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Thanks to choc-a-bloc traffic and choking fumes, cycling around London isn’t always a particularly pleasant experience. But that’s changing by the day. While much of our city remains pretty dangerous for cyclists, the expansion of the capital’s official cycle route network is making London much safer and generally more welcoming to traverse on two wheels.
Following the opening of several new cycle routes at the tail-end of last year, TfL has now announced that another major cycleway is complete and ready for use. Called Cycleway 4, it’s in Southwark and connects London Bridge with Greenwich, linking the centre of town with areas like Rotherhithe, Surrey Quays and Deptford.
As a result of the completion of Cycleway 4, TfL says that by the end of the month London’s cycling network will have quadrupled in size since 2016. The system of bike paths has expanded from 90km to 360km.
So what does Cycleway 4 actually look like? Well, any two-wheeled travellers on Lower Road will now benefit from 1.3km of protected two-way lanes linking up with previously completed sections on Jamaica Road and Evelyn Street.
And that isn’t all. Over the next few months TfL has confirmed that £19.5 million will be pumped into cycling infrastructure across London. Cycleways between Lea Bridge and Dalston, Deptford and Deptford Creek, and Hammersmith and Kensington Olympia are all in the pipeline.
This week TfL also rolled out new fare rates for Santander Cycles bikes, restoring the network’s day pass. You can find out more about those new fares on Time Out here.
London by bike with Time Out
If you’re a two-wheeled convert, you’re in the right place for more bike-centric London content. Check out Lime’s most popular London routes, new cycle paths in Enfield and Walthamstow and Time Out’s nine favourite bike rides around London.
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