London’s Bike Superhighway Increase Bicycle Traffic by 70%

Inhabitat reported that the city of London recently announced that bicycle traffic is up to 70% on the two major streets in London proper. Londoners are crediting it all to the opening of the two bike superhighways this July. The bike superhighway was meant to attract people to go out and ride their bikes instead of driving their cars. The bike lane provides a safe, direct and simple to follow cycling routes from outer neighborhoods into the heart of London.

The two open superhighway are just the start because 10 more will be made or installed in the coming years. This is London’s big plan to help bring down car traffic and reduce unhealthy emissions problems by installing a large and easy to navigate cycling infrastructure.

The bicycle superhighways and London’s bike share program are sponsored by Barclays, the UK financial services firm and are officially called The Barclays Cycle Superhighways. The Mayor of London’s Transport Advisor, Kulveer ranger stated that the two bicycle superhighways are well on the way to achieving the city’s goal to increase cycling in the London. The increase in traffic was officially recorded and registered in October 2010 and was measured against the same time period a year before on the same streets.

Mr. Ranger added that the research shows that people do believe the routes are of value, make them feel safer and allows them to take direct and continuous routes in central London. By opening the first 2 of 12 superhighways first, London was able to take note of the things that work and what doesn’t. Within the first 6 months, since the lanes opened, the city improved upon the initial plans by having more safety mirrors, helping with the traffic flow in intersections having 2,372 new bike parking spaces. The success of these two pilot bicycle superhighways in London has proven that making it safe to ride a bicycle in the city.

Click here to read full story on Inhabitat

Image credit: Wikipedia