Huge queues of cyclists on London’s Blackfriars Bridge due to security barriers

Long queues of cyclists have been reported on Blackfriars Bridge resulting from the new barriers that were installed in the wake of the Westminster and London Bridge terror attacks. Thousands of cyclists are being forced to squeeze through one lane with three Transport for London (TfL) staff said to be on hand to manage the bottleneck.

Blackfriars Bridge lies on the capital’s North-South Cycle Superhighway, a hugely popular route during rush hour.

Huge metal and concrete bollards were recently installed at each end so that where previously people could ride two abreast in both directions, now there is only room for single file.

The position of the barriers at the south end lets cyclists travelling in opposite directions pass each other, the ones at the north end don’t.

A number of people have taken to social media to complain about the situation, including the BBC’s Tom Edwards.

I understand extra security on #London bridges but #BlackfriarsBridge is a mess! Blocking cycle paths can't be the safest answer @TfL? pic.twitter.com/khsu7frwnU

— Natalia Marczewska (@NataliaComms) June 13, 2017

@SadiqKhan & @TfL Please can the #barriers on #blackfriars-bridge be wider apart. I appreciate they need to be close but #notthisclose pic.twitter.com/IadYIFkGPs

— Tom Price (@twprice56) June 12, 2017

Absolute shambles on Blackfriars - thousands of cyclists have to squeeze through one lane due to security barriers pic.twitter.com/Zd8DythyTC

— Tom Edwards (@BBCTomEdwards) June 13, 2017

A spokesman for London Cycling Campaign told the London Evening Standard that there was a “real safety risk” with cyclists being forced into “often quite fast traffic” as a result of the barriers.

He added: “These barriers had to go up very fast indeed. We hope that something can be done to modify or change them to provide security and not make things worse for cyclists.”

A TfL spokesperson merely repeated a previous statement, saying: “The Met has installed barriers to increase security on London’s busiest bridges. We are working with them to ensure that these barriers affect cyclists and pedestrians as little as possible, while ensuring the security of all road users.”