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A new cycle superhighway linking King's Cross with Elephant and Castle has been given the go-ahead by Sadiq Khan.

The five kilometre north-south route, which aims to “provide major benefits for pedestrians as well as cyclists”, will have wide pavements and more crossings after Sadiq Khan vowed to “learn lessons from previous superhighway schemes”.

The Mayor of London confirmed the project will commence in spring 2017 after a consultation published by Transport for London saw 70 per cent of the public support the plans.

But the consultation also led to calls for the route to be redirected away from the headquarters of the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) following concerns over the dangers proposals presented for partially sighted people.

The full north-south route, to be known as cycle superhighway 6 (CS6), will be either fully separated from traffic or on quiet back streets and will connect routes from Kings Cross to Hackney, Walthamstow, Camden and Swiss Cottage.

TfL said it has amended original plans after concerns from local residents and is now developing a final design to submit to Camden and Islington councils for approval.

According to TfL the "safe and attractive route" will include 1,600sq metres of new footpaths and 14 new or upgraded signalised pedestrian crossings with tactile paving and pedestrian countdown technology.

TfL has also promised to provide improved pedestrian crossing at Farringdon Road and to ensure the construction timetable is “fully coordinated with other roadwork’s” to prevent unnecessary congestion.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said he hopes the new superhighway will make cycling accessible to more Londoners.

He added: “The extension of the North-South Cycle Superhighway will make a big difference joining up existing and planned safe cycle routes in this part of London, and make cycling a safe and practical option for thousands more Londoners.

“We’re determined to learn all the lessons from previous superhighway schemes, and we’ve listened carefully to everyone who responded to the consultation. This includes incorporating wider pavements and more crossing points to ensure pedestrians properly benefit from the new scheme too.”

RNIB regional campaigns manager Michael Wilson ​said the institute was "extremely disappointed" by the plans and are now "considering all options available".

He said: "In deciding the route, RNIB believes that the Mayor of London, TfL and Camden Council have given little, if any, consideration to the very real concerns and needs of blind and partially sighted people.

“This must be one of the busiest streets in the country for people with sight loss.

"The Mayor, TfL and Camden Council have simply ignored their voices by giving the green light to aligning the route past RNIB. We are extremely disappointed and carefully considering all options available."

And Simon Munk, infrastructure campaigner at the London Cycling Campaign, said the plans did not go far enough.

He said: "We believe some lessons have been learnt, from TfL’s response, but some haven’t.

"But too many 'hook risks' remain and the use of quieter streets on the northern half of the scheme will only work if these are truly quiet – the scheme fails to act on this fully – and risks failing to learn the lessons of CS1.

"This is a big and bold scheme, but it could be even bigger and bolder."

As part of the consultation 80,000 leaflets were delivered to properties along the proposed route.

Of the 1,391 responses with 53 per cent fully supported the proposals and 70 per cent partially supported plans.