The Time Out London blog team

Cycling in London can be pretty intimidating. On the roads, cyclist have to avoid double decker buses, pot holes and errant foxes. But now there’s good news for two-wheeled folk, because the cycle paths in one part of northwest London are about to get much better.  TfL has announced a brand new £13 million cycleway in Brent, between Wembley Central and Harlesden. The C72 will be built over the junction of the A406 North Circular and Harrow Road/Brentfield, following quiet back streets wherever possible. It will include fully protected sections where the impact on buses and other traffic will be low.  In particular, Harrow Road will be get a segregated cycle lane. The busy A road had 90 collisions between January 2018 and December 2020. Of the 109 people injured, nine were cyclists and 14 were pedestrians.  TfL has worked closely with Brent Council to draw up the plans for the new cycling highway, which will also improve routes for pedestrians. The pathway between Wembley and Willesden Junction has been identified as one London’s locations with the greatest potential for future cycling demand, but TfL says people will only cycle there if there’s the infrastructure to do so. In a 2023 consultation, 87 percent of respondents said the scheme will encourage more people to cycle.  RECOMMENDED: 🚲 Brilliant bike rides from London to cycle out of the city. Councillor Muhammed Butt, Leader of Brent Council, said: ‘Cycleway 72 is a game‑changer for our borough. For too long, people...

As it stands, Greenwich foot tunnel looks less like where you’d want to make your daily commute and more like something straight out of the Backrooms. With failing lighting and constantly out-of-order lifts (as well as its own ghosts), the passageway is in dire need of some TLC.  Luckily, the Royal Borough of Greenwich Council and Tower Hamlets Council have finally agreed to give it the glow-up it deserves.  Both councils agreed to a ‘full regeneration’ of the tunnels, with improved lighting and steps to ‘improve heritage aspects’. More than surface level, the makeover will include new lifts with a dual-shaft. Gone will be the days of constant lift maintenance work!  The tunnel was built in 1902 (making it a whopping 124 years old) and was originally intended for a 15-man workforce to access north London docks no matter the weather. Nowadays, around 4,000 people use the tunnel daily.  One of only four pedestrian tunnels which pass under the Thames, the footpath links Greenwich to the Isle of Dogs with exits at Island Gardens and near Cutty Sark. On either side, the tunnel has glazed dome exits, with glass roofs. At 370 meters, it should only take you ten minutes to cross and defo saves you the tube fare – once it’s been spruced up that is. Currently, passersby must often take the stairs up and down, due to maintenance issues with the lifts. Photograph: cktravels.com / Shutterstock.com Locals have been calling for TfL to take control of the tunnel, with a campaign called...

If you’ve ever sat on the corner outside Gordon’s Wine Bar or braved a particularly long queue to get into Heaven, you’ll be well-acquainted with the dingy, cramped and pretty unglamorous surroundings of Villiers Street. Now, thanks to a new development at 1 Embankment Place, the building above Charing Cross Station, the narrow road which runs alongside the western side of Charing Cross station from Strand to Embankment station could be getting a much-needed makeover. Hopkins Architects has unveiled plans for the building, which include changes which address ‘concerns around poor public spaces and the narrow, confined feel’ of the road below.  Image: Hopkins Architects Villiers is one of London’s busiest streets, seeing an impressive 3,000 people every hour, according to a study conducted by Space Syntax. That’s more than Bond Street and Cheapside.  Improved frontages to businesses on Villiers Street have been included in the renovations, which seek to add a mix of shops, cafés and leisure spaces to the area. The Arches and Embankment Place, which run underneath the Charing Cross station building, will also be prettied-up by the plans. Plus, stronger, clearer pedestrian links will be created to boost movement between Charing Cross Station, the Embankment, Victoria Embankment Gardens and Villiers Street. Less clogged paths will no doubt come in handy if you’re running late to a matinee in the West End or speeding towards the South Bank. Plans for the building were...