The Mayor of London and Transport for London (TfL) have created a plan to create a unified, London-wide cycle network across London, with new quality standards for the building of a new cycling infrastructure. The Cycling Action Plan aims to address poor air quality and congestion, while improving infrastructure to make cycling even easier safer and more accessible for everyone.
The Mayor’s goal is to increase the proportion of people walking, cycling, and taking public transport to 80% of journeys by 2041, from the current 63%. The plan calls for the following actions:
- working on existing routes between, as well as construction of new major cycle routes across the capital;
- ensuring that all new routes meet strict new quality standards, with a focus on traffic volumes and speeds;
- launching the world’s first Cycling Infrastructure Database (CID) – the most comprehensive digital record of all cycling facilities ever collected in London. Over the past 18 months, TfL has amassed data on every street in London, cataloging almost 146,000 cycle parking spaces, 2,000 km of cycle lanes, and more than 58,000 cycle signs and street markings. This data will allow the CID to provide accurate and quality cycling data – alongside a new digital map of cycle routes in London – and will be made available to everyone, free of charge, through an open-data platform; and,
- significantly increasing the number of schools engaged with TfL’s free cycle training and active travel program, ‘STARS’, as well as doubling the number of adults who receive free cycle training each year.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “Getting more Londoners cycling is essential for our city’s future health and prosperity, and our new action plan launched today shows how we’re going to go further than ever before to make this a reality. The evidence is clear – where we’ve built new high-quality cycling infrastructure, the routes have been hugely successful in getting more people on their bikes. Despite this, too many Londoners still don’t have the high-quality cycle routes they need in their local neighborhood. I’m delighted to be announcing some of the major new work that will start on cycle routes across London next year, and in introducing new quality standards for cycle routes, I’m determined to ensure every Londoner feels comfortable and safe getting on a bike, whatever their age, experience or background.”
TfL’s plans for cycling, walking, and Vision Zero are available on the TfL website.
