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Mayor of London to Invest £1 Billion in Bicycle Infrastructure

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has announced his plans to invest nearly £1 billion ($1.49 billion) in a cycling project in the capital city, which aims to reduce traffic and improve the general air quality.

Johnson stated that, “the reason I am spending almost £1 billion on this is my belief that helping cycling will not just help cyclists. It will create better places for everyone. It means less traffic, more trees, more places to sit and eat a sandwich.

It means more seats on the Tube, less competition for a parking place and fewer cars in front of yours at the lights. Above all, it will fulfill my aim of making London’s air cleaner. If just 14 percent of journeys in central London were cycled, emissions there of the greatest vehicle pollutant, NOx (nitrogen oxides), would fall by almost a third and over the years literally thousands of lives could be saved.”

Related article: China's Smog Becoming an International Issue

The first route will be more than 15 miles long, making it the largest in Europe, and stretch from the centre of London to Canary Wharf and Barking. The final product after four years will see a segregated cycle path network that mirrors major tube lines and bus routes, criss-crossing the city.

The Mayor remarked that he wanted “to de-lycrafy cycling. I want to make it normal, something for everyone, something you feel comfortable doing in your ordinary clothes. Our new routes will give people the confidence to get in the saddle. I do not promise perfection, or that London will become Amsterdam any time soon. But what I do say is that this plan marks a profound shift in my ambitions and intentions for the bicycle.”

By. James Burgess of Oilprice.com



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  • Green is for ME on March 23 2013 said:
    The plan to have an integrated network is fantastic and forward-thinking. But let's not label it solely for cycling. It should be inclusive of not just cyclists, but also skaters, skateboarders, electric bikes, electric and body-powered Trikkes, Segways, Yike Bikes and any other pedal or body-powered, electric or electric-hybrid mobility device that is small and travels at speeds less than 16 mph. It's all good, and it benefits everyone to get more people out of their vehicles, freeing up roadways and lessening traffic. I agree with another poster that will appeal to a much wider net of people as well who must wear business attire and where it's not practical to arrive sweaty, and where a shower or change of clothes would likely be necessary. Bravo for the mayor's initiative to get the network built. But cast a wider net - ie. be more inclusive - for a significant incentive to get people out of their C02 belching, road-and parking-clogging vehicles.
  • Old Man River on March 12 2013 said:
    About time too. UK should have an integrated cycling network nationwide, independent of roads. This is the single easiest infrastructure project to undertake, with newly minted £'s, that would have the most positive effect on peoples life and outlook. Better still, link it together with creating ecological networks, add edible sections for longer trips and tourists....yea, that'll put the St Ann back into Britannia.

    Another infrastructure project? Give every family a table tennis table and revive the lost art of physical reaction. Design 3 tables in house competition and manufacture to any family/club that wants one.

    If we're not going to spend QE on renewable energy grids, then lets get real, get fit and get happy.
  • Mike on March 12 2013 said:
    But will he allow electric mobility vehicles such as the Segway or the Trikke Pon-e as feature in the first episode of Stephen Fry Gadget Man?

    Yes it is already OK to cycle in your normal clothes, but if you arrive at work feeling hot and sweaty and there are no showers to use, then a lot of people are going to say, "I can't be bothered to cycle". However, allow the use of electic powered vehicles and all of a sudden that argument is removed.

    We need to update this country's archaic and outdated transport laws, and do it fast.

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