Stratford cycle lanes underway on Westfield Avenue

Work is underway on the creation of new dedicated cycle lanes and public realm improvements on Westfield Avenue in Stratford.

London Legacy Development Corporation in partnership with Newham Council, TfL and GLA are building lanes as part of a £12 million scheme, which will run past the shopping centre running from Montfichet Road to Marshgate Lane.

A wander around the area shows work underway on a number of new builds plus street works between the shopping centre and Olympic Stadium now homes to West Ham.

The project is also to include Stratford Walk leading to the stadium past the London Aquatics Centre – which is still looking wonderful.

A handy sign shows how work is due to progress, with four stages in total. Stage one will run throughout 2024.

Newham Council state the work will see “extra cycle stands, improvements to crossings, and the addition of 60 new trees, 31 rain gardens, and 15 planting beds.”

Phase two will see changes at the junction with Montfichet Road as well as the junction onto International Way leading to Startford International DLR station.

Two new towers are rising near that location.

Changes

You can’t move in the area for new buildings whether residential or the new BBC music studios replacing Maida Vale, V&A museum, Sadler’s Wells theatre or the UAL campus.

There’s also the International Quarter which faces directly onto Westfield Avenue. Transport for London themselves have offices here.

Works will extend north in 2025-26 past the junction seen below and continue to where further new development is underway.

That takes it to a spot near Copper Box and towards Hackney Wick.

Note further new builds underway in the above photograph.

Before work begun there were cycle lanes in part along Westfield Avenue, but they’d often disappear for a stretch at junctions and street space was wasted on wide central reservations.

A bit like what we see in Woolwich, for example.

Interestingly whilst Transport for London have revealed plans for Woolwich, they will still retain the central reserve.

That includes Plumstead Road, Beresford Street and Woolwich High Street.

Back in Stratford, and Westfield Avenue only opened in 2011 –  but even by 2018 had seen a number of changes as documented in this post at Hackney Cyclist.

Staggered crossings, guardrail and other dated street design barely lasted a decade during a period of tweaking before this latest comprehensive change is undertaken.

This time next year a decent amount should be usable with further improvements following.