Over the last 5 years, TfL and councils have consulted on or promised more than 50 separate cycleway schemes. The recent financial difficulties of TfL however, has put a number of these in jeopardy. This article by Aydin Crouch (@SafeCycleLDN) reviews every scheme promised, informing you whether they’re still going ahead, and if so, when they’ll be built.
Already 10km of protected cycle track has been delivered as part of these schemes, such as the recently opened sections of C4 and C38. On top of that, another 15km has been delivered through temporary traffic orders (sometimes known as Streetspace schemes) that have been constructed using pop-up materials. Although it must be remembered that schemes like this are at risk, in certain places, of being removed once the trial ends.
What is hopeful is that if all of these cycleways are finally delivered, it will result in another 70km of protected cycleway in the capital, as well as many more miles of guided backstreet routes. What’s not so hopeful is that of this 70km, only 20km is currently being constructed, or is funded and has a confirmed start date of construction.
Cycleway 4 (Tower Bridge-Greenwich section)
Cycleway 4 is the capital’s most long-awaited cycleway. First proposed in 2008, only the Tower Bridge to Rotherhithe (2020) and Creek Road sections (2021) have opened. The big gap between those two sections is slowly being filled in, with work beginning in mid-August 2021 on the Surrey Quays to Deptford section. However, when it comes to the last connecting part (Surrey Quays to Rotherhithe), construction will not start until next year at the earliest.
The response to a recent Freedom of Information request stated that, ‘the design and build for the Lower Road section of Cycleway 4 is led by Southwark Council and will be jointly funded with TfL. Subject to design and Southwark Council approval, TfL will look to secure their contribution to progress the scheme through to construction in 2022/23.’
More information:
https://tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/improvements-and-projects/cycle-superhighway-4
https://consultations.southwark.gov.uk/planning-and-regeneration/lower-road/
Status: partially complete
Estimated completion date: late 2022/early 2023
Cycleway 4 (Greenwich-Woolwich section)
This part of Cycleway 4 (C4) was split off from the Tower Bridge to Greenwich section in 2016. It
was revived at the beginning of 2020, with the section between Charlton and the western side of Woolwich going to consultation. The other parts were to be consulted on after.
With the arrival of the first lockdown, as other schemes were paused, TfL and LB Greenwich
began delivering parts of the route with pop-up materials (from summer 2020 onwards).
Surprisingly they chose to deliver the section that had not already been consulted on, between
Greenwich and Charlton.
There is currently no news as to when, and if, the Charlton to Woolwich part of the cycleway will
be delivered. Neither is there any information as to how long the pop-up section will stay in
place and to whether TfL have plans to hold a formal consultation and build it with permanent
materials.
Status: partially complete with pop-up materials
Estimated completion date: unknown
Cycleway 5 / Quietway 5 (Waterloo-Croydon)
Quietway 5 (Q5) is a long, primarily backstreet, cycleway that will one day stretch from Waterloo to Croydon. The scheme went through many separate consultation processes between 2015 and 2019. However, only parts of it have been delivered. The Lambeth North to Clapham Common section was completed and signposted in 2019. Following this, segregated tracks along Baylis Road near Waterloo were opened in spring 2020.
South of the Balham Hill crossing, progress has been a little more inconsistent. Two stretches of protected cycleway were delivered in central Croydon, one in 2017 and another in 2020, however these are currently unsignposted and separate from the rest of the route.
It appears that most sections in LB Wandsworth are yet to be delivered, with an apparent issue regarding the paving of certain paths across Tooting Bec Common. It was also sadly announced in early September 2021 that the short section of segregated cycle track along Tooting Bec Road (previously approved in 2019) is now on hold. TfL states that they need further funding packages from central government to deliver this part of the scheme. It is likely that this is also the case for the other undelivered parts of Q5.
Quietway 5 will soon be rebranded as Cycleway 5. It is still unclear what this means for the current Cycle Superhighway 5 and its future number designation.
More information:
Status: partially delivered
Estimated completion date: unknown
Cycleway 9 (Kensington Olympia-Brentford)
Cycleway 9 (C9) is another of the original Cycle Superhighways proposed over a decade ago that is currently under construction. However, unlike C4, it has had a lot more difficulty getting off the ground. It was originally supposed to go between Central London and Hounslow. However, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) refused to let it go through their borough. This resulted in C9 going to consultation in 2017, without the RBKC section. TfL then decided to split delivery in two, with the Brentford to Hounslow part of the scheme set to be consulted on later.
Construction began on the first section of C9 at Kew Bridge before the Covid pandemic. However, this short stretch (from Wellesley Road to the western side of Kew Bridge junction) was only completed in spring 2021. In the meantime, a pop-up version of C9 was constructed along Chiswick High Road, between Goldhawk Road and Turnham Green, completed in late 2020. Construction then started in August 2021 on a similar pop-up scheme west of Goldhawk Road, towards Kensington Olympia. This should be complete by winter 2021.
Regarding the second pop-up scheme, LB Hammersmith & Fulham worryingly state on their website that these changes will only be made permanent when they have ‘heard from residents, analysed traffic and usage data and fixed any issues or problems with the interim scheme’. This approach is concerning as the route and design has already been consulted on and approved.
Regarding the part west of Kew Bridge, the response to a recent Freedom of Information request on the topic stated that, ‘Cycleway 9 between Kew Bridge and Brentford is currently in the latter stages of detailed design. TfL is looking at securing funding for the delivery of a small section between Kew Bridge and Waterman’s Park in 2022. Once the detailed design for the remainder of the route is complete TfL will look to secure the funding required to progress the scheme through to construction’.
More information:
https://www.lbhf.gov.uk/transport-and-roads/safer-cycle-pathway
https://tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/improvements-and-projects/cycle-superhighway-9
https://haveyoursay.tfl.gov.uk/cycleway-9
Status: partially delivered
Estimated completion date: 2023/2024
Cycleway 15 (A23 Streatham Hill)
Cycleway 15 is a proposed stretch of protected cycleway on Streatham Hill, between the South Circular Road and Streatham Hill Station. It went to consultation at the beginning of 2020, and the detailed design was completed in Spring 2021. Subject to funding, construction should begin in early 2022.
More information:
https://haveyoursay.tfl.gov.uk/access-our-older-consultations
Status: public consultation held
Estimated completion date: late 2022
Cycleway 17 (Newington-Crystal Palace)
Cycleway 17 (C17) started life as Quietway 7 (Q7), as a mostly quiet backstreet route. It was first consulted on in 2016 and once finished, will go between Newington and Crystal Palace, connecting to C10 in the north. In 2017 a short stretch was built around Dulwich Village, signposted as Q7. Then between 2018 and 2019, the section between Newington and Burgess Park was built, signposted as C17. The section along Rosendale Road in West Dulwich, was set to be built in 2020, but due to TfL’s funding cuts, has been put on hold.
There has been little news regarding the delivery of the rest of the route. However, with the Rosendale Road section now on hold, it is unlikely that any other parts will be delivered before TfL’s finances are back in order.
Status: partially delivered
Estimated completion date: unknown
Cycleway 23 (Lea Bridge to Dalston)
This was one of six cycleways committed to by Sadiq Khan in 2018. A consultation was held the following year, yet the arrival of COVID-19 put the future of the project in jeopardy. That was until late August 2021, when it was announced that the section between Millfields Park and Clapton Roundabout would enter construction in the autumn. The delivery of the Clapton to Dalston section is subject to further funding becoming available.
More information:
https://www.london.gov.uk/press-releases/mayoral/green-light-to-develop-six-new-cycle-route
https://haveyoursay.tfl.gov.uk/access-our-older-consultations
Status: public consultation held
Estimated completion date for the Lea Bridge to Clapton Roundabout section: late 2022
Estimated completion date for the Clapton Roundabout to Dalston section: unknown
Cycleway 24 (Bell Junction: Walthamstow)
Completing the last parts of their Mini-Holland network, LB Waltham Forest began construction in early summer 2021 on making Bell Junction safe for cyclists. This will connect the permanent cycle tracks on Forest Road to the west, to the pop-up lanes east of the junction. It shows on TfL’s cycle map that the Forest Road Cycleway will be renamed Cycleway 24 in future.
More information:
https://enjoywalthamforest.co.uk/work-in-your-area/forest-road/
Status: under construction
Estimated completion date: early 2022
Cycleway 25 (Ilford-Barking Riverside)
Cycleway 25 was one of the six cycleways committed to by Sadiq Khan in 2018. Unlike the other six proposed cycleways, this was designed primarily as a back-street route, with very little new segregated cycle track proposed.
A consultation was held in summer 2019 for the section between Barking and Barking Riverside, which is now under construction.
More information:
https://haveyoursay.tfl.gov.uk/access-our-older-consultations
Status: under construction
Estimated completion date for the Barking-Barking Riverside section: mid 2022
Estimated completion date for the Ilford-Barking section: unknown
Cycleway 27 / Q2 (Edgware Road-Clerkenwell)
Quietway 2 (Q2) is an almost complete cycleway from Walthamstow to East Acton, via central London. Alongside Q1, it was planned just after the Quietway programme was launched, with much of it consulted on around 2015-16. Most would probably agree that Q2 is a lot less impressive than Q1 (now C10). The majority of the route follows indirect backstreets, and when there is protection from road traffic, it’s almost always repurposed 1980s/90s infrastructure, rather than anything new.
The last section of this route to be delivered (even though it was consulted on way back in 2015) was the section in Westminster, between Edgware Road and Fitsrovia. As well as taking a long time to deliver, the proposals were also meagre in ambition, mainly consisting of painted bicycles on the road, a few early-release traffic lights and some advanced stop lines. Only three tiny sections along the route provide any physical protection. This is all the more dangerous as it runs completely along unfiltered roads.
However, despite its shortcomings, everything has now been put in place, bar the westbound entrance to Clipstone Street from Cleveland Street. Therefore, the main thing it now lacks is wayfinding, which is likely on hold until the rest of Q2 has been rebranded as C27. However, rumours suggest that this hasn’t happened yet because the Westminster section doesn’t meet TfL standards.
The other section covered here is Fitzrovia to Clerkenwell. Most of this part of the planned Q2/C27 is already segregated and filtered, forming part of legacy schemes implemented over the last two decades. However, like the Edgware Road to Fitzrovia section, there is still no wayfinding. As of yet, there is no information as to when Q2 will be rebranded as C27, and therefore when this (now completed) section of the former Quietway, will be signposted.
Status: mostly complete
Estimated completion date: unknown
Cycleway 29 (Kingston-Tolworth)
Cycleway 29 is one of the primary routes in RB Kingston’s Mini-Holland Programme. Its delivery was split into three parts. The Kingston to Surbiton section opened in 2019 and the Surbiton to Oakhill section opened in late 2020. The last section (Oakhill to Tolworth) is currently under construction and is due to be completed by early 2022.
More information:
Status: partially delivered
Estimated completion date: early 2022
Cycleway 32 (New Malden-Kingston)
Proposed as part of the Royal Borough of Kingston’s Mini-Holland programme, TfL confirmed funding of this route in spring 2021. Construction began in early summer and it should be complete by early 2022. Some parts of the route have already opened, such as the segregated tracks near New Malden.
More information:
https://www.kingston.gov.uk/go-cycle-1/kingston-new-malden/3?documentId=508&categoryId=20147
Status: under construction
Estimated completion date: Late 2021/early 2022
Cycleway 36 / Quietway 8 (Burgess Park-Kennington)
The London Borough of Southwark held a consultation for this backstreet route connecting Kennington Park and Burgess Park in 2016. This scheme disappointingly didn’t offer much new infrastructure, primarily consisting of wayfinding on back streets. In fact the only sections of new infrastructure planned were two short stretches of shared space path, one in Burgess Park and another in Kennington Open Space. Despite the consultation being held five years ago, only the shared space path in Burgess Park was delivered. Regarding the delivery of the rest of the route, the response to a recent Freedom of Information request on the topic stated, ‘This section of Cycleway is not included for funding in the current funding plan (ending December 2021)’. TfL and LB Southwark have however confirmed that the cycleway remains an aspiration.
More information:
https://consultations.southwark.gov.uk/environment-leisure/qw8/consult_view/
Status: partially delivered
Estimated completion date: unknown
Cycleway 37 - (Hackney-Isle of Dogs)
This was one of six new routes committed to by Sadiq Khan in 2018. Part of its raison d’etre was that it would connect to the proposed Rotherhithe-Canary Wharf pedestrian/cyclist bridge. This would have then connected to another of the six new routes committed to by Sadiq Khan in 2018 (Rotherhithe-Peckham). Together, they would have provided a continuous route north-south, across East London.
A public consultation was held in early 2019 to generally positive feedback. However, later that year the Rotherhithe-Canary Wharf bridge was cancelled due to high costs. A cycle/pedestrian ferry was later considered in early 2020, but this project was paused in April 2020, due to the pandemic. TfL announced in July 2021 that the ferry remains a ‘long-term aspiration’.
In the meantime, in summer 2020, a short pop-up section of C37 was constructed, running south from Mile End Station to Bow Common Lane. However, the real good news came in early September 2021, when it was announced that TfL would start work in winter on the Mile End to Westferry section. There is no news regarding the delivery of the rest of the route.
More information:
https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/cycling/routes-and-maps/cycleways
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/cycle-route-hackney-east-london-tfl-b952306.html
Status: public consultation held
Estimated completion date for the Westferry to Mile End section: late 2022
Estimated completion date for the rest of the route: unknown
Cycleway 38 / Quietway 10 (Palmers Green-Farringdon)
The alignment for Quietway 10 (Q10) has been under development since 2017. If fully delivered, the cycleway will provide a mostly back-street route between Palmers Green and Farringdon, connecting to LB Enfield’s Mini Holland network at its northern end (C20). Following TfL’s discontinuation of the Quietway brand in 2019, the route was renamed Cycleway 38 (C38).
The first section completed was the connection to C20, with a crossing over the North Circular Road at Palmers Green, finished in early 2020. This was followed in spring 2021, with the delivery of C38, between Finsbury Park and Highbury Fields.
Alongside this, the pandemic prompted both LB Islington and LB Haringey to propose respective pop-up schemes, based on the designed C38 route. In summer 2020, LB Islington delivered a partially segregated scheme between Highbury Fields and Pentonville Road. LB Haringey’s bid to deliver their section of the route however, was unsuccessful.
There is currently no news on the permanent delivery of the rest of the route. According to LB Islington’s website, their incomplete sections are being designed. For the LB Haringey section, a recent Freedom of Information response from the borough stated that the cycleway isn’t currently funded and that they are looking for opportunities which might enable them to implement their sections of the route.
More information:
https://www.islington.gov.uk/consultations/2019/highbury-cycleway-consultation
https://www.islington.gov.uk/roads/cycling/holloway-road-to-pentonville-road
https://www.haringey.gov.uk/sites/haringeygovuk/files/haringey_streetspaces_bid_8_-_quietway_10.pdf
Status: partially delivered
Estimated completion date: unknown
Cycleway 40 (Brentford-Twickenham)
This cycleway first went to consultation in summer 2019, initially being labeled as a Quietway. It is primarily a back-street route, with only one small segregated section delivered on South Street.
Development began with pop-up measures in summer 2020, when a modal filter was installed on Church Street in Old Isleworth. Permanent works then started in July 2020 for the whole route, and should be complete by the end of the year.
More information:
https://haveyoursay.hounslow.gov.uk/traffic-and-transport/twickenham-to-brentford-cycleway/
Status: under construction
Estimated completion date: winter 2021
Cycleway 41 (Holborn-Somers Town)
Bar a few tweets by Will Norman, there is very little information regarding the existence of Cycleway 41. However, with the exception of wayfinding, it is generally in place between Holborn and St Pancras. The question is therefore, when will signage appear and when will the interventions on the last stretch in Somers Town be constructed?
More information:
https://twitter.com/willnorman/status/1227975749874876416/photo/1
Status: partially delivered
Estimated completion date: unknown
Cycleway 50 (Camden-Tottenham Hale)
This was the most ambitious of the six routes committed to by Sadiq Khan in 2018 and could (if built) become one of the longest cycleways in the capital. However, after many delays, and a cancelled public consultation in May 2019, it was announced at the beginning of 2020 that the project had presented challenges and that they would need more time to design the route and model traffic.
The cycleway recently re-emerged, however in a much less ambitious form than previously anticipated. In quite a few places it won’t even follow the A503, the most direct route (and a well-known black spot for cyclists). An example of this is seen in the section between Camden and Holloway, where proposals for the new Camden Square LTN reveal that this part of C50 will follow backstreets.
An FOI request in July 2021 stated that, subject to funding, the section between Camden and Finsbury Park will be constructed using pop-up materials in early 2022. There is no news however regarding the rest of the route.
More information:
https://www.london.gov.uk/press-releases/mayoral/green-light-to-develop-six-new-cycle-route
Status: in design stage
Estimated completion date for the Camden-Finsbury Park section (pop-up): mid-2022
Estimated completion date for the rest of the route: unknown
Old Street - Safer Junctions
TfL held a public consultation between 2014 and 2015 to transform Old Street junction, as part of their Safer Junctions programme. With works starting in 2019, this scheme includes the implementation of segregated cycle tracks around the junction. Works are now partially complete, with the whole project set to be finished by spring 2022.
More information:
https://tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/improvements-and-projects/old-street-roundabout
Status: partially delivered
Estimated completion date: Spring 2022
Southwark Spine (Newington-Dulwich)
The Southwark Spine is a borough-led scheme that first appeared in the 2015 Southwark Cycling Strategy as a north-south route connecting each side of the borough. Between 2017 and 2019, various consultations were held for different parts of the route.
In early 2020, the first section at Bellenden Gyratory was completed, providing segregation as well as other traffic calming measures. As of yet there is no information as to when the other parts of the Spine will be constructed.
More information:
Status: partially delivered
Estimated completion date: 2022/2023
Rotherhithe Cycleway
Rotherhithe Cycleway is part of one of the six cycleways committed to by Sadiq Khan in 2018. The whole route is set to go from Rotherhithe to Peckham, however the council decided to split the project into two parts.
This first part, the Rotherhithe Cycleway, was consulted on in 2019. 78% of respondents supported the proposals and the council announced the same year that they would begin construction in 2020.
However, with the arrival of the pandemic, works were put on hold. The response to a recent Freedom of Information request stated that, ‘this section of Cycleway is not included for funding in the current funding plan (ending December 2021).’
More information:
https://consultations.southwark.gov.uk/planning-and-regeneration/lower-road/
Status: public consultation held
Estimated completion date: unknown
Grove Green Road/Trelawn Road/Maud Road (Leyton)
The primary section of the Grove Green Road cycleway in Leyton was completed in late summer 2021, connecting Cathall Road to Langthorne Road. The future plan is to connect this cycleway to the tracks west on Ruckholt Road. This will involve guiding cyclists along Trelawn Road, across a new crossing at High Road Leyton, and then down Maud Road. Once complete, it will provide a segregated/backstreet cycleway between the Olympic Park and Leytonstone. There is currently no indication on Waltham Forest’s website as to when these last parts of the route will be constructed.
More information:
https://enjoywalthamforest.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Grove-Green-Road.pdf
Status: partially delivered
Estimated completion date: unknown
Sydenham Hill Cycleway
The Sydenham Hill Cycleway went to public consultation in early 2020. As of yet, neither the results of this have been published, nor has any date been announced for its delivery.
More information:
https://consultations.southwark.gov.uk/environment-leisure/sydenham-hill-20mph/
Status: public consultation held
Estimated completion date: unknown
Nine Elms Lane Cycleway
This cycleway was proposed to be built alongside the Battersea Power Station redevelopment. It first went to consultation in 2017, with another consultation planned for late 2021. One small stretch has been built, opposite the new Battersea Power Station Tube entrance, but other sections are subject to the plans of the new developments along the road. TfL says that the rest of the cycleway will be delivered in a number of separate parts between now and 2025.
More information:
https://tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/improvements-and-projects/nine-elms
Status: partially delivered
Estimated completion date: 2025
Hoe Street Scheme (Otford Road-Lea Bridge Road)
This scheme was consulted on in July 2021. It will connect to C23 in the south to the short stretch of segregated cycleway on Hoe Street by Walthamstow Central Station.
More information:
Status: public consultation held
Estimated completion date: 2022/2023
Haverstock Hill pop-up cycleway (Camden)
Originally being set to connect to the pop-up lanes built along Chalk Farm Road in summer 2020, the continuation of the route up Haverstock Hill came against quite a lot of backlash. However, in late August 2021, Camden’s Scrutiny Committee decided 5/1 to go ahead with the rest of the pop-up cycleway, connecting Camden to Belsize Park.
Status: planned
Estimated completion date: early 2022
Quietway 88 (Fitzrovia-Pimlico)
Quietway 88 (Q88) was consulted on in 2015-16 and the City of Westminster decided to go ahead with it in 2019. This scheme proposes some new contraflows, minor intervention at junctions, and a few small stretches of one-way segregation along Berners Street, Wardour Street and Whitcomb Street.
According to the Cabinet Member Report of 2019, it was due to start construction in June 2020 and be finished by April 2021. However, like many others, the pandemic has postponed its delivery.
A recent Freedom of Information request made to the borough stated that, ‘the route is currently not funded but is approved to proceed once funding can be secured. This is due to suspension of TfL’s Local Implementation Plan funding during the pandemic. The City Council will be seeking funding when it is made available again.’
More information:
Status: public consultation held
Estimated completion date: unknown
Westminster Bridge
Following the terrorist attack on Westminster Bridge in 2017, TfL began working towards building permanent protection for pedestrians and cyclists. Even though TfL owns the bridge, making these changes to a listed structure that is both in the London Borough of Lambeth and the City of Westminster, was always going to be a challenge.
By early 2021, TfL had finally acquired listing building consent from both authorities to install heritage style bollards on both sides of the road. This will connect the CS3 with the protected cycleways around Westminster Bridge South Roundabout. The start date for construction is 15 November 2021.
More information:
Status: under construction
Estimated completion date: early-mid 2022
Lambeth Bridge Roundabouts
In 2020, TfL consulted on making cycle safety improvements to Lambeth Bridge and the roundabouts on either side. This included a raised cycle path across the bridge, segregation at the junctions, junction by-passes and early release traffic lights.
In August 2021 they agreed to go ahead with the proposed scheme and, subject to funding, will start work in late 2023. If they do start then, it should be complete by 2025.
Status: public consultation held
Estimated completion date: 2025
Healthy Route: Brockwell Park to Gipsy Hill (Q7/C17)
The London Borough of Lambeth and TfL held two consultations on this route, one in 2016 and another in 2018. It was set to be delivered in 2020, but with the arrival of COVID-19, the delivery of the scheme was put on hold. A large part of it would have formed part of C17 (formerly Q7).
In summer 2020 LB Lambeth delivered a part of the route (Brockwell Park-Turney Road) using mostly pop-up materials. There were hopes that the rest of the route might be delivered in the same way, but this never came to be. It now says on Lambeth Council’s website that the project is on hold until TfL have recovered their finances and can fund the cycleway.
Status: partially delivered using pop-up materials
Estimated completion date: unknown
Blackhorse Road (Blackhorse Junction-Hookers Road)
Between 2015 and 2017 a protected cycle lane was introduced along Blackhorse Lane/Billet Road, from Hookers Road up to the Crooked Billet Roundabout. More recently, LB Waltham Forest has proposed to finish the cycleway, connecting it to C24 along Forest Road. Construction is set to begin in late 2021 and should be finished by autumn 2022.
More information:
Status: public consultation held
Estimated completion date: autumn 2022
Liveable Streets - Old Ford Road West
In late 2020, LB Tower Hamlets consulted on four schemes that have been developed to improve walking and cycling, create better public space and reduce through-traffic. These schemes involve the creation of LTNs, school streets, as well as a few small stretches of segregated cycle infrastructure. The scheme received cabinet approval in May 2021 and works are set to start in winter 2021.
More information:
Status: public consultation held
Estimated completion date: mid-2022
Silvertown Tunnel - Northern Portal
The Silvertown Tunnel is a controversial road tunnel currently under construction between North Greenwich and Silvertown. It was consulted on in 2012, again in 2013, and was approved by central government in 2018.
Although there were no cycle lanes in the original proposals, some were added later around the northern portal. If built, these will connect the existing cycle lanes on North Woolwich Road to those on the Lower Lea Crossing.
The tunnel itself is opposed by most who support and promote cycling as a progressive and sustainable mode of transport in the capital. To add insult to injury, it appears that the cycle lanes proposed are not of the quality being delivered by TfL on other schemes, such as C4 and C9, and rather hark back to the protected cycle infrastructure delivered in the 1990s. The hope, of course, is that the tunnel will be scrapped all together, but if that is not to be, they’ll hopefully at least raise the quality of the proposed cycle infrastructure.
More information:
https://content.tfl.gov.uk/silvertown-consultation-booklet.pdf
Status: tunnel under construction / cycleway in design stage
Estimated completion date: 2025
Beam Parkway (Havering: New Road)
Beam Park is a large new housing development in East London, set to deliver thousands of new homes across the 2020s. To the north of the development is New Road, a dual carriageway and former trunk road.
To make the road more fitting for the new neighbourhood, the London Borough of Havering has secured £4.5m of funding from the Mayor of London and £1.8m from TfL to transform it (between Bridge Road and Thames Avenue) into a single carriageway, with ample cycling and walking facilities. The consultation was held in 2018, although work on the new cycleway has not yet begun. The response to a recent Freedom of Information request to TfL stated that, ‘We managed to secure funding in this latest DfT settlement period, so contracts are currently being finalised while detailed design completes and it’s hoped that work will start in the next calendar year.’
More information:
Status: public consultation held
Estimated completion date: late 2022/early 2023
CS3 eastern extension
A short extension of CS3 has been planned alongside C25 (Barking-Barking Riverside). The idea behind it is that it will connect C25 with the rest of TfL’s Cycleway network.
In the C25 consultation (held in summer 2019), it states that the CS3 extension will have its own consultation ‘following further feasibility work’. However, there has been no news since regarding this consultation.
The silver lining with this scheme is that a legacy protected cycle track already exists where the CS3 extension is set to go. All it lacks is the branding and touching up that would come with it if the scheme was delivered.
More information:
https://haveyoursay.tfl.gov.uk/access-our-older-consultations
Status: in design stage
Estimated completion date: unknown
Wembley to Willesden Junction Cycleway
This was one of six cycleways committed to by Sadiq Khan in 2018, with design work starting the same year. At the beginning of 2020, a survey was held, allowing the public to have their say on the route. It was recently announced that TfL hopes to present their proposals in a public consultation in late 2021.
More information:
https://www.london.gov.uk/questions/2018/0573
https://www.cyclescape.org/issues/4041-wembley-to-willesden-junction-cycleway
Status: in design stage
Estimated completion date: unknown
York Way Cycleway
In summer 2020, LB Camden and LB Islington created a pop-up cycleway along York Way. In summer 2021, they held a consultation to see whether there was appetite to make the scheme permanent, replacing wands with stepped cycle tracks. The results of the consultation should be published in late 2021/early 2022.
More information:
Status: public consultation held
Estimated completion date: unknown
Sutton to Colliers Wood Cycleway
In 2019, LB Sutton held the first of two consultations for the primarily backstreet Sutton to Colliers Wood Cycleway. They began delivering the first section around St Helier the following year.
At the beginning of 2020, they then held a second consultation covering the part of the route between St Helier and Sutton. If approved and funded, this should be delivered by 2022/2023.
Regarding the section within LB Merton, the response to a recent Freedom of Information request stated that, ’we are working with the borough to focus on delivering the section through Morden Hall Park to coordinate with National Trust maintenance needs. The first part of this was delivered at the start of summer. The remaining section of path through Morden Hall Park is planned to be delivered later this financial year. The small bridge over the brook by the tram line is being designed and will be brought forward as soon as possible, which will complete the National Trust section. The Quietway section from Morden Hall Park to Merantun Way is currently being developed and its implementation is subject to identifying the required funding.’
More information:
https://sutton.citizenspace.com/environment/sutton-cycleway/
Status: partially delivered
Estimated completion date: 2023/2024
Notting Hill-Shepherd’s Bush Cycleway
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) is delivering a backstreet route from Shepherd’s Bush and Notting Hill Gate. This includes a few small minor interventions such as the creation of a modal filter and two safe crossings. The route has been partially delivered, with the first safe junction across Ladbroke Grove being finished in spring 2021. A recent Freedom of Information request made to the Royal Borough stated that, ‘the Council has submitted a bid to Transport for London for funding to deliver the remainder of the Shepherd’s Bush to Notting Hill Cycleway and we are currently awaiting their decision’. This funding however is unlikely to arrive soon, following RBKC’s removal of the TfL-funded High Street Kensington pop-up cycleway in December 2020 (before the trial period even ended).
This route also has a long and difficult history. For more information, see Wood Lane-Notting Hill Gate Cycleway (CS10/CS3/C34) in the Lost Projects section below.
More information:
Status: partially delivered
Estimated completion date: 2022/2023
Quietway 4 (Clapham Common-Wimbledon)
Quietway 4 was consulted on in 2016 as a quiet back-street route between Clapham Common and Wimbledon. Most of it was delivered between 2017 and 2018, although the section crossing Garrett Lane in Earlsfield still hasn’t been built. This is because LB Wandsworth and TfL are in disagreement over its design. On top of this, wayfinding was never put in place, leaving the route un-signposted. There is still no information on when the section at Garrett Lane will be delivered. The response to a recent Freedom of Information request stated that, ‘there are no plans to build this section until the Borough brings forward plans. This route has not been allocated a Cycleway number at the current time.’
More information:
https://lastnotlost.wordpress.com/2018/12/02/quietway100km-updated/
Status: partially delivered
Estimated completion date: unknown
C2-C3 connection - Mansell Street - Streetspace Scheme
In May 2020, TfL released a map that displayed all the new pop-up cycleways that they were planning to build. Very soon after, pop-up routes along Park Lane and Euston Road appeared. Another proposed route on this map was a small connection along Mansell Street to connect C2 and C3.
It took until March 2021 for TfL to announce the start of construction. However, despite this announcement, nothing happened, and TfL went silent. Perhaps the court case over the Streetspace scheme on Bishopsgate led to some apprehension regarding other new Streetspace schemes.
Finally, in September 2021, a consultation page appeared on TfL’s website regarding the new route. It has now been announced that construction will begin in December 2021/January 2022.
More information:
https://www.london.gov.uk/press-releases/mayoral/mayor-and-tfl-announce-work-on-four-new-routes
Status: in planning stages
Estimated completion date: early 2022
Peckham to Streatham Healthy Route (Phase 1 & 2) Experimental Scheme
This pop-up scheme was proposed in summer 2020, making a few small improvements to the route between Peckham and Streatham, primarily making connections between existing low-traffic neighbourhoods. In terms of new infrastructure, this phase will only provide a safe crossing over Leigham Court Road (between Leigham Avenue and Mount Nod Road). Although it will also provide improvements to the existing pop-up cycle lane along Norwood Road. It should be remembered however that this is only the first part of a larger scheme that has its roots in the once proposed Peckham to Streatham Quietway.
A decision was made to go ahead with the scheme in late October 2021. However the start date of construction is still unknown.
More information:
https://moderngov.lambeth.gov.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?ID=7963
Status: approved and funded
Estimated completion date: unknown
Over the last few years certain cycleway schemes have sadly been cancelled. This has either been down to lack of political will, disagreements between TfL and councils, or money. Below are a few of these cancelled schemes, explaining their history and why they were cancelled:
Quietway 21 (Wandsworth Common-Teddington)
Quietway 21 was first consulted on in 2016, designed as a quiet back-street route connecting Wandsworth Common to Teddington. The route didn’t propose much in terms of new infrastructure. It also had the problem of not being a viable route after dark. However, improvements to existing shared-space routes were proposed, as well as a few safer junctions and two short sections of segregated cycle path.
In 2018, the first part of the route was delivered in Roehampton, adding a contraflow along Roehampton High Street and making the junction crossing Roehampton Lane safer for cyclists. However, nothing has been delivered since.
It was said in a response to a Freedom of Information request, made in early 2019, that following a review of the quality on the route, the delivery timescales had been extended. They said that construction was planned to start in early 2019 and that signage would be installed once construction had been finished. This timeline however was not followed.
In a Mayor’s Question Time in mid-March 2020, the LB Richmond part of the route was brought up, to which it was responded that work would begin in late summer 2020. However, the pandemic again pushed the works back.
The response to a recent Freedom of Information request made in late October 2021 stated that, ‘we can confirm that no further sections of Q21 will be built and the sections which have been built will not be branded as part of the cycleway network’. TfL did not give a reason for this decision.
More information:
Cycle Superhighway 5 (Victoria-Lewisham)
Cycle Superhighway 5 (CS5) was one of the original cycleways proposed in 2008, set to connect Victoria and Lewisham. Between 2012 and 2013 a public consultation was held for the whole route, yet following the decision by TfL to make all future Cycle Superhighways segregated (or follow backstreets), only the section between Pimlico and Oval Cricket Ground was delivered. This was completed in 2015, with no news since regarding the development of the rest of the cycleway.
Cycle Superhighway 11 (Regent’s Park-Swiss Cottage)
Cycle Superhighway 11 (CS11) was consulted on in 2016 with 60% of respondents supporting it. Construction was all set to start in 2018, however the City of Westminster took TfL to court on the basis that the transport authority had not fully considered that the council may continue to object to sections of CS11. Following the court refusing TfL’s appeal, the project has been put indefinitely on hold.
Wood Lane-Notting Hill Gate Cycleway (CS10/CS3/C34)
CS10 – Early plans
The Wood Lane part of this route can trace its origins to the original Cycle Superhighways plan of 2008, as part of the now forgotten Cycle Superhighway 10 (CS10).
The desire of CS10 was to provide a route out west from Central London towards Shepherd’s Bush and Acton. However, the proposed route would have been indirect, forcing those in Acton and Shephered’s Bush to go south and join the proposed Cycle Superhighway 9 at Kensington Olympia before heading into Central London. It was perhaps this which led to the route being reconsidered.
A roadblock that was revealed early on was that the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) were against the notion of any segregated cycleway going through their borough. This led TfL, in early 2016, to decide to drop CS10 and instead extend Cycle Superhighway 3 westwards along the Westway, between Westbourne Terrace and Wood Lane (joining the original CS10 route from there going west). This would be possible as the Westway is a TfL owned road. The plan however, was dropped in late 2016 due to cost and pollution issues, leaving CS3 to end awkwardly at Lancaster Gate. The Wood Lane to Acton part of CS10 however did open in 2019-2020, branded as Cycleway 34.
Wood Lane to Notting Hill Gate Cycleway
Following the abandonment of the CS3 western extension, TfL conducted a Strategic Cycling Analysis (published in 2017). This suggested that the desired Acton to Central London cycleway should follow Wood Lane, Shepherd’s Bush Green and Holland Park Avenue, terminating at Notting Hill Gate. Despite RBKC’s previous rejections, TfL went ahead and designed the route, and in spring 2019 held a public consultation. The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham (LBHF) supported the proposals, however as to be expected, RBKC refused them outright, not even waiting for the public consultation to end. RBKC cited worries from businesses and residents as their reasoning behind this decision, as well as concerns over the loss of 20 mature trees (although this wouldn’t have been necessary if RBKC were prepared to lose space for vehicles).
There is however a darker event that underlies the story of this lost cycleway. During one of the public consultations a lady spoke posing as the aunt of Eilidh Cairns. Cairns, was crushed to death in Notting Hill Gate by a lorry, while cycling to work in 2009. This lady claimed that ‘Had Eilidh been alive today, she would not have supported the scheme.’ These vial tactics used by certain opponents of the proposed cycleway led to even greater anger that RBKC refused the scheme before the end of the public consultation.
In summer 2020, in response to the pandemic, LBHF installed temporary protection along parts of Wood Lane and Shepherd’s Bush Green. However, despite the council’s support of the cycleway through their borough, there are currently no plans from TfL to go ahead with this if they cannot build the RBKC section too.
Shepherd’s Bush to Notting Hill Gate backstreet scheme
Bowing to pressure following their opposition to TfL’s proposals, RBKC responded by planning an alternative cycleway between Shepherd’s Bush and Notting Hill Gate. The proposed route follows indirect backstreets and takes three times as long as using Holland Park Avenue. Moreover, bar two safe crossings, the design features nothing other than wayfinding. Works on this are half complete, with one of the crossings, at Ladbroke Grove, in place and the other awaiting TfL funding.
More information:
https://haveyoursay.tfl.gov.uk/access-our-older-consultations
Other original Cycle Superhighways
There were twelve Cycle Superhighways originally proposed in 2008. Of these, seven have (mostly only in part) been delivered. On top of this, many of the route choices have changed, such as CS1, which ended up taking a mostly backstreet route rather than the direct A10.
What should be remembered however, is that when this map was created segregation from road traffic was not seen as essential, with early schemes such as CS7 being delivered with virtually no protection. This was understandably cheaper and easier to implement along busy A-roads as very few changes to the carrangeway were needed.
Despite this, the 2008 plan has guided the delivery of cycleways since its publication, with two of the most important routes currently being implemented today, C4 and C9, having their origins in the plan. It therefore continues to provide a blueprint for the connections needed to make this a safe city to cycle in.
Although some of these cycleways are funded or under construction, the majority of them are dependent on how much TfL receives in its next central government funding package on 11 December 2021. If they get this – and if passenger numbers rise to their previous levels – it will allow TfL to deliver the proposed cross-borough schemes, such as C9 and C50, as well as fund local schemes like Q88 and C15 through their Local Implementation Plan.
If (and hopefully when) TfL gets their finances back in order, the delivery of these schemes will help London to become a safer place to cycle in. What’s planned, however, frankly isn’t enough. Even if they do all get built there will remain a lack of cohesiveness in TfL’s Cycleway network, and huge swathes of London will remain without any decent infrastructure.
TfL needs to be more ambitious and create a comprehensive and holistic plan covering the whole of London, not too dissimilar to what they did in 2008 (and what Paris has done both in 2015 and again in 2021). This needs to include not only local routes that follow back streets through LTNs, but ambitious trunk routes that go from the suburbs into central London. Lastly, they need to design more orbital routes to tie trunk and local routes together, making vital connections between the suburbs. This would serve the function that the Circle Line and London Overground do for train passengers and what London’s three ring roads do for car drivers. Only with a comprehensive network featuring these three sorts of cycleway can London one day become a genuinely good place to cycle in. This is possible, although it will take funding, ambition, and of course, good planning and design.
To end on a more positive note, here are a few cycleways/safer junctions that have been completed since early summer:
Gray’s Inn Road Cycleway
Throughout 2021, LB Camden have delivered a (mostly) protected cycleway along Gray’s Inn Road.
Crofton Road Cycleway (Orpington)
The London Borough of Bromley consulted on a route west of Orpington Station along Crofton road in 2019. They delivered it in early summer 2021.
Lavender Road/Lachmere Road Junction
Following the tragic death of a cyclist at this junction in 2016, between December 2020 and January 2021, TfL held a consultation on making it safer. Work began in early summer 2021 and was completed in late October 2021.
Bath Road - Hounslow
In 2019, the London Borough of Hounslow consulted on a short stretch of segregated cycleway between Hounslow West Station and the A4/A30 junction. Due to the arrival of COVID-19, the scheme was put on hold, but luckily construction finally started in early summer 2021 and was finished by autumn 2021.
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