New 20mph limits in Camberwell and New Cross are a small step forward for London’s much delayed Cycle Superhighway 5.

Running from central London to New Cross Gate, CS5 was intended to be one of the first Cycle Superhighways to open. However, objections from the traditionally cycle-hostile City of Westminster forced a rethink; then, Transport for London decided to revise the plans in the light of the Mayor’s ‘Vision for Cycling in London’, which sets out higher standards than originally planned.

Between New Cross and Oval, TfL has created a halfway house for now. The route here has new cycle and bus lanes, road resurfacing, and revised junction layouts. New 20mph limits have been imposed in Camberwell town centre and New Cross, coming into operation this month, and Peckham could follow later this year.

The next step here will be ‘semi-segregation’ – lightweight plastic poles, cats’ eyes, and rumble strips to keep cars out of the cycle and bus lanes. Andrew Gilligan, the Mayor’s Cycling Commissioner, called this “an important test-bed for our concept of ‘semi-segregated’ cycle routes on Victorian streets which are too narrow and thronged with buses for full segregation to be possible”.

Plans are still being drawn up for the Oval junction and the central London sections, which will be “substantially upgraded” over the original proposals; these will be announced later this year. The current completion date for the route is 2015, two years later than originally planned.