2023 New Cycle Infrastructure Review

Map of new infrastructure: https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=1ded24_il1SkLPmBkiwV02jpKppkGapc&ll=51.516975804561284%2C-0.21828576419061996&z=10

The slow growth of London’s safe cycle network since 2021 has been a painful thing to witness. After the amazing leap forward in 2020 with countless new LTNs and pop-up cycleways, the last three years has only seen a slow drip of new schemes completed. What is frustrating is that this is at an even slower pace than before the pandemic, with ‘the funding available for Healthy Streets investment in [TfL’s] 2023 Business Plan [being] lower than in [their] 2019 Business Plan’ (Cycling Action Plan 2, p69, 2023). 

Being more optimistic, 2023 has been a brilliant year for new schemes going to consultation. This includes proposals in areas that really need it, such as plans for three protected cycle routes in the City of Westminster, as well as similar proposals in Newham, Harrow, Lewisham and of course, Brent, where the first consultation for the long-awaited Wembley to Willesden Cycleway has finally been conducted. Although it is unlikely that these will be built before 2025 (or later), it is great that new designs are coming forward again, especially in parts of London that lack high-quality protected cycle infrastructure.

Returning to 2023, development has been sparse, however there has been relatively good progress in two areas: south London (primarily LB Lambeth) and north-east London (primarily LB Islington and LB Waltham Forest).

South London

• LB Lambeth created the Southbank, Brixton Hill and Streatham Wells LTNs, built the Loughborough Road cycle tracks and completed the second phase of the Brockwell Park to Gypsy Hill scheme on Rosendale Road
• LB Southwark finally constructed their Sydenham Hill cycle tracks (albeit with pop-up materials), made Walworth and Walworth West LTNs permanent and completed 90% the missing link of C4 (Tower Bridge – Greenwich), which should open in early 2024
• LB Croydon, despite their financial difficulties, constructed pop-up tracks along Brighton Road, connecting South Croydon and Purley, as well as a short permanent scheme on Ampere Way, just north of Croydon’’s Ikea
• LB Merton transformed their Covid-era pop-up lanes on Merton High Street into permanent stepped tracks and completed another phase of the Sutton to Colliers Wood cycleway, with the whole off-road Colliers Wood to Morden section now fully paved.

North-east London

• TfL made progress on delivering Cycleway 23’s western extension, completing Lea Bridge Roundabout and the cycle tracks on Crossway
• LB Newham constructed two eastbound tracks along Romford Road (which are complete, but annoyingly still blocked), and finished the first section of their ambitious North Woolwich Road scheme, with work underway on the following two phases. Alongside this, they widened and repaved the eastern part of the Greenway and completed the final part of the Mitchell Walk scheme in Beckton
• LB Redbridge completed their section of Cycleway 42 along Riverdene Road/Lowbrook Road/Uphall Road and installed pop-up lanes on Woodford New Road, which will one day hopefully form part of Cycleway 23
• LB Waltham Forest constructed tracks on High Road Leytonstone, created Lloyd Park and Windsor Road LTNs, finished the eastbound Forest Road tracks at Blackhorse Road and created Cycleway 26 (using existing infrastructure). They also built two smaller schemes: Newcomen Road – Montague Road cycle crossing and a shared-space path from Bushwood to Belgrave Road on Wanstead Flats
• LB Enfield completed the long-delayed C1 missing link on Bull Lane, along with the surrounding LTN. Alongside this, they built the first part of their Enfield to Broxbourne Cycleway (a safe crossing at Parsonage Lane)
• LB Camden worked on transforming their Covid-era pop-up lanes into permanent cycleways, completing Prince of Wales Road and starting work on York Way
• Other schemes completed include the creation of the small Waterson Street LTN in Hackney, the creation of the Bath Street LTN in Islington, the pedestrianisation of part of Leonard Street (with an adjoining cycle track) and the creation of the Sacred Heart School Street, which has created a small LTN north of Mackenzie Road in LB Islington.

All other parts of London, including central London, have seen little activity. Below are the main schemes completed:

• TfL completed the second phase of Cycleway 50 between Caledonian Road and Finsbury Park (with pop-up materials) 
• The next phase of Cycleway 9 has been built (Watermans Park – Kew Bridge). Although this is only small, the good news is that TfL have already started work on the following section towards Brentford, with three construction sites currently active
• LB Richmond constructed pop-up lanes between Strawberry Hill and Teddington, along Strawberry Vale/Twickenham Road/Manor Road
• LB Ealing completed the next tiny phase of their Ealing to Greenford Cycleway (the first section opened six years ago!), with a cycle crossing from Gordon Road into Haven Green. If this cycleway opens in 2024, it will be nothing short of a miracle. The council performed better in the northern part of the borough, where they made good progress on delivering their Visions for Northolt programme, with the first part of the Kensington Road cycle tracks opening. The rest due to be complete by March 2024
• LB Hounslow built a cycle crossing over Staines Road connecting Ruskin Avenue and Kingston Avenue. With the LTNs and wide shared paths on either side, this creates a delightful safe cycle route between Feltham and Bedfont
• TfL created two cycleways out of existing infrastructure in central London, Cycleway 41 (Euston – Holborn) and Cycleway 10 north (Soho – Euston). They also created a short eastbound track on Harrington Square/Lidlington Place, building on a pop-up scheme from 2020
• LB Camden upgraded a section of Cycleway 27 in Bloomsbury, making the eastbound lane permanent, pedestrianised the north section of Gordon Square (with an adjoining cycle track) and completed the pedestrianisation of the north end of Shaftesbury Avenue, which includes a cycle crossing over New Oxford Street.

Although this year hasn’t been the most transformative in terms of completions, there are a number of great schemes which will either enter construction or be completed in 2024:

• Cycleway 4 will finally be complete between Tower Bridge and Greenwich. This will be a remarkable achievement, considering we first heard about this scheme in 2009
• Cycleway 9 should be complete between Brentford and Hammersmith (albeit with some parts still using pop-up materials)
• Cycleway 23’s western extension (Dalston to Lea Bridge) should be complete, creating a continuous segregated/filtered street cycleway from Epping Forest to Dalston (where it meets Cycleway 1)
• LB Kingston should finally finish their two uncompleted cycleways, Cycleway 29 (Tolworth – Kingston) and Cycleway 32 (New Malden – Kingston)
• The next section of the Nine Elms Lane cycle tracks will start construction
• Cycleway 50 should be complete between Camden (C6) and Finsbury Park (C38), which will mean the ambitious cross-borough cycleway is 50% complete
• If we’re lucky, the new administration at Westminster will start constructing the three schemes they consulted on this year: C43 (Hyde Park – Gloucester Place), C51 (Marylebone – Hamilton Terrace) and Cleveland Street in Bloomsbury
• Three large LTNs should go live in Lambeth, including Slade Gardens, West Dulwich and Waterloo. Although given Lambeth’s record, some of these might be delayed until 2025 
• A number of large LTNs should go live in Islington, including St John’s, Highbury New Park, Mildmay, Cally Liveable Neighbourhood, Barnsbury and Laycock liveable neighbourhood
• Three large LTNs should go live in Hackney, including, Dalston, Hoxton East and Chatsworth Road
• Work will finally start creating cycle tracks on Lambeth Bridge and the junctions on either side
• A number of dangerous junctions will be transformed including Battersea Bridge north (construction start date: October 2024), Holborn Gyratory (phase 2, already under construction), Bank Junction (should be complete in early 2024) and Surrey Quays Gyratory (should be complete in early 2024).

The ambitious list of 2024 schemes above, alongside the impressive number of new cycleways currently being consulted on, brings hope for next year. However, for this to materialise, it is essential that TfL continue to recover their finances. With a General Election likely on the cards, and Labour likely leading to election victory, the hope is that TfL will have a government in place that is more willing to consider agreeing a long-term funding model for the capital’s transport network. If this happens, then London’s safe cycle network can start to grow at an ever-increasing pace.