The Mayor's Vision for Cycling has been released, and it's contains a bold and exciting set of ideas for London.
As well as a headline proposal for a new, 15-mile long, 'CrossRail for Cycling' bike path running from Shepherd's Bush to Canary Wharf and on to Barking, there are a number of other measures included which would fundamentally change cycling in London for the better. These include:

Measures to encourage 'mini Hollands' in the Outer Boroughs - encouraging short trips on bikes

Segregated lanes and a 'grid' of safe routes throughout London, often demarcated by traffic calming measures

A trial on the feasibility of allowing bikes on the DLR

A study on banning lorries in central London (and those allowed in fitted with safety equipment and driven by someone trained in cycle awareness)

Camera enforcement of cycle lanes

This is an important step change in the Mayor's strategy, moving as it does from simple blue lanes to pro-active, protective segregation of cyclists. Some £913m will be spent between now and 2016 (subject to a spending review) and the strategy should be rightly recognised as being a big bold step. If the Mayor can pull this off (quite a big if) then this scheme will fundamentally affect London and how people get around it.

The Mayor, and TfL, should be applauded for not just continuing to tinker around the edges of cycling policy.

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