Green cars are one thing, but perhaps the most environmentally friendly mode of transport (walking aside) is to get on your bicycle – which is why it’s so encouraging to see the level of cyclists surging in London.
According to new figures, the number of cyclists along the first two Barclays Superhighway routes in London, which run from Merton to the City and Barking to Tower Gateway, have increased by 70 per cent – with some increases as high as 100 per cent during peak hours.
Figures were compiled during October 2010 and compared to the same roads in October 2009. Transport for London found that there was a 50 per cent increase in the total number of cyclists using the A24 and on the A13 cyclist numbers more than doubled for the same routes.
The research came just one month after the launch of the scheme and found that 34 per cent of non-cyclists surveyed had begun to cycle because of the super highway. Wider benefits include more than four in 10 cyclists along the routes increasing the amount they cycle elsewhere in London; and three in 10 purchasing bike or cycling equipment.
Around 39 new safety mirrors have been installed at junctions along the pilot routes to help improve visibility and a large majority of the drivers surveyed said they would change the way they used junctions fitted with roadside safety mirrors.
Two more Barclays Cycle Superhighway routes are planned from Bow to Aldgate (CS2) and from Wandsworth to Westminster (CS8). They will launch in summer 2011. The Mayor and Transport for London are investing a record £116million in cycling over 2010/11.
