List of cycle routes in London
For those cycling in, around or across London a network of cycleways called the London Cycle Network exists within the London Metropolitan Area as well as an emerging network of "Cycle Superhighways". Also a number of national and international cycling routes pass through, or originate in, London.
London Cycle Network routes
Several London Cycle Network routes are signposted with route numbers, depending on whether the route is considered to be radial or orbital and which of four sectors the route is contained within. Some of these routes are also part of the National Cycle Network - these are signposted with route numbers on a red background. The LCN route numbers are broadly grouped as follows:[1]
Quadrant | Radial | Orbital |
---|---|---|
Central | 0-9 | N/A |
NE | 10-19 | 50-59 |
SE | 20-29 | 60-69 |
SW | 30-39 | 70-79 |
NW | 40-49 | 80-89 |
The route numbers currently in use with details of the primary destinations served (other destinations are in brackets) are as follows:[1][2]
- 0 7 Stations Circular, City - (Waterloo) – Westminster – (Paddington) – (Kings Cross)
- 1 NCN, Dartford - Greenwich – (Lea Valley) – Tottenham – (Edmonton) - Waltham Abbey
- 2 A2, Bexleyheath, Eltham, Greenwich - Central London / Westminster
- 3 old A3, (Esher) - Kingston - (Wandsworth) – Battersea - Central London
- 4 NCN. Greenwich - Westminster or Central London – (Barnes) - Kingston - Windsor
- 5 old A5, (Elstree) - Edgware – Kilburn – Westminster – Battersea
- 6 Barnet - Camden – (West End) – (Waterloo) - Elephant and Castle
- 6 NCN, Paddington – (Alperton) - Uxbridge
- 7 Elephant and Castle - City - (Finsbury Park) - Wood Green – (Southgate)
- 8 Includes Market Porters & 7 Stations, Hammersmith - (Paddington) - (Angel) - Hackney – (Wanstead)
- 9 Epping – (Chingford) - Walthamstow - Hackney - City
- 10 A10, Cheshunt - Enfield - Tottenham - City – (Southwark Bridge) - Elephant and Castle
- 11 A11, Epping - (Woodford) - (Leytonstone) - Stratford - City
- 12 A12, Romford - Ilford - Stratford - City
- 13 NCN, Purfleet – Rainham – (Royal Docks) – City
- 12 A13, Tilbury - Rainham - (Canning Town) – City
- 14 Islington – Finsbury Park – Hornsey - Alexander Palace
- 15 (Upminster) - Barking - (Canning Town) - City
- 16 Newham Greenway, Beckton – Stratford – (Cambridge Heath)
- 17 Greenwich Park – Lewisham – Catford – Beckenham, West Wickham
- 18 Dartford - Erith - Woolwich - Greenwich
- 19 Dartford - Bexleyheath - Greenwich
- 20 A20, Swanley - (Chislehurst) – Lewisham – (Deptford) – (Surrey Docks)
- 20 NCN Wandle Trail, Carshalton – (Wandsworth)
- 21 NCN Waterlink Way, Greenwich – Lewisham - Catford – (Elmers End) – (New Addington) - Crawley
- 22 Orpington - Bromley – Catford - Peckham - Central London
- 23 A23, Purley - Croydon - Crystal Palace - (Camberwell) - Central London
- 24 Carshalton – (Wandsworth)
- 25 South Circular - Woolwich - Catford - (Clapham) – (Barnes)
- 26 Eltham - Crystal Palace – Streatham – (Wandsworth) – Hammersmith – (Willesden)
- 27 Part A21, Sevenoaks - Bromley - Crystal Palace – Battersea
- 28 Bromley – Lee - Greenwich
- 29 Sutton – Wimbledon – Wandsworth
- 30 A30, Staines - (Osterley)
- 31 A3 Kingston by-pass parallel, Leatherhead - (Hook) – (New Malden) - Hammersmith
- 32 (Ewell) – Kingston – (Whitton)? - Hounslow - Hayes
- 33 Leatherhead - (Chessington) - Kingston - Richmond
- 34 (Sunbury) – Hounslow – (Southall)
- 35 A315 - Staines - Hounslow - (Chiswick) - Hammersmith
- 36 A316 - (Sunbury) - Twickenham - Hammersmith
- 37 A316 parallel, (Feltham) - Twickenham - Richmond – (Wandsworth) - Central London
- 38 Wimbledon – Putney - Westminster
- 39 A4020 Uxbridge Road - Uxbridge - Ealing - (Shepherd's Bush) - Central London
- 40 A40 (Hillingdon) - (Greenford) – (Hanger Lane) - Central London
- 41 Uxbridge Road parallel, (Acton) – Ealing – (Hayes)
- 42 Grand Union Canal, Westminster - Hayes
- 44 A4 - Slough - (Osterley) – Hammersmith – (Hyde Park Corner)
- 45 Harrow - Wembley - Kensington – Battersea
- 46 (Fulham) – (Willesden)
- 47 (Queen's Park) – Wembley – (Kenton)
- 48 Kilburn – Wembley – (Kingsbury)
- 49 (Hendon) - Harrow - (Pinner) – (Northwood)
- 50 (Marylebone) – (Hendon) - Potters Bar
- 54 (Alexandra Palace) - Wood Green – Tottenham - Walthamstow
- 55 Barking - Ilford – (Wanstead)
- 57 (Dagenham) - Epping
- 58 (Rainham) – Romford - Epping
- 59 (Rainham) – (Harold Hill)
- 60 (Collier Row)
- 61 Romford – (Bedfords Park)
- 62 Greenwich – (Forest Hill)
- 63 Greenwich - Bromley
- 64 (Greenwich Dome) – (Mottingham)
- 67 Bromley (Chislehurst) - Woolwich
- 68 Bexley – (Abbey Wood)
- 69 Orpington – (Bexley) - Dartford
- 73 Croydon – Wimbledon - Richmond
- 74 Streatham - Wimbledon - Kingston – Feltham - Heathrow
- 75 Woolwich - Eltham - Bromley - Croydon - Sutton - Kingston - Twickenham - Ealing
- 76 Orpington - Croydon – Sutton - (Ewell)
- 77 (New Beckenham) - (South Croydon) - (Ewell)
- 84 (Park Royal) – (Hendon)
- 85 Barnet - Hendon – (Hanger Lane) - Ealing
- 86 (Brentford) - Ealing - (Perivale) - (Sudbury)
- 87 (Brentford) - (Hanwell) - (Greenford) – (Rayners Lane)
- 88 A312, Feltham - (Hayes by pass), - (South Ruislip) - (Rayners Lane) - Edgware
- 89 (Heathrow) - (West Drayton) - Uxbridge - (Hatch End) - (Stanmore) - Barnet
Cycle Superhighways
Twelve new bicycle routes, dubbed Cycle Superhighways, were announced in 2008 by Mayor Ken Livingstone,[3] with the aim of creating continuous routes into central London by the end of 2012. As of 2015 only five cycle superhighways were operational: CS2, CS3, CS5, CS7 and CS8.
Routes
All 14 routes had been mapped[4] but the originally proposed CS6 and CS12 routes were later cancelled.[5] Two additional routes were later announced: an 18-mile long East-West Cycle Superhighway, dubbed the "Crossrail for Bikes", and the North-South Cycle Superhighway (co-branded as CS6[6]).
Name | Route | Comments | Map |
---|---|---|---|
CS1 | Tottenham to Liverpool Street (A10) | Due to be completed in spring 2016[7] | CS1(a) CS1(b) |
CS2 | Stratford to Aldgate (A118 - A11) | Upgrade between Bow and Aldgate due to be completed in spring 2016[8] | CS2 |
CS3 | Barking to Tower Gateway (A13) | CS3 | |
CS4 | Woolwich to Tower Bridge (A206 - A200) | ||
CS5 | Oval to Pimlico (A202) | To be extended later to eventually run from Lewisham to Victoria (A20 - A202) | CS5 |
CS6 (also known as North-South Cycle Superhighway[6]) |
Elephant & Castle to Stonecutter Street | Due to be completed in early 2016; later extension to King's Cross.[9] The originally proposed CS6 route was to have run from Penge to the City |
CS6 |
CS7 | Merton to the City (A24 - A3) | CS7 | |
CS8 | Wandsworth to Westminster (A3 - A3205 - Vauxhall Cross) | CS8 | |
CS9 | Hounslow to Hyde Park Corner (A4 - borough roads) | ||
CS10 | Cricklewood to Marble Arch (A5) | ||
CS11 | Park Royal to Hyde Park Corner 10 (A40 - borough roads) | ||
| | Cancelled[5] | |
East-West Cycle Superhighway | Lancaster Gate to Tower Hill | Due to be completed by summer 2016; later extension to Acton[10] | EWCS |
By summer 2016, three further routes are expected to have launched[5] - CS1 (Tottenham to Liverpool Street), East-West Cycle Superhighway (section from Lancaster Gate to Tower Hill) and North-South Cycle Superhighway (section from Elephant and Castle to Stonecutter Street, near Holborn Viaduct) - in addition to a major upgrade of CS2 between Aldgate to Bow with new segregated cycle tracks along most of this section.[8]
Implementation and safety concerns
The London Cycling Campaign proposed a manifesto concerning safety, cycle priority and junction design along the Superhighways.[11] The new Mayor Boris Johnson declined to sign it, but said that TfL would take stakeholders' views into account.[12]
The implementation of the routes has drawn criticism as being unsafe, for example from urbanist and author Charles Montgomery, who, writing in The Guardian, described them as "inherently dangerous pieces of infrastructure... [that lead] cyclists directly into confrontation with other vehicles".[13] However, he was writing at the time when the Cycle Superhighways were not physically segregated from the road.
An unofficial photo journey with commentary along the current super highways is available.[14]
The building of the routes has not been without opposition. On 19 July 2011 the Mayor's office announced the opening of two more cycle superhighways, CS2 from Bow to Aldgate and CS8 from Westminster to Wandsworth.[15] CS2 was originally being planned to extend as far as Ilford, but was met with opposition by the Mayor of Newham Sir Robin Wales. Blaming enough roadworks already on Stratford High Street, Sir Robin Wales made the decision to block the route from entering Newham on the grounds of cyclists' safety. The route has since been extended east around the A11/A12 roundabout as far as the Stratford gyratory.
Quietways
TfL are also promoting Quietways which are cycle routes on routes with low volumes of traffic. The first Quietway that will be fully introduced in early 2016 will run between Waterloo and Greenwich, with a total of seven Quietway routes due to be launched by mid-2016:[16]
Name | Route | Comments | Map |
---|---|---|---|
Quietway 1 | Waterloo - Bermondsey - Deptford - Greenwich | Q1 | |
Quietway 2 | Bloomsbury to Hackney | Will later be extended to Walthamstow | Q2 |
Quietway 3 | Regent's Park to Gladstone Park (Dollis Hill) | ||
Quietway 4 | Clapham Common to Wimbledon | ||
Quietway 5 | Waterloo - Clapham Common - Croydon | Q5 | |
Quietway 6 | Victoria Park to Barkingside | Will later be extended to run from Aldgate to Hainault | |
Quietway 7 | Elephant & Castle to Crystal Palace |
National and international routes
National Cycle Network routes
Eight National Cycle Network (NCN) routes pass through London:
- NCN1 (follows the Thames)
- NCN4 (London to Fishguard)
- NCN6 Paddington – (Alperton) - Uxbridge
- NCN13 Purfleet – Rainham – (Royal Docks) – City
- NCN20 (follows the Wandle Trail from Wandsworth - Carshalton, then on to Coulsdon).
- NCN21 (the Waterlink Way from Greenwich - Catford - Beckenham - Addington).
- NCN212: (Beddington Park, Sutton – South Norwood Country Park, Croydon)
- NCN232: (Mitcham Common, Merton – Lloyd Park, Croydon)
EuroVelo and other international routes
Two EuroVelo routes pass through London: these are EuroVelo 2 (dubbed the Capitals' Route, which runs between Ireland and Moscow) and EuroVelo 5 (called the Via Romea Francigena, which runs between London and Rome).
Other international routes include the Avenue Verte route which runs between London and Paris. The Avenue Verte follows the NCN20 for much of the way out of London and crosses the English Channel via the Newhaven – Dieppe ferry.
TfL Cycling Guides
Transport for London publish several cycling maps which cover the following regions (by guide number):[17]
- Central London
- Edgware, Mill Hill, Finchley, Barnet, Wood Green, Enfield, Tottenham, Chingford
- Northwood, Pinner, Ruislip, Stanmore, Harrow, Wembley, Kenton, Edgware, Mill Hill, Hendon
- Mill Hill, Hendon, Hampstead, Finchley, Wood Green, Tottenham, Chingford, Woodford, Walthamstow, Hackney, Islington
- Woodford, Wanstead, Ilford, Romford, Hornchurch, Upminster, Harold Wood
- Uxbridge, Hayes, Heathrow, Hounslow, Southall, Greenford, Ealing, Willesden, Acton, Chiswick
- Kensington, Battersea, Brixton, Willesden, Camden Town, Islington, Stepney, West Ham, Poplar, Greenwich, Woolwich
- Beckton, Barking, Dagenham, Charlton, Woolwich, Plumstead, Erith, Eltham
- Hounslow, Heathrow, Feltham, Chiswick, Twickenham, Wandsworth, Richmond, Kingston, Surbiton, Sutton
- Bromley, Beckenham, Crystal Palace, Catford, Lewisham, Streatham, Mitcham, Wandsworth, Kingston, Surbiton
- Lewisham, Catford, Beckenham, Bromley, Eltham, Bexley, Sidcup, Chislehurst, Orpington
- Sutton, Coulsdon, Sanderstead, Purley, Carshalton, Croydon
- Coulsdon, Sanderstead, Purley, Croydon, New Addington, Farnborough, Biggin Hill
- Hampstead, Tottenham, Wood Green, Stoke Newington, Hackney, Clapham, Tooting, Sydenham
See also
- Cycling in London
- Santander Cycles
- National Cycle Network
- Cycleways in England
- List of cycleways
- London greenways
- Segregated cycle facilities
References
- 1 2 "Currently issued and used LCN Route Numbering and Destinations". LCN+ Maps Website. London Cycle Network. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
- ↑ "London Cycle Network - the Official Map 2004" (PDF). London Cycle Network.org.uk. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
- ↑ Taylor, Matthew (9 February 2008). "City's two-wheel transformation". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
- ↑ "Barclays Cycle Superhighways Map" (PDF). Transport for London. Retrieved 2014-04-03.
- 1 2 3 "Cycle superhighways". London Cycling Campaign. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
- 1 2 "First section of North-South Cycle Superhighway opens". Transport for London. 20 October 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
- ↑ "Cycle Superhighway 1". Transport for London. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
- 1 2 "Cycle Superhighway 2 upgrade". Transport for London. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
- ↑ "North-South Cycle Superhighway". Transport for London. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
- ↑ "East-West Cycle Superhighway". Transport for London. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
- ↑ Cycle Superhighways manifesto says make routes attractive to novice cyclists, LCC, Sept 2009
- ↑ LCC, London Cyclist magazine, December 2009, p7.
- ↑ Montgomery, Charles (15 November 2013). "London's 'cycling superhighways' are ideal … for kamikazes". Retrieved 25 June 2014.
- ↑ "The Truth About London’s Cycle Superhighways – Part 4". This Big City. 2012-01-16. Retrieved 2013-04-16.
- ↑ Dean. "Two New Cycle Superhighways Open". Londonist. Retrieved 2013-04-16.
- ↑ "Quietways". Transport for London. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
- ↑ "Order free cycle guides". Transport for London. Retrieved 2 August 2015.