes a cycle friendly city, more people will be using them than the current supressed numbers. 65% of non cyclists in London do not cycle because of it’s poor cycling ethic. What comes first, the infrastructure or the cyclist?
Gary, London
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“up to 400 cyclists per hour presumably refers to the rush hour. If we extrapolate that even to 2,000 commuting cyclists per day, that’s a capital cost of £10,000 each. And for what distance – 2 miles or so? How easy it must be to spend other people’s money!
Idris Francis Fight Back with Facts Petersfield
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Would it be too much to ask that scooter riders of lower cc and restricted to 30 mph be permitted the use of these segregated lanes as they are at greater risk also? I reckon that will fall on deaf ears but it has apparently been proven to work in segregation of twv into bus lanes.
bob craven Lancs
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