British Cycling’s policy adviser Chris Boardman today applauded Boris Johnson’s courage in pursuing his vision for "Crossrail for the Bike", a plan to build Europe’s longest substantially-segregated urban cycleways.

In response to the Mayor of London’s announcement today setting out the final plans, Chris Boardman, said: “Despite the short-sighted, even selfish, views of a tiny but powerful minority, Boris Johnson has continued in his quest to change London into a better place for people to live and work.

“His courage to push for culture change in our capital has kept the cause visible for the whole country and has won the support of Londoners who clearly want to transform the way they travel.

"His efforts should be both recognised and applauded. I would like to see this innovative thinking on cycling happening in other major cities across Britain.” 

Writing for the Guardian last October, Boardman said how the proposed scheme is more than simply about cycling, making clear it’s “about health, about noise, about pollution, about the kind of cities we want to live in.”