The other thing that's making cycling even more enjoyable is the fact that apps are starting to recommend the cycling routes in your videos, which makes getting about so much easier. There were a few years where the routes existed but if using an app it would try to put you on a main road, but no longer!
@@LondoncycleroutesKomoot does seem to route sensibly, if you choose ‘cycling’ as opposed to ‘road cycling’ it tends to pick the back streets. Works well
I grew up in London and now regularly visit relatives/friends there. I park as far north as possible and get the bike out of the back of the car and head into the centre. I've been doing this for a few years and am always impressed at the regular improvements to the cycling infrastructure. I cannot imagine using a car in inner London. Life's too short!
This format and analysis of London's infrastructure is a perfect complement to your excellent regular channel. The other channel, by its very nature, allows you to only touch on the politics and implementation of schemes. Your montage of pictures of the areas you're discussing are in themselves able to impart a sense of being in London, and the challenges and/or resolutions of them. Excellent as always.
Thanks for all your hard work making these videos. Wishing you and your family a Merry Christmas and a happy new year. P.S. loved your video summing up what's due to occur in 2025. Would be great if you could do the same again this time next year. Take care, Dave.
Thanks a lot, glad it's going down well - definitely will try and do another one for 2026 when the time comes! and thanks for the kind contribution, too
absolutely yeah! I think the current delay is TfL doesn’t want to dig io Streatham at the same time as Thames Water is digging up Tooting so they’re waiting for those works to finish before they start. It was meant to go ahead in November but it could be delayed again knowing what this lot are like
Thanks for this great overview! One planned new segregated lane not mentioned is Tottenham Lane in Harringay. It's a short section on a hill where cars usually speed so hopefully will make pedalling less terrifying there. Hopefully one day Harringay will pull their finger out and do more than just short segments like this.
Yes I definitely should have mentioned Tottenham lane in the ‘might happen next year but not sure really’ section - it would make sense if it was delivered but I haven’t seen any hard dates. Another missing small scheme I forgot to mention too. is Camden’s Crowndale Road lanes which I expect to be built this year and put Mornington Crescent on the cycle network
Ah sensible! I forgot the difference between 'running a consultation' and 'actually building it' 😅. I'm still waiting for the Crouch End traffic calming they consulted on like a decade ago 🙃
Thank you for all the work covering this! Looking forward to exploring all the new cycle routes. It’s crazy to see how much London has improved since 2020!
I really enjoyed this format and would love to see it more often, though I guess annually is the right time scale given how long it takes for new projects to emerge. Thanks for all the hard work you put into the research, it really shows.
Really amazing video with lots of insight. Thanks for taking the time to make this. So many things happened in 2020... for example I recall some very short lived LTNs in Tooting and Mitcham over the summer. Good to see some boroughs are still going ahead with more 🚲
Yes, it’s incredible to think that Wandsworth and Ealing had pretty extensive LTN programmes - if we still had those today it would be pretty incredible
I think this was a very interesting and useful video, and I say that as someone who doesn't live in, work in or even visit London! Its great to see what is happening and planned in the capital so we can compare it to the crumbs we usually get out here in the provinces. I'm still waiting for Warwickshire County Council to implement a scheme on the main road near me that was "imminent" back in 2020, but seems to slip constantly. Seeing similar schemes London councils and TfL implement is useful ammunition for prodding them!
Thank you and thanks for watching and commenting over the last year, it’s been appreciated! Definitely a lot of slippage here as well, but I guess one of the benefits of a big city is when someone slips there’s something else that might not have done so you still get something somewhere else!
Thank you for taking the time to research and prepare this! It was a lot of work, but it was very useful to gain a better understanding of what’s coming and the current trends.
youtube suggested this video to me and I've never seen your other content before. I love the information you've gathered! very interesting and I like the format - but will also check out your other content too!
Not at all. The rest of the UK needs better buses and public transport routes. I live in a town in the north east with 100k people. It takes 10 minutes to drive to the train station or 30 minutes by bus. It's 3 miles away but the bus makes 20 stops...most people drive. The weather is much worse than London and the only people I've seen using the bike lanes are mischievous youths. We need an alternative to driving private cars...but cycling and renting electric scooters aren't the answer when it's windy and rainy most of the time.
You prompted me to look at the equivalent for the town I live in. There is a plan that seems to get sort of updated with incomplete or incoherent cycle routes to nearby places, or something that has already been installed for a number of years and is a part of a Sustrans NCR. As I live in a "new town" I found a blog from 2013 about the cycling infrastructure here and have to agree with a lot of it in that to go through roundabouts or other thorough roads/rail we have to descend into an underpass and then climb up the other side. I do my own videos and envy what you have in London even though it is not perfect by a long way, it is a lot better than what we have and with the new housing estates it is mostly shared paths or unprotected separate cycle or shared bus lanes on the roads.
Ah yes I’ve cycled in eg Bracknell which has a similar thing with some OK cycle paths but lots of underpasses etc which people don’t always like. Tbh those are better than nothing I reckon but as you say the new ways of sorting out stuff is just more appealing and pleasant
Fantastic video! I didn't appreciate how much cycling improved in 2020, having moved here in 2021. It makes so much more sense now why non-londoners who don't visit often are surprised to hear I cycle... They haven't seen the improvements. I'm really excited to see all this delivery in 2025.
@Londoncycleroutes No problem. I remember staying in London back in the 60's and 70's. The city was always clouded with pollution from coal burning used for heating and excessive fumes. On some days, aircraft couldn't land at Heathrow all day due to smog and fog combined. Clean air in large mega cities is a blessing as it reduces terminal illnesses like lung cancer and heart disease. It's sad that the popular media now pushes a anti clean air agenda. Keep up the great work on the channel 👍
Really enjoyed this video, thank you for being so thorough with your research its great to have all the future plans compiled in one place. Lambeth do great work on LTNs but its a shame there's still no plans for proper segregated cycle tracks on any of the major roads, especially on Clapham Rd because that section of CS7 is terrible.
Yes I agree Lambeth need to up their game with cycle lanes. I’m hoping this year we may see some plans for Tulse Hill and Coldharbour Lane but I don’t think they’ll be implemented in 2025
Just stumbled into this channel, super exciting! Not mentioned in the video but I'd love to see if any of the Lambeth LTNs will spill into improvements along the Vauxhall gyratory, which each year seems increasingly outmoded and in dire need of some TLC.
Yes it really needs sorting out doesn’t it - there was a scheme to improve it in the works back in the day but I think it stumbled with funding after Covid - no idea what the plans are now or if it’s just a long term aspiration
So looking forward to all these new cycleways. Super stoked for the Streatham Hill cycleway, haven't been there for a while now but it really needs it as the high street goes on forever so it would be an excellent upgrade. Also I cycle to the office a few times a week from Lewisham to Victoria and I did notice a lot of roadworks happening around Lambeth Bridge but I didn't know they were installing cycle infrastructure and removing the southern roundabout- it definitely needs it big time.
Thanks for this well-made and informative special. Here's a thought: We see a lot of hire bikes in your route videos but there's little or no mention of them. Perhaps you would consider doing a special on hire bikes (particularly the dockless e-variety) their availability, value both in financial and environmental terms, regulation, cross-borough consistency... It would be great to get your angle on this contentious subject.
Very excited to hear dalston’s getting some infrastructure put down next year. Moved in last year and was sad to have to dodge so much high speed traffic to get to London Fields.
This is great infrastructure news. And hopefully, with more safe cycle ways, the UK’s cycling culture will improve too: giving way to pedestrians and other cyclists, bell ringing to overtake, indicating when turning, waiting for cycle-specific lights etc etc.
Great video!! I do think that TfL and Sadiq Khan if not perfect, have definitely done a good job in showing how LTNs and bike infrastructure can be popular and beneficial to communities in London, despite what some very vocal opposition might say
Wonderful video - thank you. I share your concern re Westminster and Wandsworth (the two boroughs I ride in most) and it’s really disappointing the incumbent regimes haven’t made more progress, given I agree they’ll likely be turfed out.
Wonderful stuff! No doubt a big impetus of this was the various elections in 2024. Susan Hall losing to Khan on an anti-LTN ticket meant the (probably illusory) fears of the earlier Uxbridge by-election meant that local boroughs and City Hall could feel confident doing all this. Good to see
Can’t wait for the route in the royal docks to reopen. Since they dug this up last year, along with the Silvertown tunnel work that’s made the route pretty terrible for a few years - it effectively cut us off from cycling anywhere - well I can but my wife doesn’t like it at all with all the works - as a result as a couple, we’ve lost over a years worth of cycling, previously we cycled everywhere.
That sounds very annoying - am hoping it’s worth the wait! I tried out the bits that are done last week and the section through Canning Town is really really good - rest getting there as well
Cycling in London may well improve, but cycling in towns and cites outside the capital tends to be an abysmal experience. We're lucky to get a bit of shared pedestrian/cyclist paths which are useless.
Yes the difference is often night and day in smaller towns vs London and other cities where there’s infrastructure. Even walking can be a challenge in some places I know well, everything is built for motorists!
@@Londoncycleroutes Keir Starmer wouldn't go near increasing the stagnant [since 2011] fuel tax as a sop to the motoring lobby, not even reversing the Tories' recent cut. Petrol/diesel is a fabulous bargain.
That's because all the provincial councils have ripped up expensive temporary cycle paths due to "local opposition", at least Londoners appear to have a critical mass of non car drivers and businesses that understand footfall and not slaves to the myth of on street parking as a measurement of customer throughput.
A little upset nothing is happening in West London but glad to see there will be lots more cycling infrastructure overall. Moreover, I hope that we continue to see more cyclists on the roads which will lead to councils considering more infrastructure in the future. I do my best to promote cycling but it's difficult. Would you consider making a video that promoted cycling in general?
Ever since the Olympics and the Boris Bikes came in back in the early 2010s, I have wanted to try cycling in London because I've seen how good it can be in places like Holland and Belgium, but all the headlines of cyclists being squashed under lorries have put me off. Seeing this and looking at those maps, it's really encouraging to see things moving in the right direction and the network effect beginning to come into play. The biggest issue still though is the lack of long continuous routes. It's still very "a bit here, a bit there". Once we get a good number of long cycle ways radiating out from the centre in all directions, and some big rings around the city, it's going to become a much more appealing prospect to get on a bike.
Yes continuous routes are really important! Hopefully this channel goes some way to document the ones we do have or where you can make them work - definitely give it a go you won’t regret it!
Yeahhhh...I'm sounding like a broken record, and I'm a born London emigrée, and although having visited and work sojourns over the decades back in London, it's never drawn me back as much as watching these London cycle routes vids. London is becoming very inviting, other issues besides. (Cost and availability of housing). But since some cities around the world are actually going backwards on cycling infrastructure (Google: Ford Toronto tear out bike lanes) (or "I Can’t Believe I Have to Make This Video" at this site) the impetus to retire in London grows ever greater.
@@Londoncycleroutes Thanks for the invite, but unless my health and income improves drastically, it's unlikely. And I would have an issue with cycling on the wrong side of the road.
Good question - these tend to be done on a borough by borough basis and in some cases it’s a lot… in others little. Maybe a subject for a future video!
The New Malden to Kingston improvements are more likely to happen if someone can knock up a cargo bike capable of carrying a jetski, it'd certainly get our local MPs attention!
I think the local council have been in a bit of a row with TfL about funding as they kept giving them money and it kept getting spend and the promised project not materialising
Thanks for the video. Still a a massive hole anywhere North of Camden on either branch of the Northern Line. For the 20,000 people living in Colindale, there's no safe way of cycling into the City.
Should also have added it's so sad to not hear many outer London boroughs getting mentionned. Come on Barnet, do try and catch up everyone else please!
Terrific video, thanks for putting this together. I live in Wandsworth and it's an ongoing frustration that there is so little bicycle infrastructure compared to other boroughs. (That said, Streatham Hill is nearby and that cycle lane looks incredible.) Hopefully the Labour council can stay in power as they are temperamentally more in favour of such measures. In theory drivers ought to be in favour of segregated cycle lines as they will help both bikes and motor vehicles flow more effectively. You can see this working very well in cities in the Netherlands. In practice, of course, the old arguments resurface about how taking away road space from cars will increase traffic (a theory thoroughly debunked by a basic understanding of induced demand - see Not Just Bikes's UA-cam channel for more). I do also think that segregated bicycle lanes reduce the potential for conflict with drivers. The right wing press continues to stir up hatred of cyclists on a near-daily basis, even though it is obviously cars that are far more dangerous and which literally kill people all the time. I have myself noticed some troubling behaviour on my local roads by drivers (typically those in Range Rovers) who think they have the right to just barge past me when I'm on my bike. That said, I do feel far safer cycling in London than in other UK cities, or in more rural areas, where cars can close pass you at much higher speeds than they can achieve in London. There are some of my thoughts. Great video and looking forward to more.
That’s a great question, I think the answer is pretty complicated but in short - I think it would be hard to game. Often you’ll see traffic monitors on the street - little cables stretched across the road connected to a little armoured box (that’s a computer). That means a street is being actively monitored, usually because someone has a scheme in mind. Some routes like the embankment have permanent counters. I think overall cycling figures are also based on traffic surveys and I’m not sure how they work but I think they’re a representative sample rather than literally asking everyone.
@@Londoncycleroutes I have spent a bit of time looking into this and in addition to the pneumatic tube counters they also have camera / machine learning based counters on certain roads and occasionally manual counts done by actual people. These all tend to count motor vehicles and pedestrians as well as cyclists and they tend to be more frequent on more major motor vehicle roads. Which means that CS3 in the east barely gets counted because it's all on minor backstreets whereas CS2 has several permanent counters along its length because it's on the A11. There's also an important detail glossed over in the word "they" above; I'm aware of this data being collected separately by the DfT, TfL and individual borough councils. The DfT data set is published on their website and is easy to get hold of. The others I have never seen, only mentions of them in FOI requests and the like. I also know that Strava sell a version of their data (known as Strava Metro) to cities but I have no idea whether any of the above groups use it. (Deliveroo / Just Eat / Uber should all be able to put together a data set like this with its own unique bias which would be just as fascinating to analyse.) Since the current collection strategy is heavily car focussed, I think the best way to improve the accuracy of cycling statistics would be to encourage TfL and boroughs to make use of Strava Metro data and/or install their own monitoring systems in places they suspect might get a lot of pedestrian and cycle traffic such as the Newham Greenway, canal towpaths and designated "quietways" on minor backstreets. Changing your route to go through the counters they have more often would artificially inflate cycling numbers but not on the roads you actually want to be counted on.
So this year they did go live with their traffic schemes in east and west Greenwich - I was initially quite excited but they’re only peak time closures Monday to Friday so aren’t really proper LTNs. It’s a shame as the design is otherwise good and they would be great for enabling cycling etc but far fewer people will benefit. I can’t even really physically get down there for peak time to do videos during the closures and I’m not sure I would even want to as a cycle route should be safe all the time
@@Londoncycleroutes That's a shame and completely illogical anyway. If the roads can handle the LTN at their busiest they can handle it their quietest. I would argue that an LTN helps the road network but even ignoring that point...
@@miz4535 yes you're exactly right. it makes the politics harder too because if you change the road layout people will eventually get used to it and forget you could ever drive that way. but if you do timed closures they're always going to feel like an artificial imposition
The changes near Putney bridge are really weird. They put in a change to the traffic lights that don't seem to make sense. Firstly there is a separate indicator allowing cyclists to proceed before the lights above change; this is really non-obvious and some cyclists don't even notice it and to motorists it looks like the cyclists just jump the lights by proceeding on red. Secondly they put a lane in to the left hand side for cycles only but this goes red before the road which is ridiculous as normally you would just proceed with the normal traffic which has a green at that time. Further up Putney high street they created a turn right cycle markings into Felsham Road; nice touch but very hazardous given the buses at the bus stop and motorcycles trying to tear away from the lights. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
Yeah that’s a strange scheme that one / I think the arrangement you’re describing is a cycle gate which is meant to get cyclists in front of other traffic and give you a guaranteed head start. It should make the junction a bit safer but it isn’t really going to be a gamechanger as it doesn’t really connect!
And a very -Merry-Chr- (hold on, that's over) Happy New Year to you! Roundup format: Yes Please 👍👍If there's enought to report, a couple of times a year would be absolutely fantastic. Question: Given London has (more congealed than) grown around historically seperate towns and villages, would Dutch style road design guidelines be a practical route forward? Looking to LTN's (and the blanket - often ill-informed - hostility from 'certain quarters'), separating out identifiable bona fide "routes" from "rat-runs" isn't always as obvious as identifying 'A' and 'B' roads. I *am* wondering whether Plumstead / Shooters Hill and Welling / East Wickham (at least) should be pared off from the Boroughs of Greenwich and Bexley respectively, as neither seems ever to feature as more than an afterthought or inconvenience in Local Authority plans.
You’re right that it’s not always clear cut but there’s plenty we can do to make it better (and plenty that has been done already). When we run out of places where it works it’ll be looking pretty good and we can think about next steps!
Good, but with a caveats . In my area junctions have become incredibly busy to the eye . The corners have become frustratingly unpredictable with a massive increase in markings and posts. Sometimes it is like looking for a person amongst trees. Add to that, if they cannot quite see you, the concrete dividers stop them from moving further into the road so THEY CAN BE SEEN.his makes those without light more vulnerable, have nearly taken three people off on two separate junctions. Have also witnesses a woman stepping off a bus into a cyclist while the bus stopped all traffic. The bus terminated there for 15 minutes and the junction became unusable. It also affects elderly drivers adversely. My other will not drive here of a night due to above. Drivers are also dumping their cars across these lanes or fully on the pavement making it difficult for wheel chair users. Lastly the junctions are a mess of chicanes, posts and buttons. The councils have not installed a few and monitored to see what they predicted has happened, then modified the plans, they have just gone and fully installed and made things worse for pedestrians in part, deliveries, drivers in general, especially at junctions. All are up for better infrastructure, but the council are the worst at wasting money as they are unaccountable. This system needs to change so all benefit not just one.
My first time viewing this channel. I live well outside the smoke so it's good to see the boroughs are taking up the mantle of improving cycle infra - as Sadiq has no interest in cycling. I'm still in the mindset of when Boris was mayor seeking re-election and pushed massive changes through - after a huge push from campaign groups maybe 10-12 years ago. Although I think Brexit was inevitable, in a way it's a shame for London that the EU vote happened at that time. London lost its best mayor, who decided national politics were more important. OK, he helped move Brexit over the line, but as PM he was a disaster!
Hello - what is the situation with cycle parking in London? I'm much further north and cycle for pleasure/exercise. One of the things I find frustrating is the standard of cycle parking at my destination. You often find the standard metal bars to lock a bike against but my bike was quite expensive and a determined thief will have it - or at least the wheels and saddle. Does London have anything better for the public user?
Not really to be honest, it’s usually the standard Sheffield stands for public parking. It would be great to have some more secure options but I’m not really aware of any. For residential there are lockable cycle hangers and workplaces often have locked cycle stores but not really the same thing of course
The council is pretty hostile so I wouldn’t expect anything. TfL controls a road in tower hamlets and they wanted to put cycle lanes on it but it needed some cooperation from TH to ban some turns but afaik they’ve not been able to cooperate. Personally I think its unlikely to change after the elections given the wider political picture
@@TimTim-vy1tx if the government gives him approval it's possible under the GLA act 2000 - it's something campaigners have been asking for. they've done it on Oxford Street but held off on HSK for now
Bit far out I know, but do you reckon Bexley borough will ever get anything substantial? I often ebike all the way to the City from the east side of the borough ... great once I get to Kidbrooke/Blackheath with the infrastructure but always somewhat dodgy before then! Great work on the channel, I'm quite new here having been recommended to come along, already changed my route coming off the C4 at Tooley Street in Bermondsey earlier ... looking forward to getting more involved next year!
Welcome! That sounds like an impressive ride. I’d love to see more progress in Bexley but honestly I’m not aware of anything in the pipeline there… I’ve been thinking of ranking the boroughs as a video and whenever I think about the bottom Bexley is definitely one of the contenders for the worst (though iirc they do have a random decent cycle lane near the town centre of Bexleyheath). There are a couple of OK legacy routes around that bit of London I’ve been meaning to cannibalise as videos though I’m not sure whether they’re actually in Bexley or not, good to know there’s demand for that sort of thing
@@Londoncycleroutes Yes I go on the cycle lane in Bexleyheath that you're probably thinking of. You'd be surprised the number of cycles I see on the A207 through Bexleyheath / Welling ... be interested to see your proposed video round here, there are old cyclepaths along the A2 that I think could be made into a decent cycleway for not that much money, but at the moment, poor surfaces and random obstacles and lamp posts make it impractical for day-to-day use.
@@ukdavelondon yes I know exactly the one you mean - I think I've held off doing a video on it as as you say, it very almost connects but there are some bits where it sort of gives up. I may have to take another look
Great video. Can you ask your contacts why there seems to be an absence of a plan for A10 kingsland rd. I understand it’s tricky as some points have capacity for bike lanes and some don’t. But there just seems to be a complete lack of any effort
Yeah great question…. As you say it’s partly bus lanes. Hackney council also used to be actively opposed and insisted on CS1 running down the backstreets so a lot of the effort had gone to improving that parallel route. I think there is a long term aspiration to maybe do something with it but I wouldn’t hold your breath on it. General thinking is they’d need to remove Stoke gyratory first and that’s a way off due to lack of £££
I live next next to the stokey gyro. And at a bare min there should be bike likes there if they can’t do anything on kingsland, it’s a complete nightmare. One major point is that 80% of kingsland dosent have parking so it’s just a case of removing that 20% except for some disabled badge holders in some suitable places. The CS1 route is nice but it should be promoted for new beginner riders who need to find their feet and build up experience and confidence whilst the main A10 should where’s practically possible have bike lanes as 90% of foot fall through will see the new protected lanes and try it out, not the case on a backstreet. One final point; investment into road safety in schools and getting new lime users to take a 3 min online lesson and test. & NO headphones when riding!! Sorry for the rant 😂
One of worst areas for cycling that I know in London is New Cross. A complete cycleway from Peckham to Greenwich would be great. The other dream would be the scrapped Rotherhithe to Canary Wharf bridge.
Depressing thought that Wandsworth may go blue again after a single term out before affordble housing shortage has been properly tackled by new council. I just wish the London councils would colour the cycle route tarmac a common colour as they do in Amsterdam, so we can all spot cycle routes rather than the confusion of signage and paint.
Your channel makes me jealous of Londoners from a cycling point of view! Currently I live in Manchester where there is some progress being made, but unfortunately the city still suffers from a very nascent cycle culture, councils that have wildly different views on what quality infrastructure looks like, as well as your usual NIMBY backlash. Although very aware that London isn't free from this!
We are definitely lucky especially on stuff like LTNs - I’ve been following Manchester reasonably closely and have friends who live in Levenshulme so have been across the saga with the different LTN schemes and how hard it’s been. One thing I would say Manchester is ahead on (especially Salford) is on protected junctions which are just by default better up north I think. I liked the Oxford Rd corridor as well, I remember what it was like before too! But appreciate I’ve probably been shown the best bits
You mentioned the riverside but can I ask what you think about cycling along the Grand Union Canal? I used to enjoy it but I feel that the path is a bit dangerous and could use some TLC.
Sometimes there are no other good options especially up in north west London but generally I try to avoid it as it can be quite busy with pedestrians in parts. You’re right about the path - I do think there are some plans to resurface bits of it but they seem to have stalled a bit
Link in the description for the Safe Cycle London map, which is what I recommend. There’s also the official TfL cycleways map which is on their website but isn’t very good
Good question! The official timeline says November 2024 and that clearly hasn’t happened…. 2025 wouldn’t be a bad guess but honestly who knows at this point!
I was waiting for Kensington and Chelsea at the end 😆 what is the point in a Labour MP if no cycle infrastructure. So I'm back on my 🚲 mainly to get to my chiropractor. I cycle kings road Putney & get the 85 the back route down the motorway. Only today I had to get bunny to the vet in Mortlake so spent overnight planning journeys 3 issues 1 mine - Mortlake easy kings road Putney bridge sweep around to Mortlake oh I have never had any issues changing lanes to sweep on Putney bridge the cars have been mostly 👍🏻 the issue I have is at the end of the road by the cut through where Marc Bolan died I HATE it. It's a hill. They have speed bumps on the hill. And the cars are angry 😡 I hate it. DESPISE it 2 with time spent in Putney instead of sweeping around which to be honest I enjoy & facing the hill what is the best route to get from Putney bridge to the upper road down to Mortlake? Sweep around & cut thru, Putney - lacy road & up, or walk to the top one above lacy and cycle up. It's a mess. Whether it's the hill or traffic Putney high Street is 😬 and doing a right turn so I swept around cut thru only the cycle infrastructure??? By the school is worse than nothing cobbles wtf no! Then I gate the far side is wavy my side sloped into a drain JFC I tiptoed through holding on to the gate to not fall with the rabbit 🐇 can we get this fixed 😭 I tiptoed to the kerb on the RHS & restarted this hill is less steep than the others but I'd rather do Putney high street in rush hour than that stupid gate who put it there. 3 I realised I could after the vet in Mortlake cut thru Richmond park to Kingston gate, go right and reach my chiropractor only I would be done & no way back. I could get a train Kingston Clapham junction but without a ramp the leap is too high for me at Clapham junction. I could possibly go to Waterloo if the train terminates extra time but I don't know step height. Richmond tube seemed FAR so I left my bike in Mortlake and got two busses each way, almost an hour each, my poor bunny 🐰 As always it's the you have this & you have that but this to that has problems. So I mostly end up on the main roads straight next to the traffic X
That STUPID gate is at charlwood road, HORRENDOUS. This is why they need female cyclists with shopping and kids or animals to say no I can't dismount. The gap is too narrow, the gutter slopes, and the drain is wet WTF no. Whilst walking recently chelverton is one way in the wrong direction so walked my bike more uphill to norroy steep kerb to get on my bike 👍🏻 good road and not a steep climb to reach the south circular unlike dryburgh. Most of my cycle planning okay Putney bridge to priory lane junction you have Queens ride hill+speed bumps+vegetation, cut thru gate from hell, or the high street steep + busy I don't wanna do any of them. On the way home I went via Barnes pond. The wait at the train gates 5 minutes freezing all fine but that cut thru rocks lane Barnes common is wonkier than I would like. I have stuck to the longer motorway only that concrete is not smooth is extra bumpy plus potholes plus traffic so I cut through the empty park in the dark with wonky floor I don't know the solution trees are gonna root X
Remove the speed bumps and foliage from Queens ride put up signs to damn well wait 30 seconds for 🚲 rather than ram against them & remove the gate and have an easier right turn off Putney high street would help all 3 X
@@Londoncycleroutes I mostly just stick to kings road now & head SW. It's a shame townmead rd is such a mess as sands end is pretty empty. Tho unless it's gridlocked I don't mind that bit of kings road down to Putney bridge. It's so annoying, it's like having Lego pieces but no one doing the connecting x
The other thing that's making cycling even more enjoyable is the fact that apps are starting to recommend the cycling routes in your videos, which makes getting about so much easier. There were a few years where the routes existed but if using an app it would try to put you on a main road, but no longer!
Definitely good that they’re improving! I don’t really use them myself but I know a lot of people do and my experience with older ones was really bad
@@LondoncycleroutesKomoot does seem to route sensibly, if you choose ‘cycling’ as opposed to ‘road cycling’ it tends to pick the back streets. Works well
@@petert8263 google maps still awful for cycling, but good to see other apps improving. Hope they force the googly hand since it's so ubiquitous
I really need to download that. I've used Google maps before and I found it terrible. Took me the long way, down cobbled streets etc lol
cycle.travel is definitely worth checking out
I grew up in London and now regularly visit relatives/friends there. I park as far north as possible and get the bike out of the back of the car and head into the centre. I've been doing this for a few years and am always impressed at the regular improvements to the cycling infrastructure. I cannot imagine using a car in inner London. Life's too short!
That’s impressive, cycling in outer London still has a way to go in many cases!
@@Londoncycleroutes The cycling infrastructure across Britain outside inner London is generally rudimentary.
Thanks for taking the time to not driving in. Air pollution is not the best and this helps.
Yes but I wish outer London would get a move on too!
Don't you have a problem with North London's hills, or do you have some special routes to avoid them?
This format and analysis of London's infrastructure is a perfect complement to your excellent regular channel. The other channel, by its very nature, allows you to only touch on the politics and implementation of schemes. Your montage of pictures of the areas you're discussing are in themselves able to impart a sense of being in London, and the challenges and/or resolutions of them.
Excellent as always.
thanks a lot Stephen, always appreciate your comments and thanks for watching this year!
This is so well put together, just getting into commuting in London and this really helps and all your videos gives me confidence to ride more!
Thanks v much and I hope the commuting is going well!
Thanks for all your hard work making these videos. Wishing you and your family a Merry Christmas and a happy new year. P.S. loved your video summing up what's due to occur in 2025. Would be great if you could do the same again this time next year. Take care, Dave.
Thanks a lot, glad it's going down well - definitely will try and do another one for 2026 when the time comes! and thanks for the kind contribution, too
Amazing video! Love the format of this one, with a useful insight to what’s coming up!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Great video! I really hope you're right about the Streatham Hill cycle lane as I feel like I've been waiting an eternity for it to happen
absolutely yeah! I think the current delay is TfL doesn’t want to dig io Streatham at the same time as Thames Water is digging up Tooting so they’re waiting for those works to finish before they start. It was meant to go ahead in November but it could be delayed again knowing what this lot are like
Thanks for this great overview!
One planned new segregated lane not mentioned is Tottenham Lane in Harringay.
It's a short section on a hill where cars usually speed so hopefully will make pedalling less terrifying there.
Hopefully one day Harringay will pull their finger out and do more than just short segments like this.
Yes I definitely should have mentioned Tottenham lane in the ‘might happen next year but not sure really’ section - it would make sense if it was delivered but I haven’t seen any hard dates. Another missing small scheme I forgot to mention too. is Camden’s Crowndale Road lanes which I expect to be built this year and put Mornington Crescent on the cycle network
Ah sensible! I forgot the difference between 'running a consultation' and 'actually building it' 😅.
I'm still waiting for the Crouch End traffic calming they consulted on like a decade ago 🙃
Appreciate all the work you put into these videos! I had no idea so much more was planned for next year so I’m excited for the new changes.
Thanks very much for watching, as long as there’s demand I’ll keep making them!
Thanks
Thanks a lot Tom this is very kind!
Really interesting. Giving me ideas of other bits of London to go and have a look at beyond those i've seen so far. So yes please to more of these.
Glad you liked it, cheers Adam!
Brilliant to see some positive changes to the city for the coming year!
It should be a good year!
Cheers Jon
Thanks very much!
Cycled early this morning in London. Nice and quiet. Thank you for your videos 👍
Christmas cycles have to be the quietest time of the year!
Great video. I hope Newham completes the cycle lane from Stratford to Ilford across Romford road in 2025.
That would be brilliant - they might start it or do a section but I’d be surprised if it was all done next year (though live in hope)
Thank you for all the work covering this! Looking forward to exploring all the new cycle routes.
It’s crazy to see how much London has improved since 2020!
Thanks a lot Sara, cheers for watching this year!
I really enjoyed this format and would love to see it more often, though I guess annually is the right time scale given how long it takes for new projects to emerge. Thanks for all the hard work you put into the research, it really shows.
Thanks a lot that’s really kind!
Thanks for all your work on this channel. I like the broader view format as well so thanks. Have a great new year.
Thanks a lot, and you too
Great video, thanks for the updates, I'm excited to see what 2025 brings London cyclists - Happy Christmas!
Happy Christmas to you too!
Really amazing video with lots of insight. Thanks for taking the time to make this. So many things happened in 2020... for example I recall some very short lived LTNs in Tooting and Mitcham over the summer. Good to see some boroughs are still going ahead with more 🚲
Yes, it’s incredible to think that Wandsworth and Ealing had pretty extensive LTN programmes - if we still had those today it would be pretty incredible
I think this was a very interesting and useful video, and I say that as someone who doesn't live in, work in or even visit London! Its great to see what is happening and planned in the capital so we can compare it to the crumbs we usually get out here in the provinces. I'm still waiting for Warwickshire County Council to implement a scheme on the main road near me that was "imminent" back in 2020, but seems to slip constantly. Seeing similar schemes London councils and TfL implement is useful ammunition for prodding them!
Thank you and thanks for watching and commenting over the last year, it’s been appreciated! Definitely a lot of slippage here as well, but I guess one of the benefits of a big city is when someone slips there’s something else that might not have done so you still get something somewhere else!
Thank you for taking the time to research and prepare this! It was a lot of work, but it was very useful to gain a better understanding of what’s coming and the current trends.
Thanks a lot glad you’ve found it interesting!
youtube suggested this video to me and I've never seen your other content before. I love the information you've gathered! very interesting and I like the format - but will also check out your other content too!
Welcome and glad you enjoyed it! Hope the rest of the channel is as fun!
Great stuff. The rest of the UK also needs this progression.
Agreed! Hopefully some councils around the country get some ambition for their area - and enough locals push them to do it!
Not at all. The rest of the UK needs better buses and public transport routes. I live in a town in the north east with 100k people. It takes 10 minutes to drive to the train station or 30 minutes by bus. It's 3 miles away but the bus makes 20 stops...most people drive. The weather is much worse than London and the only people I've seen using the bike lanes are mischievous youths. We need an alternative to driving private cars...but cycling and renting electric scooters aren't the answer when it's windy and rainy most of the time.
You prompted me to look at the equivalent for the town I live in. There is a plan that seems to get sort of updated with incomplete or incoherent cycle routes to nearby places, or something that has already been installed for a number of years and is a part of a Sustrans NCR. As I live in a "new town" I found a blog from 2013 about the cycling infrastructure here and have to agree with a lot of it in that to go through roundabouts or other thorough roads/rail we have to descend into an underpass and then climb up the other side. I do my own videos and envy what you have in London even though it is not perfect by a long way, it is a lot better than what we have and with the new housing estates it is mostly shared paths or unprotected separate cycle or shared bus lanes on the roads.
Ah yes I’ve cycled in eg Bracknell which has a similar thing with some OK cycle paths but lots of underpasses etc which people don’t always like. Tbh those are better than nothing I reckon but as you say the new ways of sorting out stuff is just more appealing and pleasant
Fantastic video! I didn't appreciate how much cycling improved in 2020, having moved here in 2021. It makes so much more sense now why non-londoners who don't visit often are surprised to hear I cycle... They haven't seen the improvements. I'm really excited to see all this delivery in 2025.
Yes it was a big year! Just looking around you never used to see so many people on bikes certainly before 2016
Good news indeed. Like this occasional format - very very informative!
Thanks a lot I will probably do more in the future!
Sounds very positive. Happy New Year! 🤞
Happy new year to you too!
Excellent video, thanks for sharing. We need more of this everywhere
Thanks for watching and for the kind comment!
@Londoncycleroutes No problem. I remember staying in London back in the 60's and 70's. The city was always clouded with pollution from coal burning used for heating and excessive fumes. On some days, aircraft couldn't land at Heathrow all day due to smog and fog combined. Clean air in large mega cities is a blessing as it reduces terminal illnesses like lung cancer and heart disease. It's sad that the popular media now pushes a anti clean air agenda. Keep up the great work on the channel 👍
Really enjoyed this video, thank you for being so thorough with your research its great to have all the future plans compiled in one place.
Lambeth do great work on LTNs but its a shame there's still no plans for proper segregated cycle tracks on any of the major roads, especially on Clapham Rd because that section of CS7 is terrible.
Yes I agree Lambeth need to up their game with cycle lanes. I’m hoping this year we may see some plans for Tulse Hill and Coldharbour Lane but I don’t think they’ll be implemented in 2025
Just stumbled into this channel, super exciting! Not mentioned in the video but I'd love to see if any of the Lambeth LTNs will spill into improvements along the Vauxhall gyratory, which each year seems increasingly outmoded and in dire need of some TLC.
Yes it really needs sorting out doesn’t it - there was a scheme to improve it in the works back in the day but I think it stumbled with funding after Covid - no idea what the plans are now or if it’s just a long term aspiration
That connection between lewisham and Deptford is very exciting!
Yep I’ve been down and it’s well under construction!
Amazing! Thank's for the info. Appreciate the work you put in to get this :)
Thanks for watching and glad you find it useful/interesting!
So looking forward to all these new cycleways. Super stoked for the Streatham Hill cycleway, haven't been there for a while now but it really needs it as the high street goes on forever so it would be an excellent upgrade. Also I cycle to the office a few times a week from Lewisham to Victoria and I did notice a lot of roadworks happening around Lambeth Bridge but I didn't know they were installing cycle infrastructure and removing the southern roundabout- it definitely needs it big time.
yeah lambeth bridge is going to be a great change, it's on my commute as well and it's always been horrible and one to avoid!
This was absolutely great thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it!
YESSSS i'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS!!!
Enjoy!
*Lookin forward to it, and your videos about it!*
🤙🏽⚡️🤟🏽⚡️👌🏽
Thanks a lot, and thanks for consistently tuning in and leaving nice comments!
Brilliant video once again, thanks so much.
Thanks for watching and the kind comment!
Thanks for the positive video.
Thanks for watching and the nice comment!
Brilliant update. A quarterly London wide update would be so valuable!
Interesting, I’ll have a think about whether that could work!
Thank you, nice Mr. Mayor. Keep up the good work.
Haha
Thanks for this well-made and informative special.
Here's a thought:
We see a lot of hire bikes in your route videos but there's little or no mention of them. Perhaps you would consider doing a special on hire bikes (particularly the dockless e-variety) their availability, value both in financial and environmental terms, regulation, cross-borough consistency...
It would be great to get your angle on this contentious subject.
Yes an Interesting issue! Will give it some thought
Very excited to hear dalston’s getting some infrastructure put down next year. Moved in last year and was sad to have to dodge so much high speed traffic to get to London Fields.
Yes it should be a big improvement around there!
Yee haw
Thanks so much!
Seasons Greetings and Happy Holidays! 🎉😊
Happy holidays to you too!
Loved this one!
Pleased to hear it, thanks for leaving a comment!
This is great infrastructure news. And hopefully, with more safe cycle ways, the UK’s cycling culture will improve too: giving way to pedestrians and other cyclists, bell ringing to overtake, indicating when turning, waiting for cycle-specific lights etc etc.
Absolutely
more power to your elbow king
I’m looking forward to your new podcast!
Great video!! I do think that TfL and Sadiq Khan if not perfect, have definitely done a good job in showing how LTNs and bike infrastructure can be popular and beneficial to communities in London, despite what some very vocal opposition might say
There’s certainly been progress under his term and he is overall supportive
Wonderful video - thank you.
I share your concern re Westminster and Wandsworth (the two boroughs I ride in most) and it’s really disappointing the incumbent regimes haven’t made more progress, given I agree they’ll likely be turfed out.
it's a shame they've not done more by now. let's hope they get something out the gate before the elections at least
My only hope is that the boroughs that do least will increasingly be the crappier place to live as time goes on. Wandsworth is a bleep-hole.
Thanks. Great video.
Thanks a lot for tuning in this year!
thanks for your video mate.
Thanks for watching!
extremely positive news!
Keeping my fingers crossed
Looking forward to the Dalston LTN. have started to cycle to work from Walthamstow and it's all down to your video!
Very pleased to hear it! As soon as the Dalston LTN drops I’ll be doing a rush of videos including a bunch from Walthamstow, it enables a lot of
I think the Dalston LTN will be a game changer. Especially now the Lea Bridge Road lanes are (almost) finished.
Wonderful stuff!
No doubt a big impetus of this was the various elections in 2024. Susan Hall losing to Khan on an anti-LTN ticket meant the (probably illusory) fears of the earlier Uxbridge by-election meant that local boroughs and City Hall could feel confident doing all this. Good to see
Yes I think that’ll definitely be part of it - though people have short memories and need to be reminded occasionally!
cant wait to try out the new ones.
Neither can I!
I would love to see the next one of these updates in 6 months👍🏼
I’ll see if there’s enough gear… might be annual but biannual could be doable
@Londoncycleroutes Happy New Year btw🎉
A great positive video , thanks
Thank you!
Can’t wait for the route in the royal docks to reopen. Since they dug this up last year, along with the Silvertown tunnel work that’s made the route pretty terrible for a few years - it effectively cut us off from cycling anywhere - well I can but my wife doesn’t like it at all with all the works - as a result as a couple, we’ve lost over a years worth of cycling, previously we cycled everywhere.
That sounds very annoying - am hoping it’s worth the wait! I tried out the bits that are done last week and the section through Canning Town is really really good - rest getting there as well
@ I need to send you a picture of what they have done, it’s mind blowingly dumb
Great research.
Thanks very much!
Cycling in London may well improve, but cycling in towns and cites outside the capital tends to be an abysmal experience. We're lucky to get a bit of shared pedestrian/cyclist paths which are useless.
Yes the difference is often night and day in smaller towns vs London and other cities where there’s infrastructure. Even walking can be a challenge in some places I know well, everything is built for motorists!
@@Londoncycleroutes Keir Starmer wouldn't go near increasing the stagnant [since 2011] fuel tax as a sop to the motoring lobby, not even reversing the Tories' recent cut. Petrol/diesel is a fabulous bargain.
@@ccjelley2390 such a bad decision that hasn't even done them any political good
That's because all the provincial councils have ripped up expensive temporary cycle paths due to "local opposition", at least Londoners appear to have a critical mass of non car drivers and businesses that understand footfall and not slaves to the myth of on street parking as a measurement of customer throughput.
A little upset nothing is happening in West London but glad to see there will be lots more cycling infrastructure overall. Moreover, I hope that we continue to see more cyclists on the roads which will lead to councils considering more infrastructure in the future. I do my best to promote cycling but it's difficult. Would you consider making a video that promoted cycling in general?
I like to think all the videos do that indirectly!
Ever since the Olympics and the Boris Bikes came in back in the early 2010s, I have wanted to try cycling in London because I've seen how good it can be in places like Holland and Belgium, but all the headlines of cyclists being squashed under lorries have put me off. Seeing this and looking at those maps, it's really encouraging to see things moving in the right direction and the network effect beginning to come into play. The biggest issue still though is the lack of long continuous routes. It's still very "a bit here, a bit there". Once we get a good number of long cycle ways radiating out from the centre in all directions, and some big rings around the city, it's going to become a much more appealing prospect to get on a bike.
Yes continuous routes are really important! Hopefully this channel goes some way to document the ones we do have or where you can make them work - definitely give it a go you won’t regret it!
very much enjoyed it.
Pleased to hear it!
Not specific to this video, but you make me want to live and bike in London. I won´t, but I´d like to.
Thanks.
You should come and visit with a bike and have a ride around at any rate!
Yeahhhh...I'm sounding like a broken record, and I'm a born London emigrée, and although having visited and work sojourns over the decades back in London, it's never drawn me back as much as watching these London cycle routes vids.
London is becoming very inviting, other issues besides. (Cost and availability of housing). But since some cities around the world are actually going backwards on cycling infrastructure (Google: Ford Toronto tear out bike lanes) (or "I Can’t Believe I Have to Make This Video" at this site) the impetus to retire in London grows ever greater.
@@stephensaines7100 ah yes I've seen that video - very depressing! we're getting there here... slowly....!
@@Londoncycleroutes Thanks for the invite, but unless my health and income improves drastically, it's unlikely.
And I would have an issue with cycling on the wrong side of the road.
@@slideruler73 sorry to hear that, hope you make it here one day!
Great video - shame there's no mention of Kensington High Street! Happy Christmas
That would be a real Christmas present!
Very interesting times ahead. It would be interesting to know if the are plans for secure bike parking locations. Thanks.
Good question - these tend to be done on a borough by borough basis and in some cases it’s a lot… in others little. Maybe a subject for a future video!
The New Malden to Kingston improvements are more likely to happen if someone can knock up a cargo bike capable of carrying a jetski, it'd certainly get our local MPs attention!
I think the local council have been in a bit of a row with TfL about funding as they kept giving them money and it kept getting spend and the promised project not materialising
Thanks for the video. Still a a massive hole anywhere North of Camden on either branch of the Northern Line. For the 20,000 people living in Colindale, there's no safe way of cycling into the City.
Yep Brent and Barnet have been pretty useless thus far. They need pressuring by local campaigners I think!
Should also have added it's so sad to not hear many outer London boroughs getting mentionned. Come on Barnet, do try and catch up everyone else please!
Yeah… I reckon Barnet will do something eventually but I don’t think 2025 is going to be their year yet
Not a very big scheme but 750m scheme on Cambridge Park Road near Wanstead Tube station in Redbridge should hopefully go ahead in 2025
That’s great intel, I’d forgotten about that one. Good to make use of the slip road
I live in Wandsworth. I feel like moving East
Fingers crossed for those two cycle lane schemes but even the Labour administration has basically ruled out doing any LTNs
Some inside scoop... but woolwich c4 extension should start works next year but its a pretty large project and wont be finished until early 2026
That’s brilliant news! Definitely at the upper end of my expectations. Thanks for sharing - looking forward to riding it!
Terrific video, thanks for putting this together. I live in Wandsworth and it's an ongoing frustration that there is so little bicycle infrastructure compared to other boroughs. (That said, Streatham Hill is nearby and that cycle lane looks incredible.) Hopefully the Labour council can stay in power as they are temperamentally more in favour of such measures.
In theory drivers ought to be in favour of segregated cycle lines as they will help both bikes and motor vehicles flow more effectively. You can see this working very well in cities in the Netherlands. In practice, of course, the old arguments resurface about how taking away road space from cars will increase traffic (a theory thoroughly debunked by a basic understanding of induced demand - see Not Just Bikes's UA-cam channel for more).
I do also think that segregated bicycle lanes reduce the potential for conflict with drivers. The right wing press continues to stir up hatred of cyclists on a near-daily basis, even though it is obviously cars that are far more dangerous and which literally kill people all the time. I have myself noticed some troubling behaviour on my local roads by drivers (typically those in Range Rovers) who think they have the right to just barge past me when I'm on my bike. That said, I do feel far safer cycling in London than in other UK cities, or in more rural areas, where cars can close pass you at much higher speeds than they can achieve in London.
There are some of my thoughts. Great video and looking forward to more.
Yes a very good point about the eve fits of segregated infrastructure for general traffic. I don’t think it’s really taken into account in modelling
I look forward to cycling in London in the new year and there has been some progress but it’s slow and needs speeding up.
Yes agreed, it can be painfully slow sometimes particularly in some parts of the city
Can't wait ❤❤
Thanks for tuning in this year!
How does the TfL measure the popularity of a cycle route and how would I make my journeys more visible to them?
That’s a great question, I think the answer is pretty complicated but in short - I think it would be hard to game. Often you’ll see traffic monitors on the street - little cables stretched across the road connected to a little armoured box (that’s a computer). That means a street is being actively monitored, usually because someone has a scheme in mind. Some routes like the embankment have permanent counters. I think overall cycling figures are also based on traffic surveys and I’m not sure how they work but I think they’re a representative sample rather than literally asking everyone.
@@Londoncycleroutes I have spent a bit of time looking into this and in addition to the pneumatic tube counters they also have camera / machine learning based counters on certain roads and occasionally manual counts done by actual people. These all tend to count motor vehicles and pedestrians as well as cyclists and they tend to be more frequent on more major motor vehicle roads. Which means that CS3 in the east barely gets counted because it's all on minor backstreets whereas CS2 has several permanent counters along its length because it's on the A11.
There's also an important detail glossed over in the word "they" above; I'm aware of this data being collected separately by the DfT, TfL and individual borough councils. The DfT data set is published on their website and is easy to get hold of. The others I have never seen, only mentions of them in FOI requests and the like. I also know that Strava sell a version of their data (known as Strava Metro) to cities but I have no idea whether any of the above groups use it. (Deliveroo / Just Eat / Uber should all be able to put together a data set like this with its own unique bias which would be just as fascinating to analyse.)
Since the current collection strategy is heavily car focussed, I think the best way to improve the accuracy of cycling statistics would be to encourage TfL and boroughs to make use of Strava Metro data and/or install their own monitoring systems in places they suspect might get a lot of pedestrian and cycle traffic such as the Newham Greenway, canal towpaths and designated "quietways" on minor backstreets.
Changing your route to go through the counters they have more often would artificially inflate cycling numbers but not on the roads you actually want to be counted on.
@@Ladadadada really interesting, great info thank you!
Greenwich really need to get a shift on. Good to see positive progress elsewhere though.
So this year they did go live with their traffic schemes in east and west Greenwich - I was initially quite excited but they’re only peak time closures Monday to Friday so aren’t really proper LTNs. It’s a shame as the design is otherwise good and they would be great for enabling cycling etc but far fewer people will benefit. I can’t even really physically get down there for peak time to do videos during the closures and I’m not sure I would even want to as a cycle route should be safe all the time
@@Londoncycleroutes That's a shame and completely illogical anyway. If the roads can handle the LTN at their busiest they can handle it their quietest. I would argue that an LTN helps the road network but even ignoring that point...
@@miz4535 yes you're exactly right. it makes the politics harder too because if you change the road layout people will eventually get used to it and forget you could ever drive that way. but if you do timed closures they're always going to feel like an artificial imposition
The changes near Putney bridge are really weird. They put in a change to the traffic lights that don't seem to make sense. Firstly there is a separate indicator allowing cyclists to proceed before the lights above change; this is really non-obvious and some cyclists don't even notice it and to motorists it looks like the cyclists just jump the lights by proceeding on red. Secondly they put a lane in to the left hand side for cycles only but this goes red before the road which is ridiculous as normally you would just proceed with the normal traffic which has a green at that time. Further up Putney high street they created a turn right cycle markings into Felsham Road; nice touch but very hazardous given the buses at the bus stop and motorcycles trying to tear away from the lights. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
Yeah that’s a strange scheme that one / I think the arrangement you’re describing is a cycle gate which is meant to get cyclists in front of other traffic and give you a guaranteed head start. It should make the junction a bit safer but it isn’t really going to be a gamechanger as it doesn’t really connect!
Hi. You mentioned there was a link to cycle maps / routes maintained by Isaac. Please could you share details. Thanks
It’s linked in the text description below the video!
And a very -Merry-Chr- (hold on, that's over) Happy New Year to you! Roundup format: Yes Please 👍👍If there's enought to report, a couple of times a year would be absolutely fantastic.
Question: Given London has (more congealed than) grown around historically seperate towns and villages, would Dutch style road design guidelines be a practical route forward? Looking to LTN's (and the blanket - often ill-informed - hostility from 'certain quarters'), separating out identifiable bona fide "routes" from "rat-runs" isn't always as obvious as identifying 'A' and 'B' roads.
I *am* wondering whether Plumstead / Shooters Hill and Welling / East Wickham (at least) should be pared off from the Boroughs of Greenwich and Bexley respectively, as neither seems ever to feature as more than an afterthought or inconvenience in Local Authority plans.
You’re right that it’s not always clear cut but there’s plenty we can do to make it better (and plenty that has been done already). When we run out of places where it works it’ll be looking pretty good and we can think about next steps!
Good, but with a caveats . In my area junctions have become incredibly busy to the eye . The corners have become frustratingly unpredictable with a massive increase in markings and posts. Sometimes it is like looking for a person amongst trees. Add to that, if they cannot quite see you, the concrete dividers stop them from moving further into the road so THEY CAN BE SEEN.his makes those without light more vulnerable, have nearly taken three people off on two separate junctions. Have also witnesses a woman stepping off a bus into a cyclist while the bus stopped all traffic. The bus terminated there for 15 minutes and the junction became unusable. It also affects elderly drivers adversely. My other will not drive here of a night due to above. Drivers are also dumping their cars across these lanes or fully on the pavement making it difficult for wheel chair users. Lastly the junctions are a mess of chicanes, posts and buttons. The councils have not installed a few and monitored to see what they predicted has happened, then modified the plans, they have just gone and fully installed and made things worse for pedestrians in part, deliveries, drivers in general, especially at junctions.
All are up for better infrastructure, but the council are the worst at wasting money as they are unaccountable. This system needs to change so all benefit not just one.
Yes I understand what you mean about clutter and junctions getting busy. There’s quite a lot of tidying up that could be done
My first time viewing this channel. I live well outside the smoke so it's good to see the boroughs are taking up the mantle of improving cycle infra - as Sadiq has no interest in cycling. I'm still in the mindset of when Boris was mayor seeking re-election and pushed massive changes through - after a huge push from campaign groups maybe 10-12 years ago.
Although I think Brexit was inevitable, in a way it's a shame for London that the EU vote happened at that time. London lost its best mayor, who decided national politics were more important. OK, he helped move Brexit over the line, but as PM he was a disaster!
Welcome to the channel and thanks for commenting!
Hello - what is the situation with cycle parking in London? I'm much further north and cycle for pleasure/exercise. One of the things I find frustrating is the standard of cycle parking at my destination. You often find the standard metal bars to lock a bike against but my bike was quite expensive and a determined thief will have it - or at least the wheels and saddle. Does London have anything better for the public user?
Not really to be honest, it’s usually the standard Sheffield stands for public parking. It would be great to have some more secure options but I’m not really aware of any. For residential there are lockable cycle hangers and workplaces often have locked cycle stores but not really the same thing of course
What do you make of the lack of schemes planned for Tower Hamlets? Is anything planned there at all?
The council is pretty hostile so I wouldn’t expect anything. TfL controls a road in tower hamlets and they wanted to put cycle lanes on it but it needed some cooperation from TH to ban some turns but afaik they’ve not been able to cooperate. Personally I think its unlikely to change after the elections given the wider political picture
Still no high street kensington :/
lotta great stuff tho, looking forward to it!
Yeah that would be amazing but something will have to change before it happens! I don’t see a path to it at the moment
New London Mayor powers that override local council? Not sure under what circumstances he’s allowed to do that
@@TimTim-vy1tx if the government gives him approval it's possible under the GLA act 2000 - it's something campaigners have been asking for. they've done it on Oxford Street but held off on HSK for now
I’m subscribed to your channel - why do I not get notifications of your new vids?
Good question! If you hit the bell icon next to the subscribe button that should make sure you’re notified?
Bit far out I know, but do you reckon Bexley borough will ever get anything substantial? I often ebike all the way to the City from the east side of the borough ... great once I get to Kidbrooke/Blackheath with the infrastructure but always somewhat dodgy before then! Great work on the channel, I'm quite new here having been recommended to come along, already changed my route coming off the C4 at Tooley Street in Bermondsey earlier ... looking forward to getting more involved next year!
Welcome! That sounds like an impressive ride. I’d love to see more progress in Bexley but honestly I’m not aware of anything in the pipeline there… I’ve been thinking of ranking the boroughs as a video and whenever I think about the bottom Bexley is definitely one of the contenders for the worst (though iirc they do have a random decent cycle lane near the town centre of Bexleyheath). There are a couple of OK legacy routes around that bit of London I’ve been meaning to cannibalise as videos though I’m not sure whether they’re actually in Bexley or not, good to know there’s demand for that sort of thing
@@Londoncycleroutes Yes I go on the cycle lane in Bexleyheath that you're probably thinking of. You'd be surprised the number of cycles I see on the A207 through Bexleyheath / Welling ... be interested to see your proposed video round here, there are old cyclepaths along the A2 that I think could be made into a decent cycleway for not that much money, but at the moment, poor surfaces and random obstacles and lamp posts make it impractical for day-to-day use.
@@ukdavelondon yes I know exactly the one you mean - I think I've held off doing a video on it as as you say, it very almost connects but there are some bits where it sort of gives up. I may have to take another look
I live in Erith in which cycle lanes are none existant ,Not even a decent route to connect Dartford.Wake up Bexley
Great video. Can you ask your contacts why there seems to be an absence of a plan for A10 kingsland rd. I understand it’s tricky as some points have capacity for bike lanes and some don’t. But there just seems to be a complete lack of any effort
Yeah great question…. As you say it’s partly bus lanes. Hackney council also used to be actively opposed and insisted on CS1 running down the backstreets so a lot of the effort had gone to improving that parallel route. I think there is a long term aspiration to maybe do something with it but I wouldn’t hold your breath on it. General thinking is they’d need to remove Stoke gyratory first and that’s a way off due to lack of £££
I live next next to the stokey gyro. And at a bare min there should be bike likes there if they can’t do anything on kingsland, it’s a complete nightmare. One major point is that 80% of kingsland dosent have parking so it’s just a case of removing that 20% except for some disabled badge holders in some suitable places.
The CS1 route is nice but it should be promoted for new beginner riders who need to find their feet and build up experience and confidence whilst the main A10 should where’s practically possible have bike lanes as 90% of foot fall through will see the new protected lanes and try it out, not the case on a backstreet. One final point; investment into road safety in schools and getting new lime users to take a 3 min online lesson and test. & NO headphones when riding!!
Sorry for the rant 😂
I will cry if streathamn hill cycle way happens
It’s basically ready to go though they’ve delayed it so much I wouldn’t be surprised if construction gets kicked back by another couple of months!
One of worst areas for cycling that I know in London is New Cross. A complete cycleway from Peckham to Greenwich would be great. The other dream would be the scrapped Rotherhithe to Canary Wharf bridge.
That bridge is essential- currently there’s no good cycling links across the river east of London Bridge!
I think the 2024 map is missing the major upgrade to the Taviplace cycle route.
That’s been a good upgrade but i think the map doesn’t include it as it was already a protected route before - it’s definitely worthwhile though!
Depressing thought that Wandsworth may go blue again after a single term out before affordble housing shortage has been properly tackled by new council.
I just wish the London councils would colour the cycle route tarmac a common colour as they do in Amsterdam, so we can all spot cycle routes rather than the confusion of signage and paint.
Yes a bit of consistency in the visual language would be nice
Your channel makes me jealous of Londoners from a cycling point of view! Currently I live in Manchester where there is some progress being made, but unfortunately the city still suffers from a very nascent cycle culture, councils that have wildly different views on what quality infrastructure looks like, as well as your usual NIMBY backlash. Although very aware that London isn't free from this!
We are definitely lucky especially on stuff like LTNs - I’ve been following Manchester reasonably closely and have friends who live in Levenshulme so have been across the saga with the different LTN schemes and how hard it’s been. One thing I would say Manchester is ahead on (especially Salford) is on protected junctions which are just by default better up north I think. I liked the Oxford Rd corridor as well, I remember what it was like before too! But appreciate I’ve probably been shown the best bits
Informative, but why has all the cycling footage been sped up? It makes cycling look a bit frantic.
I speed it all up on the channel normally. Usually on the route videos I do it’s so the video isn’t too long
You mentioned the riverside but can I ask what you think about cycling along the Grand Union Canal? I used to enjoy it but I feel that the path is a bit dangerous and could use some TLC.
Sometimes there are no other good options especially up in north west London but generally I try to avoid it as it can be quite busy with pedestrians in parts. You’re right about the path - I do think there are some plans to resurface bits of it but they seem to have stalled a bit
Eh, is there a network map of Londons cycleways? I mean, it would be nice to know where to cycle before I arrive...
Link in the description for the Safe Cycle London map, which is what I recommend. There’s also the official TfL cycleways map which is on their website but isn’t very good
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Do you know when Hammersmith bridge will be open for bikes again?
Good question! The official timeline says November 2024 and that clearly hasn’t happened…. 2025 wouldn’t be a bad guess but honestly who knows at this point!
I was waiting for Kensington and Chelsea at the end 😆 what is the point in a Labour MP if no cycle infrastructure.
So I'm back on my 🚲 mainly to get to my chiropractor. I cycle kings road Putney & get the 85 the back route down the motorway. Only today I had to get bunny to the vet in Mortlake so spent overnight planning journeys 3 issues
1 mine - Mortlake easy kings road Putney bridge sweep around to Mortlake oh I have never had any issues changing lanes to sweep on Putney bridge the cars have been mostly 👍🏻 the issue I have is at the end of the road by the cut through where Marc Bolan died I HATE it. It's a hill. They have speed bumps on the hill. And the cars are angry 😡 I hate it. DESPISE it
2 with time spent in Putney instead of sweeping around which to be honest I enjoy & facing the hill what is the best route to get from Putney bridge to the upper road down to Mortlake? Sweep around & cut thru, Putney - lacy road & up, or walk to the top one above lacy and cycle up. It's a mess. Whether it's the hill or traffic Putney high Street is 😬 and doing a right turn so I swept around cut thru only the cycle infrastructure??? By the school is worse than nothing cobbles wtf no! Then I gate the far side is wavy my side sloped into a drain JFC I tiptoed through holding on to the gate to not fall with the rabbit 🐇 can we get this fixed 😭 I tiptoed to the kerb on the RHS & restarted this hill is less steep than the others but I'd rather do Putney high street in rush hour than that stupid gate who put it there.
3 I realised I could after the vet in Mortlake cut thru Richmond park to Kingston gate, go right and reach my chiropractor only I would be done & no way back. I could get a train Kingston Clapham junction but without a ramp the leap is too high for me at Clapham junction. I could possibly go to Waterloo if the train terminates extra time but I don't know step height. Richmond tube seemed FAR so I left my bike in Mortlake and got two busses each way, almost an hour each, my poor bunny 🐰
As always it's the you have this & you have that but this to that has problems. So I mostly end up on the main roads straight next to the traffic X
That STUPID gate is at charlwood road, HORRENDOUS. This is why they need female cyclists with shopping and kids or animals to say no I can't dismount. The gap is too narrow, the gutter slopes, and the drain is wet WTF no.
Whilst walking recently chelverton is one way in the wrong direction so walked my bike more uphill to norroy steep kerb to get on my bike 👍🏻 good road and not a steep climb to reach the south circular unlike dryburgh.
Most of my cycle planning okay Putney bridge to priory lane junction you have Queens ride hill+speed bumps+vegetation, cut thru gate from hell, or the high street steep + busy I don't wanna do any of them.
On the way home I went via Barnes pond. The wait at the train gates 5 minutes freezing all fine but that cut thru rocks lane Barnes common is wonkier than I would like. I have stuck to the longer motorway only that concrete is not smooth is extra bumpy plus potholes plus traffic so I cut through the empty park in the dark with wonky floor I don't know the solution trees are gonna root X
Remove the speed bumps and foliage from Queens ride put up signs to damn well wait 30 seconds for 🚲 rather than ram against them & remove the gate and have an easier right turn off Putney high street would help all 3 X
Infrastructure will ultimately be down the council rather than the MP!
@@Londoncycleroutes I mostly just stick to kings road now & head SW. It's a shame townmead rd is such a mess as sands end is pretty empty. Tho unless it's gridlocked I don't mind that bit of kings road down to Putney bridge.
It's so annoying, it's like having Lego pieces but no one doing the connecting x