The City of London could be getting a vast £4.5 million cycle highway

by · Time Out London

There’s nothing worse than being tailgated by a double decker bus as you try to navigate the city’s streets by bike. It’s a known fact that the capital isn’t that well designed to be traversed on two wheels, which is why TfL has been working hard to make the city more bicycle friendly.   

To help with central London’s cycling issues, the City of London Corporation wants to build a new £4.5 million cycle highway right through the Square Mile. Bank junction could be dramatically redesigned in the creation of a new east-west cycle route linking Aldgate and Blackfriars.

The route would run along St Botolph Street, Aldgate Square, Leadenhall Street, Cornhill, Bank Junction and Queen Victoria Street, linking with with the TfL Cycleway 2 at Whitechapel High Street, Cycleway 6 at New Bridge Street and Cycleway 3 on Victoria Embankment. 

This all sounds great for the future of cycling in London, but the one caveat is that cycle lane will only have full segregation between cyclists and vehicles along part of the route. The corporation says it is ‘not feasible’ to introduce protected cycle lanes on Aldgate High Street due to the road width constraints, the number of buses, bus stop locations, kerbside loading, side road junctions and road network capacity

Work on the cycle lane is scheduled to start in 2026, with it due to be completed by April 2028. 

London by bike with Time Out

Love getting about the capital on two wheels? We’ve got plenty more cycling inspo here at Time Out. Here are the city’s dreamiest bike rides and these are the best bike routes out of London. Plus, TfL has launched a 15-mile route through central London and new cycle routes have been unveiled for every London borough.

ICYMI: London’s cycleway network now covers more than 400 kilometres.

Plus: TfL is launching an epic 15-mile walking and cycle route through central London.

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