Two of London's busiest roads are set for temporary segregated cycle lanes that could be made permanent. Plans are now in place to install temporary segregated cycleways on Euston Road and Park Lane to help support those travelling by bicycle during the coronavirus lockdown, it was confirmed by Mayor of London Sadiq Khan.
Euston Road, the often-heavily congested road between Euston and King's Cross stations, will be the first main thoroughfare to have temporary cycle lanes implemented by Transport for London.
It comes as part of the new 'Streetspace' plan put into place by Mayor of London Sadiq Khan which plans 'to overhaul London's streets to enable millions more to walk and cycle' by reclaiming the capital's roads for bike lanes and wider pavements.
The infrastructure updates aim to fast-track temporary changes on London's busiest roads to aid social distancing, implement bike lanes as an alternative to busy tube and bus routes while also putting active, green travel 'at the heart of London's recovery'.
TfL will then review the scheme and could potentially make the cycling lanes and wider pavements a permanent fixture, rebalancing London's streets back in the favour of most people rather than the motor vehicle minority.
Estimates suggest that cycling in the city could increase 10-fold once lockdown is lifted, with walking increasing five-fold.
Some councils around London have already acted to improve cycling infrastructure notably Lambeth Council which confirmed it would spend £75,000 on emergency cycle lanes and pavements and other boroughs have blocked some roads to through traffic.
In the release, Khan warned that a return to motorised transport could see the city grind to a halt.
'With London's public transport capacity potentially running at a fifth of pre-crisis levels, millions of journeys a day will need to be made by other means,' the mayor said.
'If people switch only a fraction of these journeys to cars, London risks grinding to as halt, air quality worse, and road danger will increase.'
Since the lockdown imposed due to the coronavirus, London has seen a dramatic drop in pollution. In some of the capital's busiest spots, toxic air levels have dropped by 50%.