London has recently become pleasant and safe to explore by bike – at least in parts. The star is testing cycle routes across the British capital, from Buckingham Palace to Richmond Park. Part 2: The borough of Walthamstow where pedestrians and cyclists have priority.
If you want to get to the cycling paradise of Walthamstow, you first have to make your way through the jungle of London’s financial district. On the streets of the “square mile”, as Londoners call the financial district, the rule “the fittest wins” apparently applies not only in the offices, but also in traffic. People don’t think much of bike paths here, only a few painted white bicycles on the asphalt remind you that there is such a thing as two-wheelers at all. Luckily, it’s only seven minutes from London Bridge to Liverpool Station, where the train to Walthamstow departs. Attention: Because the train station only has one elevator and it is in high demand, you should allow five to ten minutes to wait when transferring your bike to the platforms in the basement.
15 minutes later the suburban train pulls into Walthamstow Central Station, where Paul Gasson is waiting for me. Gasson is an environmentalist and activist and has been instrumental in what has happened in Walthamstow over the past decade. “In 2014, Walthamstow received a €24 million cash injection from London’s mayor,” he says. The condition was to make the district traffic-calmed and pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly. A courageous project that did not find friends everywhere.