Overview

Update - 1 March 2016

We are seeking views on proposals for the East-West Cycle Superhighway between Paddington to Acton, connecting to the section currently under construction from Tower Hill through central London to Paddington.

Click here for more information and to have your say

Update - 10 September 2015

We have published our response to the Lancaster Gate consultation, which is available here.

We received 651 responses to the consultation, of which 78% supported or partially supported our proposals. Comments from respondents included general support for the proposals, suggestions that a pedestrian crossing should be provided to Sussex Gardens, and concerns regarding the impact on traffic.

After considering all responses, we intend to proceed with the scheme as set out in the consultation documents, although with some changes to the detailed proposals, as summarised below:



Following further investigations and discussions with Westminster City Council and key stakeholders, we will install a new signalised crossing to the north-west corner of the public garden at Sussex Gardens, providing a controlled pedestrian access point to this park

We have revised the design of the Bayswater Road / Lancaster Terrace junction to accommodate a ‘straight-across’ pedestrian crossing on Bayswater Road, opposite the entrance to Hyde Park at Marlborough Gate, instead of the two-stage ‘staggered’ crossing we consulted on

We have reviewed parking controls in the area to ensure available parking is maximised. The conversion of a zebra crossing to signalised crossing at Westbourne Crescent means that shorter zig-zag markings can be provided. The remaining space will be placed under single yellow line control, allowing parking during off-peak times including Sunday



Next steps

Subject to the formal Traffic Order process and agreement with Westminster City Council, we plan to start construction work in November 2015, with completion planned for summer 2016. We will keep visitors and road users informed of our plans and progress, including writing to local residents, businesses and other stakeholders before undertaking work in their area. We will also provide road traffic information to help people better plan their journeys and make informed choices about how, where and when they travel.

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Update - 20 August 2015

We have published our response to the St James’s Park and Green Park consultation, which is available here.

We received 646 responses to the consultation, of which 71% supported or partially supported our proposals. Comments from respondents included general support for the proposals, calls for continuous segregated cycling facilities along Spur Road, and concern over the proposal to route cyclists through the existing shared pedestrian-cyclist space behind Canada Gate.

After considering all of the responses to the consultation, we intend to proceed with the overall scheme along the route alignment consulted upon, with some changes to the detailed proposals as summarised below:

Spur Road

Working with The Royal Parks, we are now proposing a segregated two-way cycle track on Spur Road, between Constitution Hill and Birdcage Walk, introduced on a trial basis. We are currently consulting on these proposals, which can be found at tfl.gov.uk/east-west-spur-road. This consultation is open until 4 October 2015.

Junction of The Mall, Horse Guards Road and North Horse Ride

Following further investigation and discussions with The Royal Parks, we will provide northbound cyclists on Horse Guards Road with an early release facility. Cyclists will have their own set of traffic signals, providing them with a green light a few seconds ahead of motor traffic. This will allow cyclists to proceed ahead of general traffic, reducing the risk of ‘left hooks’.

We will install a new signalised pedestrian crossing on Horse Guards Road, and relocate the signalised pedestrian crossings on The Mall east and west of Horse Guards Road closer to the junction.

Junction of Storey’s Gate/Birdcage Walk/Great George Street/Horse Guards Road

We no longer intend to ban the left turn from Birdcage Walk into Horse Guards Road. This means motorists will be able to enter and leave Horse Guards Road as they do at present. Cyclists travelling eastbound and westbound on Birdcage Walk will be provided with their own dedicated signal phase to move through the junction.

Following further investigation and discussions with The Royal Parks, we will provide southbound cyclists on Horse Guards Road with an early release facility. Cyclists will have their own set of traffic signals, providing them with a green light a few seconds ahead of motor traffic. This will allow cyclists to proceed ahead of general traffic, reducing the risk of ‘left hooks’.

We will create a loading zone on the east side of Storey’s Gate to facilitate the servicing of local frontages.

Birdcage Walk

We will continue to work with The Royal Parks to finalise the design on Birdcage Walk, with the aim of widening the pedestrian crossings .

North Horse Ride

We will work with cycling and disability groups to ensure the route is navigable by non-standard cycles such as hand cycles and cargo bikes. Where necessary, bollards and gates will be realigned. Working with The Royal Parks, we are undertaking a review of lighting in this area to ensure conditions are safe for all users.

Next steps

Subject to agreement with the relevant Highway Authorities, we plan to start construction in early 2016, with completion due in summer 2016. Construction will be phased to minimise the impact on other road and park users. We will keep visitors and road users informed of our plans and progress, including writing to local residents, businesses and other stakeholders before undertaking work in their area. We will also provide road traffic information to help people better plan their journeys and make informed choices about how, where and when they travel.

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Update on 4 August 2015

We have published our response to the Hyde Park consultation, which is available here.

We received 670 responses to the consultation on proposals for the East-West Cycle Superhighway in Hyde Park. 79% of respondents supported or partially supported our proposals. Comments from respondents included general support for the proposals, concern about the alignment of the Cycle Superhighway in Hyde Park, traffic congestion as a result of the scheme, and the potential impact on pedestrians and other park users.

After considering all of the responses received, we intend to proceed with the overall scheme along the route alignment consulted on, although with some changes to the detailed proposals, as summarised below. Subject to agreement with The Royal Parks, we plan for the first phase of construction work to take place on the section of West Carriage Drive south of North Carriage Drive to Coalbrookdale Gate. We are still finalising detailed plans for the route on North Carriage Drive and South Carriage Drive, and will publish these later this year.



Changes to proposals set out in consultation documents on West Carriage Drive

Having considered comments received, we are planning some changes to the proposals set out for consultation, including:

Cyclists will be provided with their own dedicated signal phase to travel southbound out of the park through the junction of West Carriage Drive and South Carriage Drive. Cyclists may also choose to use the dedicated shared footway to cross South Carriage Drive

For events held at the Serpentine Galleries, some deliveries may require the use of oversized vehicles. To enable this, sections of the segregation between the cycle track and carriageway have been designed to be overrun by these vehicles. Access at these times will be arranged and appropriately managed by the delivery or events company to ensure no conflict arises with pedestrians or cyclists when crossing the footways and/or overhanging the cycle track



Changes to proposals set out in consultation documents on North Carriage Drive and South Carriage Drive

We will continue to work with The Royal Parks, key stakeholders, businesses and events organisers to respond to the issues raised during this consultation, and to finalise designs for North Carriage Drive and South Carriage Drive. We will publish our response later this year.

Next steps

Work on West Carriage Drive could begin in late August 2015, and will be phased to minimise the impact on other road and park users, and to account for forthcoming events in Hyde Park. We will keep visitors and road users informed of our plans and progress, including writing to local residents, businesses and other stakeholders before undertaking work in their area. We will also provide road traffic information to help people better plan their journeys and make informed choices about how, where and when they travel.

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Update on 4 June 2015

We have published our response to the Victoria Embankment / Northumberland Avenue consultation, which is available here.

We received 663 responses to the consultation, of which 74% supported or partially supported our proposals.

We continue to consider responses for the Hyde Park, St. James’s Park and the Green Park and Lancaster Gate consultations, and we expect to issue an update in summer 2015.

After considering all responses, we intend to proceed with the scheme as set out in the consultation documents. Additionally commuter coach services will be able to use the existing tour bus stop at Westminster Pier. We also intend to allow commuter coaches to serve the Banqueting House stop on Whitehall as an alternative, subject to discussions with Westminster City Council. This would provide another nearby option for services affected by the removal of bus and coach stop Y on Victoria Embankment.

We plan to start construction work around the Victoria Embankment / Northumberland Avenue junction in July 2015, with completion for the East-West route planned for spring 2016.

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Update on 8 April 2015

We consulted on overall proposals for the East-West Cycle Superhighway in September 2014. Please see below for more information, including changes made following consultation and TfL’s response to issues commonly raised.

Construction work is planned to start on 11 April 2015 at Hyde Park Corner and 27 April 2015 at Victoria Embankment and Upper and Lower Thames Street. We plan to complete this work by April 2016. Please see tfl.gov.uk/eastwest for more information about our plans for constructing the East-West Cycle Superhighway.

We are currently considering responses received to the recent consultations on revised proposals for the below sections of the route:



Lancaster Gate: Revised proposals for the route between Sussex Gardens and Brook Street / Hyde Park, featuring a two-way segregated cycle track on the east side of Westbourne Street and one-way segregated cycle tracks in each direction on Bayswater Road



Hyde Park: Detailed proposals for a continuous, segregated cycle route through the park, including North Carriage Drive becoming one-way eastbound for motorists



St James’s Park and the Green Park: Detailed proposals for improved cycling provision through the parks. This includes revised proposals for the Horse Guards Road / Storey’s Gate junction, with changes to the previously-proposed traffic restrictions



Victoria Embankment / Northumberland Avenue: Revised proposals to aid traffic flow on Victoria Embankment, including a banned right turn from Northumberland Avenue to Victoria Embankment and removal of a bus/coach stop and pedestrian crossing



Please click the links above for details of the proposals for each section. The consultations closed on Sunday 29 March 2015.



September 2014 consultation on overall proposals for the East-West Cycle Superhighway

Last year we consulted on proposals for the East-West Cycle Superhighway – a continuous largely segregated cycle route between Tower Hill and Acton. The consultation ran from 3 September to 9 November 2014. Thank you to all who took part in our consultation.

We received a total of 8,847 direct responses to the East-West Cycle Superhighway consultation. The majority of these supported the overall proposals, with 73% fully supporting and 5% partially supporting the scheme. 20% of direct respondents did not support the proposed scheme. We also received 5,650** emails submitted using a template on the London Cycling Campaign website, supporting both these proposals and those for the North-South Cycle Superhighway. With these, the overall full support rate for the route is 84% (14,497 responses).

** not including duplicate submissions or people who had already responded to the consultation directly to TfL

Following consultation, the TfL Board has agreed that the Tower Hill – Paddington section of the East-West Cycle Superhighway should progress to construction, although with some changes to the proposals set out for consultation (some of which are subject to further consultation).

These include:

Changes to reduce the journey time impacts of the proposals, which retain the proposed segregated route for cyclists, but also provide two westbound traffic lanes between Tower Hill and Northumberland Avenue. Space would be created in various ways, including some reductions in pavement, cycle track and traffic island widths

Lifting some of the previously-proposed traffic restrictions at Fish Street Hill, Horse Guards Road and Storey’s Gate (new signalised junction at Horse Guards Road / Storey’s Gate subject to further consultation)

New banned turns at Northumberland Avenue and Storey’s Gate (subject to further consultation)

More loading, disabled and motorcycle parking on Victoria Embankment and more time allowed for loading (subject to local consultation)

New design at Lancaster Gate with a more direct route for southbound cyclists (subject to further consultation)

Consultation on detailed proposals for St James’s Park and Hyde Park



Full details of the changes to the original proposals and TfL’s response to issues commonly raised can be viewed or downloaded from the link below:

East-West Cycle Superhighway - Response to consultation



Next steps:

We plan to start constructing some sections of the route in spring 2015, with completion planned for spring 2016. Works will be phased to minimise impact on the traffic network and would cater for pedestrians, cyclists and other road users as much as possible.

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Details from the 2014 consultation are included below:



What we proposed?

Transport for London (TfL), in close consultation with its partner City of Westminster, proposed a continuous, largely segregated cycle route between Tower Hill and Acton. The East-West Cycle Superhighway would provide a clear and convenient route for cyclists, physically separated from other vehicles. We would create space for the new cycle route by reallocating road space from other traffic and changing the operation of some junctions.

This page contains a summary of our proposals. Detailed proposals for each section of route can be found here.

Please note: This page was updated on 25/09/14 extending the closing date to 9 November 2014 and adding additional information on benefits and impacts for other road users.

Why did we propose this?

Cycling in London has more than doubled in the last decade. Bikes now make up around a quarter of rush hour traffic in central London* - but there are few special routes or facilities for them. The proposed Superhighway would create a separated cycle corridor to improve safety and reduce conflict between motor vehicles and cyclists. It has been designed to encourage the large numbers of people who would like to cycle, but currently feel unable to. Data from existing Barclays Cycle Superhighways suggests the new route would also draw cyclists away from other routes in central London which are less suitable for them.

*Source: TfL Cycle Census 2013

The route is one of the measures outlined in the Mayor's Vision for Cycling in London, which outlines the Mayor’s plans to make cycling an integral part of the city’s transport network.

Where would the East-West Cycle Superhighway go?

The new Superhighway would start at Tower Hill, where it would connect to the existing Barclays Cycle Superhighway Route 3 (CS3), which runs east to Canary Wharf and Barking. From Tower Hill, the new route would run along Lower and Upper Thames Street, Victoria Embankment, across Parliament Square, through St James’s Park, Green Park and Hyde Park, and over the Westway flyover from Westbourne Bridge to Wood Lane. From there, it would continue along the A40 Western Avenue as far as Horn Lane, Acton.*

*Consultation on Westway to Acton section at a later date

There would also be connections to other existing and proposed cycle routes, including the proposed North-South Cycle Superhighway from Elephant & Castle to King’s Cross, and potential ‘Quietway’ backstreet routes to other parts of the City, the West End, Paddington, Maida Vale, Notting Hill and many other places. Quietway routes are also being considered to connect the route to Shepherds Bush, Hammersmith, Acton, Wembley and Ealing town centres, and the Park Royal trading estate.

Click here for a map of the proposed route alignment.

Click here for further details of proposals for each section of the route from Tower Hill to Acton.

Visualisation of proposed segregated two-way cycle track on Tower Hill (below)

Detailed proposals

Click here for further details of proposals for each section of the route from Tower Hill to Acton. Some of the main proposals are also summarised below.

Overview of proposed road layout changes

The new route would mean major changes to the road layout. Proposals for each section of the route are described in detail here and summarised below:

A wide, two-way kerb-segregated cycle track in the road, meaning a reduction in traffic lanes along most sections of the proposed route. The segregation would be removable in certain areas for ceremonial and state occasions and other major events

New segregated cycle tracks replacing a traffic lane in both directions on Westbourne Terrace

Redesigned junctions, including a segregated route for cyclists through Parliament Square and the partial removal of the Lancaster Gate one-way system

Banned turns or other restrictions for motorists at various locations. Proposals include the closure of Horse Guards Road at its junction with Birdcage Walk and Great George Street to general traffic (except cyclists and official vehicles), and the closure of Shorter Street to general traffic (except buses and cyclists). Please see the maps on pages 8-15 for details of these and other proposed changes

Changes to parking and loading arrangements, including a reduction in motorcycle and car parking and the relocation of some coach parking on Victoria Embankment

Changes to bus and coach stops, including new bypasses for cyclists at Tower Hill, Lower Thames Street (beneath Cannon Street station) and Victoria Embankment

Changes to footways and pedestrian crossings. There would be footway extensions in some areas, including Parliament Square and Hyde Park Corner. However, there are also areas where we would need to reduce the footway width to make room for the cycle track

Segregated cycle tracks would be created on the traffic roads in Hyde Park. Further consultation on detailed proposals will take place at a later date, although we welcome comments now on our initial proposals



Click here for further details of proposals for each section of the route from Tower Hill to Acton.

What other benefits would the new route bring?

A wide segregating island between the cycle and traffic lanes along Victoria Embankment, which could be used for deliveries and for setting down bus, coach and taxi passengers

Increased distance between the footway and the road, creating a more pleasant pedestrian environment

Low traffic, boulevard-type environment for pedestrians and cyclists on Horse Guard’s Road, created by closing the junction with Birdcage Walk to all traffic except cycles and official vehicles

New and upgraded pedestrian crossings, for example at Trinity Square, Parliament Square and Lancaster Gate

Links to other existing and proposed cycle routes, including the existing Barclays Cycle Superhighways at Southwark Bridge and Tower Hill and the proposed North-South Cycle Superhighway at Blackfriars (please see separate consultation at tfl.gov.uk/cycle-north-south)

New cycle parking

High-quality materials to enhance the look of the streets and reflect their importance

New lighting, paving, planting and other improvements at various locations, including Hyde Park Corner and Great Tower Street



What impacts would this scheme have on other road users?

Our latest analysis shows the proposals would mean longer journey times for motorists and bus, coach and taxi passengers along most of the route, both during construction and once complete. There would also be longer journey times for users of many of the roads approaching the proposed route and longer waits for pedestrians at some signalised crossings.

TfL is developing wider traffic management plans for central London to help reduce the traffic impacts of this scheme and others, including those proposed by London local authorities and developers. This will include investing in advanced traffic signal technology to allow us to better manage traffic depending on differing conditions at any given time. There will also be customer information to enable road users to make informed journey choices and campaigns to encourage road users to check before they travel.

Please click here for a summary of the benefits and impacts for other road users on routes through the proposed scheme area, including predicted changes to journey times.

How else would the proposals affect other road users?

Parking and loading:

We would need to relocate or remove some existing kerbside parking and loading to make space for the cycle track. Please click here for details of proposed changes for specific sections of the route

Deliveries and servicing:

We continue to work with businesses and freight operators to minimise the impact of these proposals on their operations. If your home or workplace is on or near the proposed route, please let us know if the proposals could affect your deliveries, collections and servicing. We would encourage you to discuss the proposals with companies undertaking these operations.

Working with City of London and City of Westminster

These proposals have been developed with the involvement of City of Westminster, and City of London, who have assisted in evaluating options but have not formally agreed the proposals, and will be responding to this consultation.





Additional information

You may find the following documents provide useful information about these proposals and about TfL’s and the Mayor’s plans for cycling in London: