Over half of the new names proposed for the public to vote on yesterday for south west London’s cycleways celebrate historical members of the black community.
The names put forward for CS8, C9 and CS7 include a nod to John Archer, the first black Mayor in London; Claudia Jones, the journalist and activist who founded the Carnival in London, and Olive Lane a key organiser in the Black Women’s Movement in the 1970s.
The Name Our Lanes campaign, led by climate charity Possible and bike company Brompton Bicycle, has seen five judges narrow down over 1000 suggestions to three names for each of London’s cycleways with the final decision left to a public vote.
Speaking on opening of the vote, chief executive of the London Cycling Campaign Ashok Sinha, said: “I have loved reading the submissions and have learnt so much about hidden London.
“I hope that as London’s cycle network grows these new names become as synonymous with city travel as any famous road or tube line.”
Find the full list of names proposed for the cycleways here and cast your own vote here.
The Green Way Forward
The opening of the vote follows a summer where cyclists numbers in London boomed by nearly 120% and came on a day the Prime Minister revealed his ten-point plan for Britain’s ‘green industrial revolution’.
The campaign aims to encourage Londoners to feel more connected to cycling in their city and feel part of the efforts to reduce carbon emissions through shifting away from private cars.
Senior campaigner at Possible, Hirra Khan Adeogun, said: “We name the things we love and care about in our daily lives – our tube lines, rivers and famous buildings all have names.
“We want the names of London’s cycleways to reflect how much Londoners cherish them.”
Brompton Bicycle manufacture bicycles built for the city in Ealing and their iconic foldable design has become popular all over the world with 70% of their bikes exported.
But CEO Will Butler-Adams has his sights set on London through the partnership with Possible.
Butler-Adams said: “The passion from the public is testament to how important these cycleways in London are for commuters.
“At Brompton we’re looking forward to hearing about the thousands of journeys that will be made each day on the newly named routes.”
