Overwhelming public support for new improvements

Improvements for pedestrians at Bow Interchange will begin later this year after 86% of respondents backed plans set out in a recent Transport for London (TfL) consultation.

The work will include new signalised pedestrian crossing facilities at the roundabout, making it easier to cross from all sides, a new area of public space under the flyover, and new links to the pedestrian and cycle routes along the River Lea towpath.

Work will be coordinated with the upgrade of Cycle Superhighway 2, which is expected to finish in summer 2016. The upgrade of the Superhighway forms a key part of a major programme to build new safer cycle routes across the Capital, including the North-South and East-West "Crossrail for Bikes" routes, which will be completed in early 2016.

TfL is also working with the London Boroughs of Tower Hamlets and Newham, and other key stakeholders, to deliver the 'Vision for Bow', designed to create a place which all road users, passing through, find accessible, safe and connected.

This work is still in the early stages but could see:

  • The roundabout and flyover removed, allowing for further improvements for all road users;
  • Better access to new developments, especially for cyclists and pedestrians;
  • The bus network extended through new communities in Tower Hamlets and Newham.

An initial consultation on these significant changes to the junction is due to take place during 2016.

The Deputy Mayor of London for Transport, Isabel Dedring, said: 'We are making the biggest investment in London's roads in a generation to transform our streets and make them safer. That work includes completely overhauling a number of junctions across the Capital, and the improvements to be made at Bow are only the beginning of work on a radical redesign that will transform that junction.'

Leon Daniels, Managing Director of Surface Transport at TfL, said: 'Our £4bn Road Modernisation Plan is now well underway, helping to deliver significant changes for all road users. These improvements for pedestrians at Bow Interchange will help make a real difference for people living in the area, while we plan further improvements to this vital junction in the future.'

The improvements to Bow Interchange and the wider upgrade of Cycle Superhighway 2 both form part of TfL's Road Modernisation Plan. The plan will see £4 billion invested in hundreds of transformational projects on the road network including major junction upgrades at Oval and Stockwell and the major overhauls of Archway, Old Street and Vauxhall Cross.
Ends

Notes to Editors:

  • The consultation results can be downloaded from https://consultations.tfl.gov.uk/roads/bow-vision
  • As work progresses on the upgrade to Cycle Superhighway 2, sections of the route are being opened up to cyclists where safe to do so. Junction improvements at Cambridge Heath and Burdett Road along the route are on course to be completed later this summer with the full upgraded route scheduled to be completed by spring 2016.