Westminster City Council is consulting on a new cycleway from the Hyde Park area to Marylebone, Cycleway 43. The consultation has now been extended to 25 June.

Please show your support! There is some local opposition, so make sure councillors know that plenty of people do want safer walking, wheeling and cycling in the area.

This scheme will have many benefits:

• Closing the south end of Stanhope Place to vehicles (see the image at the top of the page) will make Stanhope Place and Connaught Square freer of motor traffic and safer for everyone to walk, wheel, cycle or spend time. There will be more public space and greenery. It will even making walking & cycling safer along Bayswater Road, without vehicles turning in and out.

• Wider footways, improved pedestrian crossings and traffic calming along the route, including Connaught Street, will make these streets easier to cross and feel safer.

• The ‘stepped’ cycle tracks on George Street will provide a safe space for cycling for all ages and abilities, above the level of the road and below the level of the pavement. See the Google maps image of Gower Street below for an example. This will enable more people to cycle who may not have felt safe enough before, such as children going to school.

Please respond to the council survey today - you can add your own comments in the box in Question 6. Or read on for more suggestions on what to say.