Work starts on Southwark’s Cycle Superhighway

Transport for London says that work began on Monday on the Southwark sections of the Merton to City Cycle Superhighway.

It is nearly a year since Mayor of London Boris Johnson announced the first two sections of his planned network of commuter cycle routes into central London.

The work, which will be carried out overnight or outside of peak hours, will see kerb and footway improvements, road resurfacing, new signage and additional cycle parking installed along the route.

The first set of works in Southwark will be an upgrade of the crossing facilities at the junction of Newington Butts with Churchyard Row

The alleyway alongside St Mary's Churchyard forms part of the existing bypass which allows cyclists to avoid the Elephant & Castle roundabouts.

TfL says that the first two pilot Cycle Superhighways routes will be up and running this summer with the ten remaining routes introduced as part of a rolling schedule by 2015.

The Superhighway in SE1 follows the existing London Cycle Network route between Elephant & Castle and Southwark Bridge.

Last year Southwark Council's executive member for enivronment Paul Kyriacou criticised TfL's decision to use blue paint to mark the Cycle Superhighways instead of the usual green markings for cycle routes. Cycle campaigners have also been critical of the Mayor's plans.

The London Cycling Campaign, which has its offices in Bermondsey, recently proposed a central London BikeGrid of north-south and east-west routes to complement the Cycle Superhighways which are aimed at providing direct routes into central London for commuters.

The BikeGrid proposal includes a west-east link between Lambeth Bridge and Tower Bridge via Lower Marsh, The Cut, Union Street and Snowsfields.

The LCC proposal is also designed to complement the introduction of the Mayor's cycle hire scheme in zone 1 this July.