RADICAL proposals to turn part of the Westway between Shepherd's Bush and Paddington into a dedicated cycle route have been welcomed by riders.
Boris Johnson wants to 'de-Lycrafy' cycling by introducing a string of measures to improve safety and attract thousands of new riders to the roads.
The most ambitious part of the proposal involves removing one of the three westbound lanes from the elevated artery over a two-mile stretch and turning it into a two-way protected bike route.
It would form part of a 15-mile segregated cycling route linking west-east, the largest of its kind in Europe.
Situated at the northern end of the borough, the 3.5-mile Westway, built in the 1960s, was described by Mr Johnson as the 'ultimate symbol of how the urban motorway tore up our cities' but would become the 'ultimate symbol of how we are claiming central London for the bike'. It is planned for completion in 2016.
Despite critics suggesting many riders would prefer to use ground level routes, Hammersmith and Fulham Cyclists said the plans would achieve their goal of getting more people on to two wheels.
Rider Alex Ingram from Hammersmith, himself the victim of a bike crash in W6 in 2011, said: "A radical approach like this will definitely get more people on bikes. It will make cycling much more inviting because currently that end of the borough is quite isolated for cyclists by the Westway."
Chairman John Griffiths called the proposal 'radical'. "I really hope this will work," he said.
With Cycle SuperHighway 9, proposed to run through Hammersmith, beset by delays, the news has come as a boost to bikers. Mr Ingram said: "This is TfL saying, 'We can get on with this', unlike the CS9, which depends on co-operation from the boroughs."
Other features of the Mayor's £913m plan, some of the cost of which will depend on government grants, include studying whether a ban on lorries in central London at certain times is feasible; rebuilding major routes like Victoria Embankment and turning them into Dutch-style thoroughfares; introducing 20mph zones and redesigning major junctions.
Mr Ingram added: "It's definitely progress but it's not going to happen overnight."
Caroline Pidgeon, Lib-Dem chairwoman of the London Assembly’s transport committee, said the measures didn't go far enough. "While £913 million may seem an impressive figure, its impact will be diluted over 10 years and is not a significant advancement on current funding levels," she said.
"To have real impact, we’re calling for the investment in cycling to be doubled."
