Can cycling “superhighways” change our cities? A trip down a London bike lane

A recent trip to London had me inspired to see the impact of its cycling superhighways, a network of long, protected bike routes designed to enable people in the outer boroughs into central London. While the entire network has yet to be built out as originally envisioned, these superhighways have made an impact in London. So I decided to ride one and see what makes the work, and some of the challenges they face.
Check out my other video exploring London's bike infrastructure ideas that might be adapted in other cities: • How London is finally ...
0:00 Introduction
0:45 What's a cycling superhighway?
2:04 Continuous sidewalks
2:40 A painted bike lane sighting
3:35 Separated, protected bike lanes that are probably too narrow
5:01 Wayfinding
5:31 Getting into central London
6:04 Into the good stuff
6:37 Riding beside the Thames River
7:17 Managing huge numbers of cyclists
8:15 Final thoughts
#cycling #bike #commuting
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[@Shifter_Cycling]

What do you think about the idea of a cycling superhighway?

[@Murillos1]

Anything to separate pedestrians and micromobility👍

[@lws7394]

That it is not a 'Super' highway ! Only a narcissist like BoJo can sell such a grandioso term for a bike path .. Well often not even a bike path .

[@wulfpx]

I dream of one in my city. Now if you want to go across city as straight as possible - you go on stroad and hope for the best.

[@MrAlanCristhian]

I don't like them.

[@Loppy2345]

They got rebranded as Cycleways now, and they are awesome.

[@markovermeer1394]

As Dutchie, I was pleased to cycle most of CS3 and C4 last August. There's nothing 'highway' about them, because that would imply a lack of traffic lights and crossings, safe and fast driving. The main problem is that the tracks are put along the main streets, where you want them separately to avoid the car congestion. A serious problem is that, in London, there are cars in every street all the time. Every street is a through street: this is not safe for bikes and not efficient for cars.

[@Britishmajestic]

I’m British and my Dad is a cycling enthusiast who went on a cycle tour to the Netherlands recently. He absolutely loves the Netherlands and couldn’t stop talking about how great cycling is over there. I hope London and our other cities continue to take inspiration from your country.

[@pappy9473]

@@Britishmajestic That would be great. But it seems town planners just can't ignore their egos and insist on doing it THEIR WAY or no way.

[@hananas2]

Here in Belgium we also have a few cycling highways, but they're a very different concept. Instead of being designed to find your way within a city, they're made to connect cities to eachother. They run mostly alongside train tracks so are very direct, straight and flat. They're also built totally separate from any car infrastructure, although in some places you do have to share a quiet street or go on a separated bike lane on a normal car street/road because there's just not always room for a path next to train tracks. This again reinforces that we have a few cities with great 21st century mobility (trains, bike highways) and the ones separate from main train lines are kinda left to cars.

[@huquui8789]

Flanders i guess ? Basically the Netherlands.

[@spunkush]

Yah our railway companies don't like bike paths next to the tracks cuz it's a safety hazard. The lawyers who run America strike again.

[@johnforrest695]

One of the problems with the Super Highways in London is that there is a disconnect with the traditional cycle lanes here (most of which are slightly older, labelled London Cycle Network. Basically if you look at the Super Highways maps they don't show they link with other cycle paths. Similarly signing. This is partly, I think, due to rivalry between the Mayor's Office and the various London Boroughs. I think there is a lesson for other cities somewhere.

[@Shifter_Cycling]

I saw this, even on my brief visit to the city. Even if you are unfamiliar with the municipal politics behind it, there was what felt like a jumble of different types of routes. Some consistency would certainly make it easier for people to find their way.

[@xtomistrox8066]

Sounds familiar from my Helsinki perspective (but without the politics): There is a lot of work to be done connecting the new types of cycle lanes and infrastructure, which are planned and built with a "cycling is like car traffic" idea, with the old type which was done more with a "cycling is like foot traffic" idea - ie. bikes share the road with pedestrians, it's all bi-directional, not really separated from other modes etc. This can lead to confusion, discontinuity and people going the wrong way on one-way bike lanes, when suddenly the old type connects with the new. It's a slow process both in building the infrastructure but also with people getting used to the new type of lanes and infrastructure. At least we are moving in the right direction here.

[@Trevor.Adams640]

@@Shifter_Cycling Yes, we have this too. The City Council are very keen on cycling infrastructure, the County Council aren’t so keen, so routes often end at the city boundary.

[@Lurch685]

Sounds like a situation of the left hand and the right hand not communicating.

[@shawnpitman876]

That sounds incredibly stupid, hostile and petty. Imagine road maps being SPECIFICALLY only city streets showing no highways, and highway maps showing NO city streets.

[@AJRAJRAJR]

I think calling them "superhighways" is really dumb. It's just cycle lanes. The "super highways" name makes it seem like its luxurious but its just minimum infrastructure. Parts of it are pretty nice, and the fact that they are long, and continuous is good. It's good that they went for more of a network instead of patchwork.

[@jamesphillips2285]

First major bike route in Edmonton (AB, Canada) was nicknamed "Bike bahn". Sometimes a dedicated route with few stops show the possibilities.

[@ruan13o]

Just ignore the name. I think part of the the reason for the name is just to make it sound transformative enough that people could go along with the funding required to build them originally. You have to remember back then London was not as bike friendly as it is now (yes, I know it's nowhere near perfect yet!). All the similar infrastructure that have been built since COVID do not have such grand names and in many places are just as good although rarely as long.

[@liamness]

They're moving away from the branding (although the road markings / signs will likely take years to be updated). Cycling routes in London used to be termed "superhighways", which were direct routes on main roads or "quietways", which used back streets with (supposedly) less traffic. It's a bit of a useless distinction as most people just want to get from a to b and don't really care about what kind of infrastructure they use, so long as they don't need to mix with busy traffic. Indeed, many of the existing routes already mix both "styles". The "superhighway" branding also apparently led some people to make assumptions that they were for fast cyclists, when really the opposite is the case... if you are on a road bike and happy to get a bit sweaty then you were probably already perfectly happy cycling in the bus lanes.

[@PRH123]

Yes I think that's the main achievement, the fact that from the edges of the city to the center there are long continuous paths - routes... whereas in many other cities of the world you may ride a couple of kilometers along a bike lane or path, and it just ends, in the middle of nowhere...

[@humanecities]

2:10 Those elevated crossings are basically my favourite thing.

[@Shifter_Cycling]

So simple, yet so effective.

[@eninn]

They are second to pedestrian/cyclists-only streets ;)

[@humanecities]

@@eninn okay, second favourite 😂

[@mariusfacktor3597]

2:04 I love continuous sidewalks. I agree, it's insane that every crosswalk is not continuous. Pedestrians supposedly have the right-of-way but when you build the street like a race track, it's hard for anyone to see it this way.

[@liamness]

This isn't a continuous sidewalk / pavement though, and pedestrians do not have right of way... at least not any more than they would have at any junction in the country. This is just what's known as a "raised table" junction. Forces drivers to slow down and is also way better for people on mobility scooters / wheelchairs as they don't have to go down to the road level and then up again. But a proper continuous footway should continue in the same colour / material as is used on the rest of the pavement, that's the best way to communicate pedestrian priority.

[@paulsslightlyactivelife]

Great to have you ride along CS3 - my regular commute to work and back. I agree about the narrow sections (esp. at rush-hour) and yet I can't recall ever seeing a collision between riders. What is certain, is that without the route I'd probably be using the Underground instead of getting exercise and (fresh-ish) air. Here's hoping it continues to evolve.

[@Shifter_Cycling]

It feels like the start of something better. Hopefully, they keep being improved.

[@sheridanwilde]

I've seen a few collisions along CS3 - as well as runners (wearing black, nothing reflective) on the unlit underpass next to Blackfriars. Also van and taxi drivers in the wide section along Lower Thames Street.

[@tylerandmaren]

@@sheridanwilde Taxi drivers!!!

[@anthonyarundel727]

I live part of the year in the Netherlands. We call these simply bike paths, which are everywhere. But I suppose for London it is a start.

[@pennyroyal3813]

I recently watched a Not Just Bikes video where he spoke of how dedicated, high quality bike routes (super highways) in Amsterdam also make the driving experience better. Separating the modes of transportation is better for everyone. Super highways are a great idea.

[@Shifter_Cycling]

Separation can be good for pedestrians as well.

[@wclifton968gameplaystutorials]

high quality bike routes can make driving experiences better but here in London at least, heavily used traffic lanes and bus/taxi/cycle lanes were removed so that some Cycle Superhighways could be built. I might also add that there aren't many cyclists towards the ends of Cycle Superhighways or at least I have yet to see a cyclist in Colliers Wood at the end of route CS7...

[@roadrage9191]

Seperation depends on the situation. If speed is 30kmh and car traffic volumes are low you don't need seperation but you need speed bumbs or similar to slow cars down. Arterials, freeways, distributor roads always need seperation.

[@rockfire1669]

Imagine a road with only cars. That is what I want. And by this I mean that as I walk/bike/jog, I don’t want to worry about getting hit by a car.

[@roadrage9191]

@Omer van den Belt I am dutch, I know how to make roads safe.

[@widgetmaker]

CS3 + pandemic got me into cycling. The quieter road + boris bike rental (like you’re using) became the best way of getting into town to see my gf. Now I mostly cycle to work on all roads 11 miles each way. I’d have never done that without the confidence of CS3. The stretch you’re on is sometimes known as the cycle super [C you Next Tuesday] because of the Lycra types.

[@Trevor.Adams640]

We have a few of these Cycle Highways in my nearest city, Nottingham, but they aren’t as well used as the ones in London. Locally to me, we have what is laughingly called the National Cycle Network or NCN. This is basically a bit of on road paint and few converted footways, which are shared with pedestrians. These are often very narrow and the route often switches from pavement to road and from one side of the road to the other. It makes for very slow progress and if you are a confident cyclist you are better off on the road itself.

[@Shifter_Cycling]

Do you think the superhighways aren’t as well used because they don’t connect to a good network of safe routes throughout the area?

[@kasimsultonfan]

You're right about the NCN. Haphazard, not thought through, done on the cheap. Bit rubbish, really. But better than nothing.

[@LightbulbTedbear2]

@@Shifter_Cycling Definitely. No cautious cyclist is going to use the superhighways if they get dumped out in mixed traffic at the end anyway.

[@Trevor.Adams640]

@@Shifter_Cycling To a certain extent, Yes. There are good east to west routes but until very recently they just dumped you in the centre. It’s better now after recent changes to join the routes up. North to South connectivity is still not very good because the central link is missing for these routes.

[@adogswimming1474]

No one can argue against the fact that the NCN is pathetically useless. At this moment in time, at least.

[@kosikond]

I am blessed to have most of my route to work via CS2 and CS3 and it's such godsend Wapping being the "poor" area put a smile on my face :D

[@mikeoneil7537]

I just spent 2 months cycling around Boston and Cape Cod. The rail trail from Hyannis to Wellfleet was very good, safe, and fast. It made a significant difference in being able to really use a bike for everyday transportation. Returning to Arizona, I really miss having a bike highway.

[@zivkovicable]

Ha, long time subscriber & eventually you pass my flat!. The disconnection you talk about is the reason why some people in London are more comfortable on a bike built for speed as they still feel the need to keep up with cars to stay safe, while those cyclists who's journey is nearly all on separated lanes or low traffic neighbourhoods have tended to adopt more of a Dutch utility cycling mentality. When I started cycling in the 90's it was pretty much all the former. The Superhighways were indeed a game changer. Boris Johnson was an avid cyclist but originally was against separation of modes, instinctively part of the John Forrester vehicular cycling tribe, & he messed up the implementation during his first term. Just blue paint separating cyclists from traffic (still vestiges of that at the beginning of your journey and most of the outer suburbs). A spate of deaths at junctions on these badly thought out lanes which disappeared when it most mattered resulted in large protests, which eventually led to the superhighways as you experienced them. & to be fair he saw the light. & it probably took a Tory to get that stuff through, blunting some of the usual opposition from the right. ... Terrible Prime Minister of course.

[@Shifter_Cycling]

That's an interesting point about having a Tory politician implement bike lanes. I don't know of many cities in the U.S. or Canada where you would see this.

[@zivkovicable]

@@Shifter_Cycling London Conservatives have reverted to type. The headline manifesto promise at the last mayoral election was to scrap residential street filtering schemes known as "Low Traffic Neighbourhoods", which in my view are just as much of a game changer as the Superhighways. . Although they lost by a landslide. Only around 45% of Londoners own a car, so i'm not sure appealing to the prejudices of motorists is the electoral gold it might be in other cities.

[@karlInSanDiego]

I recently heard that the Dutch are increasing cycle tracks design specs from 2m to 2.3m width to help make more room for passing because of something you didn't mention, e-bikes.

[@stephenlee5929]

In the UK, E-bikes are not generally legal for use on public highways.

[@matthewcornfield2150]

I am living in Birmingham at the moment - we have a set of these Superhighways on the A38 and A34 arterial roads. Their existence allows me to get to the shops, local parks, recreational routes, and more without having to use a car all of the time! Don't get me wrong, these routes have some major drawbacks, but the trend seems to be going upwards!

[@jarilaitinen8918]

I guess induced demand works for cyclists as well as motorists... gotta widen the (bike) highway! Great video as usual.

[@PRH123]

That's a challenge with London, everything is narrow and tiny, there's often - usually just no available room to widen...

[@dariadavay]

Great video as always! For some more context about London's cycle routes I highly recommend Jay Foreman's classic video: "Why isn't Cycling normal in London?"

[@webchimp]

Also the follow up "Why drivers should want cycle lanes"

[@1man1bike]

They are a good idea when they are implemented properly. I use CS3 from Limehouse to Westminster and you right about it being very narrow along Cable Street and riding in rush hour is not always fun. Sometimes you feel you may fall off the kerb into the road if someone is riding inconsiderately. The issue now is the unregulated rickshaws which take up so much space and a lot of the riders are inconsiderate. Really enjoy the content of your channel. Keep up the good work.

[@andreacaleo1581]

The rickshaws are unbelievable! I can't say what I would do with whoever drives or gets into those...

[@tylerandmaren]

rickshaws in London? That's new. I lived there 11 years ago and don't recall seeing any. That would be super annoying.

[@simonh6371]

@@tylerandmaren No they were here 11 years ago and before that.

[@georgeg7840]

Their bicycle sharing bikes seem very similar to Montreal’s bixi. Speaking of Montreal, we have something somewhat similar but not downtown, I used to commute from Verdun to Dorval, most was on the bicycle pathway next to the Lachine canal, lots of kids and people walking their dogs in the late afternoon but this was like a bicycle highway in the morning.

[@PeevedLatias]

Also Montreal, we do have the REV that is expanding over the coming years and is already quite good.

[@superfluidity]

Yes - when the London scheme was introduced the bikes were from the Canadian company Cycles Devinci, who also built the bikes for Bixi. But the current bikes are from British maker Pashley.

[@hyperbolic3833]

I use that route every day (my office is by that first bike traffic light you showed) and its fantastic especially, as you said, that stretch along the river. I'm one of the fast lycra cyclists and found it did get a bit crowded so around the painted/narrow lanes I often just ride on the road as the car volumes are low there and they are moving at more my speed so it actually worked quite well if not as intended

[@_bats_]

Tom is so nice, hah. When I heard "cycling superhighway" I was envisioning, you know, a cycling superhighway, not awful sharrows and scary barely-separated narrow bi-directional paths that you just know are going to be filled with meandering pedestrians. Some stretches of this looked nice, but it still very much feels like an afterthought rather than intentional, well-thought-out actual infrastructure.

[@ruth649]

The raised narrow section of this is kind of stressful when there's lots of cyclists and people are going in both directions/overtaking, but even during busy times there aren't really many pedestrians on it.

[@itsabtn]

They markings aren't actually sharrows, they're wayfinding with ugly blue paint around them. All CS's and Cycleways use ground markings like this but newer cycleways have the words without the blue paint around them. The streets may look unsafe but they have little to no traffic at all due to being in a low traffic neighbourhood (An area with through-routes for cars taken out by bollards and planters) which many cyclists feel just as safe riding on than segregated cycleways (It is suitable for young children even). But I do agree the stepped blue cycle path part is crap as it is too narrow. Hopefully, as TFL is converting the cycle superhighways and Quietway's to cycleways, the raised path will be changed to a backstreet route in a Low Traffic Neighbourhood as the road is too small or they could pedestrianize the road. And yeah most parts are good and are well thought out but the raised bit and the bit after that that he didnt go to (Towards Barking) is terrible. The route passes through a manual barrier, a shared path in a park, a small segregated lane on the edge of a horrible 50 MPH 4 lane road (I dont know why they didnt do a backstreet route) oh and the bit on the 50MPH 4 lane road has not bike lights but shared pedestrian and cyclists crossing areas (Toucan crossing) and multiple shared areas with pedestrians. The first part was thought out by Boris, the next was just added on by him too make it look like TFL did something. Hopefully Sadiq Khan converts this bit to a backstreet route because its awful.

[@margaretkopretina]

I so enjoy your style of filming the infrastructure in your city and in others, and it's great to see you in a different place!! Cool!

[@JK-pe6ft]

Great, nuanced review of a London cycling superhighway. Your review matches my experience, which is that the network designed under mayor Livingstone is great, and its implementation in the very centre of London is excellent. Outside the centre, the infrastructure is mediocre, but I'm glad it's there. The main challenge for London bicycle commuters is getting to the nearest cycling superhighway, which could be topic for another video. Quiet residential streets in London are generally good for cycling. Even though those spaces are shared with parked and moving cars, they are not very busy. In some boroughs, like Lambeth, so-called Low Traffic Neighbourhoods, which block through traffic, help a lot. Those routes along residential streets do cross busy traffic arteries and crossing those is a frustrating experience.

[@thecaveofthedead]

This is amazing. I lived in London in the late '90s. I admired the bike couriers I met. But they were hardcore man. I certainly didn't have the guts to seriously consider getting around by bike there. With this infrastructure it would be a no-brainer for me. Transport in London was so expensive and ate a very significant chunk of my wage. I believe it's only more expensive now. So being able to stay fit, avoid the maddening delays of London's terrible privatised rail system, it would be amazing.

[@Snowshowslow]

They are definitely helpful, but there are only a few of them out there. If your destination (or your house) is not on a CS or on a quiet way, not too much has changed, sadly. But hopefully it will continue to evolve :)

[@PRH123]

Yes it's more expensive now. And you have to use these idiotic Oyster cards.

[@Ilander86]

One thing is worth noting: London has numerous municipalities with differing viewpoints on things like this, and the apparent patchwork of solutions likely is an effect of that.

[@TwoToTheSix]

While concrete beats paint on busy roads, there’s a lot to be said for shared spaces if traffic volumes are kept low and slow. London is starting to work on removing traffic from residential streets, which can then become a tremendous asset for people on bikes and on foot. The Netherlands does this really well with their fietsstraten (cycling streets) - the reality is that you simply can’t put in segregated lanes in many old European cities where the streets are narrow

[@mrMacGoover]

I wish they would pave old railroad routes into long distance bike paths throughout each province, here in Southern Ontario Canada where I live they have paved old sections throughout the country side with miniature stop signs at road crossings.

[@AlbertoDellaRegina]

during the week... they are quite different experience, with all the people riding on them LOL

[@callumrsb]

The new standards published by the government in 2020 called LTN 1/20 specifies a minimum one-way Cycleway at 1.5m and two-way at 3m so the newest infrastructure should be well better especially in more suburban parts.

[@Garner84]

Btw, TfL are in the process of renaming all Cycle Superhighways to Cycleways. ;)

[@BradFonseca]

Looks like I need to visit London with a bike. 😁 Thanks for another great video!

[@Shifter_Cycling]

Thanks Brad. You’re the best! I appreciate the ongoing support.

[@ephphatha230]

That gesture at 0:35 was exactly like Boris Johnson 😆

[@marchomotion]

This is such a great update from London! I loved hearing about induced demand in the bike direction, rather than how we hear about it in North America more often (added car lanes). It proves the rule! Also I love the nod to Two Tone Records 🎺

[@Victor-tl4dk]

9:34 yeah, when I think of a highway I think of like our interstate system here in the US. Safe- standardized- easy- fast- about the same- and clear. I think paths labeled "cycling highways" should also be like that- purposeful, more straight, always separated, wide, etc.

[@kev2034]

One accidentally better things about raised pavements is that it makes it so much easier to flow through an intersection as a skateboarder too.

[@elaiej]

One solution for bikes of different speeds; have 2 lanes, a slower lane, and an overtaking lane. I commute to work on the Federal Highway motorcycle lane in malaysia. The Federal Highway is noteworthy because it was built in an era when bicycles were still a significant form of transportation. Since the highway specifically banned bike traffic from it, they built a bicycle lane on both sides of it. Most of the highways built in malaysia since has done away with the concept of a motorcycle lane; replacing them with only car lanes. The good thing about cycling on it is that it is basically a very good cycle superhighway. I manage 24km in 1 hour on my bike (I do this ride 2-3 days a week, and drive the other days to recover). Just keep left, keep peddling, and let the faster motorcycles overtake you on the right.

[@markjlewis]

Continuous sidewalks/pavements are good for wheelchair users, no ramps or kerbstones to deal with.

[@Shifter_Cycling]

Why don't we do this everywhere?!

[@geoff5623]

It seems like they would also drain water away from pedestrian spaces, so you're less likely to have to roll or walk through puddles

[@sheridanwilde]

@@Shifter_Cycling Because the car lobby don't like being inconvenienced.

[@glasgowcycles]

Great informative video and I hope to use this infrastructure on my next London visit to cycle around.

[@samspencer7765]

What I love about commuting small, e.g. on bikes, walking, e scooter etc is that the induced demand clog up takes up so little space. Where "one more lane" doesn't work with cars, it's because cars are enormous. There's never going to be enough room for everyone to drive a car, or you end up with a city so sparse with destinations as the roads that service them become a greater and greater proportion of the overall space that they can no longer sustain themselves. But with bikes, you can fit up to ten parked bikes in the space of one parked car. With walking, there is no parking!

[@tconnolly9820]

The point about some of the cycle ways being quite narrow is very true. I regularly pull one of a couple of bike trailers I have and one of them is just shy of 90cm wide. I used it last to carry my full sized lawnmower 7km to be serviced and repaired and brought home 40kg of shopping on the return journey. Some bike lanes are literally not much wider than a single bike and are actually dangerous as Tom said because they are so narrow.

[@xtomistrox8066]

The Helsinki version of the "cycling superhighway" is called the Baana and the Baana network is the grand plan of Helsinki to build high capacity, high quality bike lanes that connect the downtown to the suburbs and the suburbs to each other. The quality of the bits that have been finished (about 17 kilometers) so far has been great, a huge improvement on the old type cycle lanes. The only problem is that the plan was approved over 10 years ago and if it had had the funding that was proposed, the whole 130 km network would be finished already. Instead we have about 10% built and in use. Now the plan seems to be to have it completed in the next 10 years. We'll see. I guess the delay might have some benefit to it, since the design principles used have developed in the past 10 years, but still. The city has and has had a strategy to increase the volume of cycling for years, but the money hasn't been there so nothing has happened.

[@Lurch685]

How is it cycling in Finland? I know nothing about the weather there.

[@xtomistrox8066]

@@Lurch685 Depends a lot on where you are in Finland! In the south it's very good cycling weather for 9-10 months of the year with a ~2 month winter that sees the weather bounce between -10 and +5 celsius. You can see a video of the conditions on Christmas Eve in Helsinki on my channel. In the north the winter is longer and more stable, so it's easier to maintain good conditions on the bike lanes. Check out Pekka Tahkola's channel for more on northern cycling, especially during the winter.

[@stuartriches2551]

Great to get your POV🙏

[@Deckzwabber]

Good job London, you're catching up!

[@michaelgeisert289]

👍👍👍 Fabulous vid!!! I am going to share it to my local bike advocacy group here in Charlottesville VA.

[@PeterTriChi]

Loved it! Wish more cities would embrace these concepts!

[@donntrotter]

Came for the bike content, stayed for the ska. Nice b roll music, Tom!!!

[@888SpinR]

I visited London last year and was genuinely impressed by the superhighway! I think more cities could do with this sort of infrastructure, it doesn't have to be "Amsterdam or nothing". On elevated crossings, I'm willing to bet the cost of lowering kerbs is far, far cheaper than elevating roads.

[@CoolTransport]

from parliament square you can continue up to hyde park corner and marble arch and that is one of my favorite parts :) nicely in the park but also direct

[@tubularap]

Good to see London getting these cycling super highways. I hope more roads will be made safe for bicycles.

[@alextw1488]

The fact they spread out as spokes from a hub from town centre to a point close to everyone's home street gives would-be cyclists the confidence of knowing where they're going. Fear of getting lost or stranded is a major psychological barrier for potential commuters I think so that's a big one when it comes to reaching a critical mass. As a daily London cyclist for nearly 25 years they definitely were a gamechanger as was booting cars out of bus lanes. Having said that, I'm quite glad my own mind maps pre-date the paint, that I rarely have to travel at rush hour and that I'm lucky to feel comfortable around motorised traffic. As mentioned in the video the diverse commuting styles mixing (perhaps inexperienced) sportiness with utility can make the superhighways somewhat stressful at the busiest times. I have a feeling this could be a London thing as opposed to a general CS thing.

[@JMJM75257]

Nice to see you in London. I ride everyday as a courier on an urban arrow xl. That stretch by the Thames is very nice indeed. I don't find any difficulty with different speeds of bike, keep your riding predictable and it's easy to get along!

[@user-uc5tc1yp9e]

you're right. i've biked on exactly those lanes in wapping/limehouse during weekdays, and they are sometimes really scary.

[@sdmike1141]

Thanks! Nice content!!

[@Shifter_Cycling]

Thank you so much for the support. It means a lot!

[@brkatimachor]

I love your videos. You do such a great job of conveying important and useful info in a charming and watchable way. And I'd love to know how you get the sound to be so good on those ride-along shots! I'm perplexed.

[@Shifter_Cycling]

Thank you! And it took me three years until I finally figured out that I should just use these mics: rode.com/en/microphones/wireless/wirelessgoii

[@brkatimachor]

@@Shifter_Cycling Wow! Thanks for the tip! And please just keep doing what you're doing, your really good at it. Btw, I grew up in London. Hope you had a great time there!

[@ericpmoss]

Munich has some of this, and it handles thousands of commuters every day. The bicycle highway in northern Slovenia is pretty fabulous - cafes, connections to national parks, and goes into Italy. Fabulous.

[@Victor-tl4dk]

I'd like to see some bicycle intercities!

[@ebos9515]

Great video, nice to see times are changing all over this speck of dust. What we call cycling highways in Belgium, they run from Antwerp to Hasselt for instance. Nothing special realy as it uses the towpath along the canal. Although the cycling infrastructure is not as is in the Netherlands it does connect to some decent in town cycling paths along the route.

[@jackroutledge352]

Glad to see you're enjoying the UK. If you make it up here to Nottingham, we have some great biking infrastructure that's just been installed throughout the city centre. I've been pleasantly surprised by it. So have quite a few other people given how busy it is, even in the middle of winter!

[@Regnbuesolv]

Yes, I hope he visits! I have been involved in the installation of the lanes. Happy to give him a tour.

[@jackroutledge352]

@@Regnbuesolv Well then let me take the opportunity to thank you! It's some great work!

[@Regnbuesolv]

@jackroutledge352 I shall pass on the thanks to the project manager as he won the funding for the cycle improvements that are ongoing. Lots of improvement suggestions are popping up already. Thank you very much!

[@WrecklessSandwich]

The Boston area has a few of these that are a little more separated from the road that are really great. -The MInuteman commuter bikeway extends 10 miles out into suburbia from the end of a subway line in Cambridge. The station has multiple cages so it works as a big park and ride. -The SW Corridor is a little shorter, but it goes from Jamaica Plain straight into downtown Boston. This became a major lifeline to the city last summer when we had a month long shutdown of one of our ailing subway lines that it runs parallel to. Bike share ridership was at record highs. -Trails along the Charles river on both sides make for a grerat east-west path in and out of the city, but some of the road crossings can be a bit dicey. -The Northern Strand isn't well connected to downtown yet, but it's a great separated trail through Lynn, Saugus, Malden, and Everett where there isn't really any other infrastructure. It has a lot more crossings in Malden/Everett (great for local use, bit annoying otherwise) and the wayfinding is top notch. There are active plans to build a pedestian bridge to extend this into Somerville, where you can pick up local street networks.

[@hayterrlgmailcom]

Thanks!

[@Shifter_Cycling]

Thank you so much Richard! I appreciate the support. It means a lot.

[@Kitsonsonvacation]

We need this in Canada! But sadly even cities are trying to adapt to a more bike friendly urban development, there are still many people think building bike lanes cause more congestion or like snowing makes the bike lane become useless (of course when they plow the snow to block the bike lane for cars) and drivers just want more road for cars in North America. City like Toronto downtown area isn't that bad and got potential but anywhere past 401 highway up north is mostly jammed with cars. hope one day we can fully adapt it here with more transportation option

[@jeremydasneves6037]

I still feel at risk on the painted areas on the road in London. But I ride the canal route to and from work each day and that really gets you away from traffic, along the waterside. And no stop lights / stop streets. Over 60% of my route is along the canal.

[@denverspin]

Fantastic. Enjoy.

[@paulwatson-work3544]

Thank you for another great video. I live outside London and can cycle to the centre quite easily. However, this takes a lot of local knowledge with the use of river paths, canal paths, parks, bridal ways, cycle paths and highways. A lot of traffic free riding in the UK is consists of ancient access rights such as bridleways rather than government funded infrastructure (at least away from cities) .

[@Shifter_Cycling]

Yes, I also felt like I would need a lot of time and experience riding before I truly understood all the bike routes.

[@user-vl7ys9nh1h]

We have the raised crosswalks here in some places. They are usually in places that cars want to go fast but the speed limit is 25mph or less.

[@mennio100]

I'd like you to see the growing (but still inadeguate) bikes infrastructure in Milano (IT) 😉 We all need more videos like this

[@timhanser1943]

Thanks , liked and subbed . I’ll have to get a cycling map of London .

[@howtowithhank4791]

This reminds me of the bike lane along the Hudson river in new York City

[@ericpmoss]

You touched on a very important pattern I hadn’t considered - just as for motor vehicles, there is a problem trying to wedge all kinds of users into a few lanes.

[@raithrover1976]

I'd imagine that it's not much fun trying to cycle against the flow during peak times on the narrower sections.

[@tomreingold4024]

We have some things like this in NYC. I read somewhere that the Hudson River Greenway is the most heavily-used bike route in North America, and I can believe it. We have conflict among various kinds of riders, though it's been a year or so since I saw a lycra-clad cyclists going over 18 mph (30 kph), but they are probably still there. If you come to check it out, I'll give you a nice bike tour of The City.

[@tomreingold4024]

One problem with the Hudson River Greenway is that the Parks Department owns and runs it, and their main focus isn't transportation. Renovations and repairs can take too long, and recent repairs were woefully inadequate.

[@stealthy.mammoth]

Hudson river Greenway is great and definitely worth a video. A bunch of other routes in NYC are also worth exploring. I could usually plot a cycling route to most places with majority separated lanes or dedicated paths. There are issues and plenty of gaps between key routes, but for a city as hectic as NYC, it's surprisingly good.

[@frankfurter7260]

That’s a nice path, IMO. And at the Battery Park end there is a path that takes you around until you can hook up with the greenway on the East side (do they call it that on the East side ?) so you can ride all the way around Manhattan. Or you can detour to Governors Island and on a summer night when the ferry runs late you can be riding around GI sometimes alone for long stretches. Please don’t tell anyone - I like the peace and quiet.

[@glennnicholls8510]

So, 2.5 million riders this year so far on the Embankment? Thats incredible. I've ridden around London for a long time and I have to say its never been better.

[@thatwebbloke]

I have lived in London for 30 years in a suburban area but work in and around central London. During this time, I have gone from driving, as public transport was unless, to a motorcycle, because there was too much traffic because public transport is unless, to public transport, as it had improved as was cheaper than petrol, servicing and high insurance cost for a motorcycle in London, to where I am now cycling or public transport depending on the weather, etc. Even 5 years ago I would not have considered cycling as an option. Everyone I knew that did has been knocked off at some point being. However, the investments made make cycling an easy, safe quick option. It takes me roughly the same time to cycle as it does to walk to the nearest station, catch the underground and walk to work/home.

[@ChristiaanHW]

it's a great start to get the city accustomed to cycle ways, but as a Dutchie there are a lot of things that should get improved to make it safer and get more people to use them. - don't call them cycle highways. we used a term like that too for a time but people really don't like the idea of cycling on "a highway", in our minds a highway is synonymous with high speeds. and they are basically just (express) cycle paths to connect different parts of the city. - two way cycle paths should be avoided whenever possible. on one way cycle paths, cyclist have less things to worry about. this makes for a safer and more pleasant ride. also a two way cycle path means that other traffic has to look both ways at a crossing with the path. and that is one of the things that increases the probability of a accident a lot. and if you have a two way cycle path you should have some road markings to make it visible where cyclist in either direction should ride. - the paths should be (a lot) wider. you should make the paths wide enough to have enough room for (at least) one cyclist to overtake another one. and the most important problem a lot of cities go wrong with when construction cycle infrastructure for the "first time". you don't just plop a path somewhere. you should make sure people can ride save and easy from their house to their destination. a world class cycle path won't get used (as much as it can) if it isn't connected (in a save and easy to use way) to the points people start/end their journeys. and make sure to have ample (save and easy to access) bicycle storage at the big destinations (like stations, tourist hotspots and shopping areas) and last of all: don't be afraid to copy (and maybe even improve) the Dutch designs. we've had a long and bumpy road to get were we are today. and that means you don't have to make the same mistakes as we did. (and we made plenty of them) it's a good start but don't be satisfied with it, keep improving (we still do) and make a cycle infrastructure that fits your needs and what is save, fun and easy to use.

[@simonmandrakejones]

I really like the separated lanes. One of my current bugbears is the woman on my morning commute who walks in the middle of the cycle lane (rather than the foot path beside it) and yells at me for cycling. I hasten to add that I am considerate and slow down when I am passing to avoid an accident. Some barriers would be welcome.

[@Shifter_Cycling]

I also try to give pedestrians space because they should be the primary users of our public routes. But I know this person and I feel you. Thank you for the support!

[@simonmandrakejones]

@@Shifter_Cycling You're welcome. Your channel was a big encouragement to me in getting back to cycling.

[@beaumontluke]

The three big, long cycleways/superhighways in London are just a delightful wonder to ride (C3, C4 & C6). They are a vision of a city where every day has a bit of joy

[@karter9219]

i use c4 everyday and i cannot wait for the surrey quays part to finally be built lol

[@krishnansrinivasan830]

Nice & Thanks :)

[@yeastov5470]

Lack of space is a big problem throughout all of the UK, I live in a part of south Wales with really good bike infrastructure, but there are still lots of gaps on roads where there is literally no room for any thing else unless we start demolishing houses. Also for some reason there's a weird rule that for some reason bicycles are not allowed to cross bridges, even if it is a road bridge and there's a bike lane on it.

[@KellyS_77]

How long did it take you to get used to riding on the left instead of the right?

[@Shifter_Cycling]

I didn't 😂

[@sheridanwilde]

Two sections in Limehouse and Tower Hamlets (just before and after the twisty turny park path) have the cycle path change sides so you get to ride on both the left and the right of the road...

[@MichaelSnasdell]

Curious to hear how you felt riding on the CS3, especially with the interactions between other cyclists, and pedestrians? Lots of different groups have their own takes on priority, rider respect, and especially traffic lights and regulations. Always interested as a Londoner to hear an outside perspective. PS, great video, I love riding in my city :)

[@Shifter_Cycling]

I always think pedestrians should have the priority, but the design should make it clear the separation between cyclists, motorists and pedestrians. I saw a few wandering pedestrians, especially in the tourist areas, but compared to other places, I didn’t feel there was excess conflict among them for the short time I was in the city

[@MichaelSnasdell]

@@Shifter_Cycling thanks for the reply. There will always be slight conflict for sure. Some other sections are terrible for it, but in general it's harmony. Glad you enjoyed yourself.

[@Littleweenaman]

🙌 yes

[@PhilipSalen]

Thanks! Another amazing video! Fascinating to see how London is setting up their bicycle infrastructure. Will there be a London Ontario bicycle infrastructure video?

[@Shifter_Cycling]

Thanks again for all the support Philip! I'm not sure the Internet can handle another KZbinr slagging on fake London 😂

[@geoffreyhoney122]

@@Shifter_Cycling Ya, Jason Slaughter of Not Just Bikes does a pretty thorough continuous job of that!🤣 I think Stroadfest 2023 would be depressing but I am LOVING your comparison videos! More of this stuff please Tom!

[@curtvaughan2836]

When I saw the title of this video, I envisioned a real highway for only bicycles, with no automobile traffic involved. This looks like better than average bike paths and throughways. I think that bike "superhighway" is a misnomer - better than nothing, but ...

[@james-p]

Jolly Good Show! (as they say - I think - over there lol). Compared to the occasional worthless sharrow we have here in Los Angeles, it looks great.

[@Theoddert]

Part of the change was that at the time of the first CS routes the thinking was that it was a unique individual route; you couldn't call a smaller route a "Super Highway" then there were the "quiet routes" which were basically low traffic paths that took you a longer route. The big rationalisation was to bring all the typologies into the "cycleways" routes

[@ladylove3636]

I love cs3. I live before it on the west end, millibank is my favourite to the scary roundabout 😬 up to parliament is fine, around the square but it is a sharp 45 on to the flat to tower hill. After that it is narrow with a traffic light that takes all day, then the hill in that park over the blackwall tunnel is soooo steep I don't like it but up to canary wharf is easy. East west done x

[@Earth098]

In addition, the attractive built environment along the track also makes the ride more pleasurable. By the way, The sharp turn at 3:53 could be improved by making the turn diagonal across the street, instead of a 90-degree turn. That could create a smoother ride

[@3yebeams]

Try using one to/from the heights of North London - they always do vids about the flat pieces of London by the river.

[@jasonarthurs3885]

100% agree with need for cycle infrastructure to deliver cyclists to worthwhile destinations; frequently, I am harassed by nearby motorists enraged by me not using a nearby bike lane. I simply point out, that similar to them, I am under no legal obligation to use a particular lane, route, or facility as I navigate my journey. I have agency; and I employ it.

[@ecopennylife]

Impressive to see more infrastructure, thought the last part nearer the city was more of a 'superhighway'

[@jamescc2010]

Next time we will definitely try the superhighways.

[@drjohnmcgowan]

Thanks

[@Shifter_Cycling]

Thank you very much. I appreciate the show of support!

[@pablobuenomendoza9599]

I've watched a number of your videos. Which cities in North America have you analyzed? Or is most of your analysis/recommendations based upon your Canadian hometown experience? How are you partnering with your local bicycle commuting advocacy organizations? I think your winter cycling content is some of the best out there. I also think that you've been in a wonderful cycling oasis. You might want to consider interviewing urban planners in the future. Thank you for your content.

[@TheNotverysocial]

Come to Los Angeles and surrounding communities. Ways alongside the rivers and creeks and more recently abandoned railways dot our urban areas and neighborhoods. Unfortunately, most of the recent ones are broken. Broken insofar as the recent ones are split up at intersections even if away from motor traffic between crossings. Older ones are continuous.

[@westbayoutdoors123]

I think you need to be careful what you wish for. Those routes look like a treat largely because there hasn't been mass adaptation. It doesn't take many riders at vastly different speed and skill levels to completely gum up a 10' wide stretch of lane. Even fewer if it's a 6' wide stretch. In my town, we have a Seawall, very popular with pedestrians, e-scooters and cyclists. Great when the weather's iffy, but almost impassible at any real speed when they're out in force. Still lots of fun, but no longer a practical point A to point B route.

[@roddenshaw]

It's great to see so much new cycling infrastructure being built in London. The eastern part of CS3 is quite old and much of the newer infrastructure is much better. The addition of separate traffic light controls for bikes at some junctions has also been very beneficial. I hope that the UK decides to take a more sensible approach to junctions soon and allow cyclists to treat some red traffic lights as give way/yield as has been adopted in Paris. Obviously this wouldn't be safe for every junction but there are many where cyclists could safely pass as many do (currently illegally).

[@DavidL-ii7yn]

Toronto has built many of these and they are well used. They work well when they have separation and in good weather. They aren't great for snow clearance. And, with COVID, the sidewalk cafe program doesn't mix well with bike routes. Cyclists do need to limit their speed... the spandex warriors riding racing bikes aren't riding appropriately. The ones through parks/hydro corridors are particularly good... until road crossings occur... and there is no snow clearance. When they aren't separated they are routinely violated by cars... even police cars. But then, we've regularly had cars try to go through streetcar tunnels...

[@scyyyy]

dude, I have an idea about the crowdedness of these cycle highways: Just one more lane, bro, all it needs is one more lane, it will fix traffic bro, I swear, really just gimme one more lane :D Kinda feels nice to be on the other side of that discussion for once :D

[@UltraXD.]

You should do something like this in Sydney Australia!

[@marcdenlinger5282]

Those bike-share bikes! I cracked up when I heard the racket coming from that bike. I tried them for a month in Philadelphia and got so frustrated getting passed by all the other cyclists/commuters. I found them terribly inefficient and not well maintained. Perhaps I'm spoiled with my own bikes. But truth be told, I'm very happy that people have the option to use them! The cycling "superhighway" is a good idea. Pretty much ANY bicycling infrastructure is a positive change toward even better adaptation for cycling in the future.