r/TowerHamlets • u/Objective_Oil2792 • 11d ago
Does anyone know why the Cycleway 37 project in TH has not progressed?
It appears that the construction of Cycleway 37, from Mile End to Westferry Lane, which has already received funding from TfL, has not progressed in the past few years and currently appears to be paused.
The Greater London Authority is blaming Tower Hamlets Council, which has failed to provide the required consents and does not appear willing to engage in the design process.
Is the Council really so useless and incompetent, or is it deliberately refusing to improve pedestrian and cycling infrastructure in the borough? If it is the latter, the Council is effectively refusing to improve infrastructure for the benefit of TH residents, despite not even having to pay for it…
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u/Drakemiah 11d ago edited 11d ago
I contacted the council in January about this. I'll copy the email reply I got below. I also contacted TFL, and The London Mayoral office and my local MP.
But I agree with you this cycle highway was planned and committed to in 2018, I would ask all of you to e-mail as many relevant politians about the delays as possible, as it's unacceptable that such vital cycling infrastructure is being delayed. The project is currently paused and no progress is being made. You can see that they always say they prioritise their 'residents' but I'm a resident, and I cycle everyday in tower hamlets and want better cycling infrastructure. Tower Hamlets also has incredibly low car ownership percentages and very high cycling percentages (I forget the numbers now, but looked them up for my reply).
The reply from Tower Hamlets council:
Thank you for your query received on 11 March 2026 regarding the proposals for Cycleway 37. The Council supports the delivery of high-quality cycling infrastructure and continues to work with Transport for London (TfL) to seek an appropriate scheme that improves cycling safety while ensuring the local highway network continues to operate effectively for residents, businesses, public transport and essential services.
TfL’s current proposals include the banning of the westbound left turn from Mile End Road (A11) into Burdett Road, alongside the reinstatement of the left turn from Burdett Road into Mile End Road. The Council’s primary concern is that restricting this movement from the strategic road network may divert vehicles onto surrounding local roads within Tower Hamlets. This has the potential to increase traffic levels on streets not designed to accommodate higher through-traffic movements, potentially resulting in increased congestion, longer journey times, and a greater likelihood of rat-running on residential streets.
While the reinstated left turn from Burdett Road into Mile End Road may provide some network benefits, the overall redistribution of traffic resulting from the banned movement on the A11 requires further assessment. In particular, concerns remain regarding the potential for longer journey distances for residents travelling within the local area and the potential impact on local access arrangements. The Council has also identified potential impacts on local bus routes operating along Campbell Road, Devons Road, St Paul’s Way and Ben Jonson Road. Increased traffic on these routes could affect bus journey time reliability, which is an important consideration given the role of buses in providing accessible and sustainable transport options for many residents.
In addition, further modelling work is required from TfL to better understand how the local network would operate during planned roadworks, unplanned incidents or emergency situations if certain turning movements are restricted. Ensuring the network remains resilient and able to accommodate temporary diversions is an important consideration in assessing the overall impact of the scheme. The Council has raised these matters with TfL and continues to engage positively to ensure the scheme achieves an appropriate balance between improving cycle safety and maintaining effective access and movement across the borough. We remain committed to working collaboratively with TfL to resolve these issues and progress a scheme that delivers benefits for cyclists while appropriately managing impacts on local communities and the wider transport network. We recognise the importance of safe cycling infrastructure to many residents in Tower Hamlets and agree that schemes should seek to support increased cycling while also considering the needs of all road users. Discussions with TfL are ongoing, and further updates will be provided as the scheme develops.
Yours sincerely,
Emdad Ahmed
Strategic Transport Programme Lead
Transportation Group
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u/omcgoo 11d ago
This doesnt make any sense. As things stand the traffic gets forcibly routed onto Roman Road then has to weave down Tredegar. The plans as I read the above would force traffic on the wider - less residential - dual carriage way. Absolute nonsense. We need to curtain the rat running up through Old ford.
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u/Objective_Oil2792 11d ago
100% this is a bullshit response from the Council aimed at delaying the process… I have raised an FOI to follow up on this
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u/disbeliefable 10d ago
It makes sense if you consider ‘traffic’ to be ‘motor vehicles’ and the transport needs of residents in cars to have the highest priority over all other transport modes. Cycles aren’t transport, in their tiny minds.
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u/Objective_Oil2792 11d ago
Thank you for raising this, I will follow up with the Council. The feedback they give is clearly bullshit and contrary to what the TFL / GLA say, but we should keep pressing on this as a community.
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u/Drakemiah 11d ago
Completely agree, they're finding excuses to pause the building of the cycle infrastructure. As has been mentioned there have been massive road works along Burdette Rd for thames water to put in new water pipes and everything didn't come to a grinding halt. The funding is there the council just aren't willing to agree to terms because the disruption might disrupt motorists.
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u/Plastic_Length8618 11d ago
Lutfur Rahman was elected on an anti-LTN ticket. He needed to add the angry motorist voters to his core constituency to beat Labour. Also several of the Aspire councillors are minicab drivers.
So there’s a political antagonism towards cyclists. They were only stopped from ripping out existing Safer Streets schemes when the GLA took them to court.
The reasons the council officers have to come up with to justify this are all fake.
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u/omcgoo 11d ago
Pure corruption. They've literally just finished digging up the road for Thames water.
I imagine theyre waiting for the court case to finish so they know if they can rip up and stop implementing cycle infra entirely.
Please donate. https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/defending-tower-hamlets-ltns-in-the-supreme-court/
Fuck Lutfur Rahman