CS7 for commuting from South West London ? No thanks ! There's a far better route!

A new route for my commute

Until a few days ago, I had been commuting the 9  miles to my university every day on my bike along the newly built Cycle Superhighway 7 which links Wimbledon to central London. This piece of cycle infrastructure was built in 2010 by TfL (Transport for London) as the London Mayor and TfL attempt to get Londoners out of their cars and public transport and onto 2 wheels. Only 2% of journeys in London are done by bike. Compare that with 37% in Amsterdam or 28% in Cambridge!The aim is to increase cycling levels by 400% in comparison to 2000 cycling levels by 2026. I think we could increase the cycling levels much faster than that if more money was ploughed into building wide, car free cycle lanes accross the city and we moved away from a car-centric attitude to a bike-centric planning way of thinking. It appears we have a long way to go before that happens in London and England in general. If there is a country to emulate, it is Holland. Their bike infrastructure is fully integrated into the transport network, and is not an afterthought or an add-on as is the case in London so often. The cycle superhighways being built are nonetheless a welcome step in the right direction.

Anyways, as I was saying, until a few days ago, I had been commuting the 9  miles to my uni along Cycle Superhighway 7. This has the convenience of being fast and direct but it  follows a heavily congested road which is busy at all times. I discovered that going through Wandsworth Common, Broomwood Rd,  Wandsworth Common and then London Cycle Network Route7 is a far quieter, laidback route, almost traffic-free route, albeit slightly longer than CS7. Could this be SW London's best kept secret !?

Route 3 of the London Cycle Network, a much quieter route than CS7 which runs parallel to it

There are a many improvements that can be made all along my commuting route. Today I will focus on Wansworth Common and I will be sending these suggestions to Wandsworth Council who will hopefully review them. The main issue is the cycle paths in Wandsworth Common are connected by a humpback bridge in order to cross the railway line which divides the common in two. Cyclists have to dismount to cross the bridge, which is rather daft in my view. A 'proceed with caution' sign would make much more sense. Also, where the cycle path crosses Trinity Rd, one has to wait for quite a long time to cross this always busy road. A raised passage way where bikes would always have right of way accross this road would really help the flow of the cyles through the Common. It's this kind of bicycle centric approach that will really get people out on their bikes in vast numbers in my view. Finally, a new path should connnect Broomswood Rd to the existing cycle path as Broomswood Rd is a great commuter road towards Clapham Common.

One thing's for sure, I won't be missing CS7!! I much prefer the quiet backwaters of SW London.

A cycle path ought to  join Broomswood Rd with the current cycle path.

The cycle path thru Wandsworth Common crosses Trinity Rd. A raised passageway with priority for cyclists should be put in place in my view as you have to wait ages to cross.

The pleasant cycle path through Wandsworth Common.

The bridge in Wandsworth Common where cyclists have to dismount to cross the railway line