Kingston, Enfield and Waltham Forest are to benefit from millions of pounds to create ‘mini-Hollands’ in the London suburbs – but other boroughs won’t be left empty-handed.
The three winners are each getting up to £30m as part of the biggest ever investment in bike paths in outer London, while Transport for London has pledged to work with five other boroughs to bring their schemes forward.
In the winning boroughs, the full gamut of cycle routes has been proposed – full Dutch-style segregated tracks, traffic-free ‘greenways’ away from roads, and turning residential roads into no-through-routes for cars. The plans are:
- Kingston (pictured): A major cycle hub will be created and the plaza outside Kingston station will be transformed. New high-quality cycling routes will be introduced together with a Thames Riverside Boardway, a landmark project which could see a new cycle boardwalk delivered on the banks of the river.
- Enfield: Enfield Town centre will be completely redesigned, with segregated superhighways linking key destinations, three cycle hubs delivered across the Borough and new greenway routes introduced.
- Waltham Forest: A semi-segregated Superhighway route along Lea Bridge Road will be developed as well as a range of measures focused on improving cycling in residential areas and the creation of “Hackney-style” cycle-friendly low-traffic neighbourhoods.
Meanwhile, “substantial parts” of the plans submitted by Bexley (the runner-up), Ealing, Merton and Richmond will be taken forward by TfL. These are:
- Bexley: Creating radical new junction solutions for cyclists in key locations and rolling out an extensive segregated and semi-segregated cycling network.
- Ealing: A cycle-friendly redesign of Ealing town centre and a special cycling "quietway" between Ealing and Southall.
- Merton: Redesigning Wimbledon town centre on Dutch principles and building a cycle hub at the Centre Court shopping centre.
- Richmond: New cycleways on unused land alongside railway lines.
Newham, which planned to remove the Stratford gyratory and reshape Stratford town centre, has been invited to make a full bid to TfL’s major projects fund.
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “I have been incredibly impressed with the standard of the mini-Holland entries and by the thirst among all the finalists to transform themselves into better places for people. It has been so hard to choose between them that I have decided that all shall have prizes. Areas once terra incognita for the bicycle will, over time, become every bit as cycle-friendly as their Dutch equivalents - places that suburbs and towns all over Britain will want to copy.”
Although most recent headlines have focused on cycling in central London, TfL believes that the suburbs have equal potential for cycling, and aims to move those suburban car journeys which are “short and highly cyclable” onto bikes. Cycling champion and former racer, Chris Boardman, explained: “Almost half of London households do not have a car, so it's logical that infrastructure and resource for this desirable form of transport reflects this.”
Quietways
The news also marked a step forward for the ‘Quietway’ concept, of “direct and continuous” through-routes on back streets where traffic has been reduced. The routes will be devised by TfL, the London boroughs, and Sustrans, the charity behind the National Cycle Network.
The first two such routes have now been announced: from Waterloo to Greenwich, serving a wide area of south-east London, and from Bloomsbury to Walthamstow. A further six routes covering all points of the compass will be opened in 2015.
Sustrans’ London director, German Dector-Vega, said: “We are extremely excited about these first two Quietways as they are both routes that people already use or where significant regeneration will take place. They will be fun to ride, will show off some attractive back streets and will greatly reduce barriers to cycling. New links, improved crossings and better access to the many attractions along each route will make local trips and journeys into central London easier.”
