Transport for London did not install a single cycle lane on its own road network last year, instead relying on individual boroughs to build their own infrastructure, a new report shows.
London’s Healthy Streets Scorecard Coalition published data on TfL’s own road network for the first time, having previously monitored the progress of active travel across all 32 London boroughs. The latest scorecard for the boroughs found that the City of London and Islington had the “healthiest streets”, based on several metrics including low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs), 20mph speed limits, and protected cycle lanes.
All outer London boroughs scored lower than the inner London boroughs, with the exceptions of Waltham Forest and Richmond-upon-Thames. The lowest scoring inner boroughs were Lewisham and Kensington & Chelsea, whilst the lowest scoring outer boroughs were Bexley and Hillingdon.
TfL is responsible for the city’s ‘red routes’ which cover 5 percent of total roads in the capital, but make up 30 percent of all journeys. Among the roads included in the network are Victoria Embankment, Old Kent Road and the North Circular Road.
Compared with 2024-25 Healthy Streets found the number of red routes with a 20mph speed limit had increased by 3.2 percent, but that the levels of traffic, and the amount of protected ‘cycle track’ installed along the red routes were unchanged compared to the previous year. Meanwhile the number of fatal and serious injuries occurring on these roads increased by 2.4 percent to 1,066. The rise echoes a rise in TfL’s city-wide statistics which showed a rise in serious injuries, though the number of fatal incidents declined.
Responding to the report, the London Cycling Campaign’s (LCC) Simon Munk told London’s Local Democracy Reporter (LDR) that, “The Mayor’s made great strides in delivering the ‘Healthy Streets’ agenda in general, but there are weak points, particularly in TfL’s delivery.
“TfL officers frequently talk about a ‘step change’ needed to ensure London gets truly healthy streets where kids play out, people walk and cycle – but there’s little sign of that change and far too much ‘business as usual’.
“In the last year of data, despite TfL delivering more 20mph limits, collisions have risen, and traffic volumes and rollout of cycle tracks and bus priority measures have essentially flatlined while nearly 60 percent of TfL junctions have missing pedestrian signals.
“London faces crises of climate, road danger, inactivity-related ill health and far more. TfL needs to make that ‘step change’ now, not later.”
A spokesperson for the Healthy Streets Coalition, of which LCC is a part, added “This is the first year we have published scores for the roads that TfL manages and we really hope it will encourage the Mayor to dramatically increase the pace of improvement on London’s arterial routes.”
In 2022, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan admitted TfL were facing funding cuts that prevented road upgrades to improve cycling in the city, but insisted he remained committed to their own ‘Healthy Streets’ initiative.
More recently, Sir Sadiq scaled back requirements for cycle parking in new house-building projects in the city in a bid to speed up the process. However, the city has also recorded significant progress in reducing air pollution, which has been attributed to both the growing popularity of cycling, and the success of the capital’s Ultra Low Emissions Zone.
In response to the latest scorecard, TfL’s Head of Healthy Streets Delivery Helen Cansick told the LDR that a cycleway had recently been completed on Lambeth Bridge, and that further construction work was ongoing on the A23 and Nine Elms Lane.
“More than £158m has been allocated for Healthy Streets this financial year, including £94.8m for boroughs to deliver the schemes set out in their approved Local Implementation Plans – an increase of more than £7m compared with 2025/26.”
