Now that's a cycle path! Boris unveils £900m 'Crossrail for bikes' including 15-mile route from east to west London



North-south route of Mayor's cycleway will run for more than three miles from Elephant & Castle to King's Cross



East-west route will run from Barking to Acton, a distance of over 18 miles, including section on Westway flyover

Protected cycle routes will be created through junctions including Tower Hill, Blackfriars and Parliament Square


The routes of two urban cycleways across London billed as ‘Crossrail for the bike’ were today unveiled by Mayor Boris Johnson.

They will offer cyclists protection from other road traffic and are the centrepiece of a £913million project to get more Londoners on to two wheels.

The north-south route will run for more than three miles from Elephant & Castle in south London to King’s Cross in north London.

Big Ben: A Greater London Authority image of an artist's impression showing how Parliament Square in London would look after an urban cycleway is installed

Getting through: The north-south route will run for more than three miles from Elephant & Castle in south London to King's Cross in north London Cycling by the Thames: An artist's impression showing how Victoria Embankment in London would look after an urban cycleway is installed Getting more Londoners on their bikes: How St George's Circus in Southwark would look after an urban cycleway is installed

Mr Johnson said: ‘Bikes already make up 24 per cent of all rush-hour traffic in central London - hundreds of thousands of journeys every day that would otherwise be made by car or public transport.

'Getting more people on to their bikes will reduce pressure on the road, bus and rail networks, cut pollution, and improve life for everyone' London Mayor Boris Johnson

‘Because this isn’t just about cyclists. Getting more people on to their bikes will reduce pressure on the road, bus and rail networks, cut pollution, and improve life for everyone, whether or not they cycle themselves.’

The project is said to be creating Europe’s longest substantially-segregated urban cycleways, and opening up new journey opportunities for cyclists.

The proposed riverside cycle track on Victoria Embankment would also mean cyclists there would not need to cross side-roads.



Cars and bicycles: How Blackfriars Road would look after the cycleway is installed. The routes across London have been billed as 'Crossrail for the bike'

Capital traffic: How Ludgate Circus in London would look after the cycleway is installed. Protected cycle routes will be created through dangerous junctions Leon Daniels, managing director of surface transport at Transport for London, said: ‘Cycling in London is becoming more popular by the day. 'This cycle way will attract new people to cycling - young and old - because they will feel safer and more confident using a convenient route' Martin Key, British Cycling ‘These new Cycle Superhighways will further transform London into a continental cycle-tropolis for riders of all ages.’

Subject to public consultation - which begins today - work will start early next year and the routes are expected to open in March 2016.

British Cycling’s campaigns manager Martin Key said: ‘Continuous segregated routes have proved hugely successful in Holland and are an affordable transport solution for cities.

‘This cycle way will attract new people to cycling - young and old - because they will feel safer and more confident using a convenient route.’

Impression: How Blackfriars Junction in London would appear. Connections will be created to cycle routes serving parts of the City, West End and suburbs City skyline: An artist's impression showing how Tower Hill looking westward in London would look after an urban cycleway is installed 'Crossrail for the bike': The east-west cycle superhighway will run for 18 miles from Barking in the east to Acton in the west

Some 19,000 cyclists are killed or injured in reported road accidents in the UK every year, according to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.

Last autumn six cyclists were killed on London's roads in two weeks, leading to calls for more money to be invested in cycle lanes and safety measures.



At the time, former Olympic cyclist Chris Boardman asked Mr Johnson to look at banning heavy good vehicles from the roads during peak hours.



This is a system already implemented in Paris. Out of 14 cyclists killed last year in London, nine were involved in accidents with HGVs.

At Ludgate Circus, one of the areas being redeveloped in the plans, seven cyclists are said to have died since 2008 - the latest being in April this year.

