Transport for London (TfL) has announced that work on a new cycleway in Barking will start in early 2020.
The new 7km route will help to connect the growing neighbourhoods of Barking and Barking Riverside to London’s expanding network of cycle paths.
It comes following TfL’s Strategic Cycling Analysis, which used data to identify 25 areas which had the most potential for increasing the number of cyclists.
The route will connect the development at Barking Riverside where over 10,000 new homes are in the process of being built with Barking town centre. It will also link with Cycleway 3 at Mayesbrook Bridge, which will provide residents of the borough with a direct link to Canary Wharf and central London.
Earlier this year, TfL asked people to have their say on the proposals. Over three quarters (78per cent) of people responding to the consultation thought the routes would enable more people to cycle to work, with 73 per cent believing that more people would now be able to walk.
Will Norman, London’s Walking and Cycling Commissioner, said: “The plans will make it safer to both cycle and walk – helping reduce car use and clean up our toxic air. By connecting this new route to our expanding network we will make it even easier for people to get to where they need to be by bike or on foot.”
A consultation into an extension of the route, between Barking and Ilford, will follow at a later date, with more feasibility work set to be conducted.
