"Superhighway redesign will make cycling journeys long and circuitous'

Darren Johnson AM, Green Party Member of the London Assembly, has called on Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, to answer concerns that the Cycle Superhighway 8 through Wandsworth may make journeys longer and mean cyclists are less likely to use the route.

He said:“The Mayor should be providing safe and direct cycling routes for people of all ages and abilities.

“TfL has shown it can do this through busy junctions like Vauxhall Cross. I’m worried that their proposals for Cycle Superhighway 8 might put people off using the route by taking them round the houses on quieter roads. So I’m pressing him to make these plans clearer, and to reconsider whether a more direct safe route can’t be provided.”

He has tabled the following formal questions for the next Mayor’s Question Time meeting:

You confirm that your plan to re-route Cycle Superhighway 8 will make cyclists' journeys longer. When routes become circuitous and cycle trip times rise relative to other modes, research suggests cycling levels drop. Please share with me the results of any modelling TfL has carried out into how the number of cycle trips taken on CS8 could be affected by these route changes.

You state that you will be realigning Cycle Superhighway 8 'away from heavily trafficked and congested roads onto quieter roads'. Please list other superhighways where this course of action is being considered, giving details of the precise locations in question.

How many metres will be added to a cycle journey from the start of CS8 in Wandsworth to the route's end in Millbank under the new route alignment?

Please share the evidence TfL have collected to suggest that cyclists are being deterred from using CS8 due to its current alignment in Wandsworth.

The Cycle Superhighways are along with the Santander Cycles Hire Scheme the two flagship projects of the Johnson administration's London Cycling Revolution.

Neither has been without controversy, however, with critics accusing the Mayor of super-serving the centre at the expense of the suburbs.