Work begins on Tottenham to the City Cycle Superhighway

Part of the planned route for CS1. Photograph: Transport for London

Cycling from Tottenham to central London will soon take 30 minutes, as work begins on the new Cycle Superhighway 1 (CS1).

The 11km route runs on side streets from Tottenham to Liverpool Street, and is part of the Mayor of London’s plans for a “cycling revolution” in the capital.

The work includes cutting rat-running, major junction improvements and new sections of segregated lane and aims to make journey’s “substantially quicker, safer and more pleasant”.

Following a public consultation in which 77 per cent of participants said they supported the scheme, Transport for London (TfL) and Hackney Council have announced they will be expanding the scheme.

Changes to the original plans include area-wide closures of residential streets to through traffic, and an alternative route at the northern end to avoid parts of St Ann’s Road.

Feryal Demirci, cabinet member for neighbourhoods at Hackney Council, said: “I have been delighted by the outpouring of support for the route and the demands to go further to create traffic-free streets. We therefore intend to be more ambitious than we initially proposed.”

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “This new route will be the A10 bypass, wafting you in tranquillity to within a few feet of the urban centres of Dalston, Stoke Newington, and Tottenham.

The CS1 route was previously criticised by Green Party London Assembly member Jenny Jones who said the scheme sends cyclists on circuitous back routes which lack the directness and speed of cycling on a main road.

There is a cycle diversion throughout the construction of Pitfield Street up until 18 December 2015. Cyclists will be able to continue using Pitfield Street northbound for the duration of the works.

For southbound cyclists, there is a diversion at Hyde Road where cyclists are diverted down Hoxton Street, turning right into Hoxton Square and left down Rufus Street taking them to Old Street to continue their journey. There are cycle diversion signs to direct cycle traffic.