The Evening Standard website reported:
Westminster Bridge to have segregated cycle superhighway.
Westminster bridge is to become the fourth Thames crossing to have a segregated cycle superhighway, Boris Johnson announced today.
The Mayor confirmed plans to protect cyclists, who make up almost a third of traffic crossing the Grade-11 listed bridge in the morning rush hour, after majority support in a public consultation.
But separate plans to demolish the iconic Vauxhall bus garage have been put on ice after about a third of respondents opposed Transport for London’s planned changes to the area.
Work will begin later this year to install a 1.8m-wide cycle lane on both sides of Westminster bridge. Segregated lanes are already in place on Southwark and Vauxhall bridges, and one is due to open next month on Blackfriars bridge.
The Westminster lanes will link directly into the Mayor’s flagship east-west “Crossrail for bikes” scheme on the Victoria Embankment, which will be formally opened on April 30.
The layout of the roundabout on the south side of the bridge at Waterloo will be remodelled, with segregated space for cyclists, separate traffic lights giving cyclists an early start and improved pedestrian crossings.
There will also be a new cycle route along the South Bank as part of the “central London grid”.
Mr Johnson said: “Every day we see flocks of cyclists sweeping back and forth across this iconic bridge, so it makes real sense for it to become the next bridge to benefit from a segregated lane.
“It’s going to make a real difference to the safety of cyclists, and with further improvements being made to this out-dated junction, pedestrians are going to benefit too.
"We’ve been working flat-out to improve roads across the capital, and I’m delighted that Londoners have once again stepped forward to back our plans.”
TfL said that 74 per cent supported or partially supported the proposals. Leon Daniels, managing director of surface transport at TfL, said: “This latest radical redesign of one of London’s most disconnecting and intimidating junctions will bring it into the 21st century to support an ever-growing London.”
At Vauxhall, 61 per cent of 1,247 people responding to a TfL consultation were generally positive about removing the gyratory, while 31 per cent were opposed.
A sizable number of community activists objected to the loss of the bus station and said the proposals to convert the gyratory to two-way streets were not good enough.
TfL said it would review all points raised in the consultation and publish a fuller report this autumn.
Construction of the cycle lanes on Westminster bridge is due to start this Autumn and be completed by 2018, subject to works approval.
Wikipedia has an article about Westminster Bridge that tells us:
Westminster Bridge is a road and foot traffic bridge over the River Thames in London, linking Westminster on the north side and Lambeth on the south side.
The bridge is painted predominantly green, the same colour as the leather seats in the House of Commons which is on the side of the Palace of Westminster nearest to the bridge. This is in contrast to Lambeth Bridge which is red, the same colour as the seats in the House of Lords and is on the opposite side of the Houses of Parliament.
In 2005–2007 it underwent a complete refurbishment, including replacing the iron fascias and repainting the whole bridge. It links the Palace of Westminster on the west side of the river with County Hall and the London Eye on the east and was the finishing point during the early years of the London Marathon.
The next bridge downstream is the Hungerford footbridge and upstream is Lambeth Bridge. Westminster Bridge was designated a Grade II* listed structure in 1981.
For over 600 years, the nearest bridge to London Bridge was at Kingston. A bridge at Westminster was proposed in 1664, but opposed by the Corporation of London and the watermen. Despite further opposition in 1722, and after a new timber bridge was built at Putney in 1729, the scheme received parliamentary approval in 1736. Financed by private capital, lotteries and grants, Westminster Bridge, designed by the Swiss architect Charles Labelye, was built between 1739–1750.
The City of London responded to Westminster Bridge by removing the buildings on London Bridge and widening it in 1760–63. The City also commenced work on the Blackfriars Bridge, which opened in 1769. Other bridges from that time include Kew Bridge (1759), Battersea Bridge (1773), and Richmond Bridge (1777).
The bridge was required for traffic from the expanding West End to the developing South London as well as to south coast ports. Without the bridge, traffic from the West End would have to negotiate the congested routes to London Bridge such as the Strand and New Oxford Street. Roads south of the river were also improved, including the junction at the Elephant & Castle in Southwark.
By the mid 19th century the bridge was subsiding badly and expensive to maintain. The current bridge was designed by Thomas Page and opened on 24 May 1862. With a length of 820 feet (250 m) and a width of 85 feet (26 m), it is a seven-arch wrought iron bridge with Gothic detailing by Charles Barry (the architect of the Palace of Westminster). It is the oldest road bridge across the Thames in central London.
As already mentioned, the bridge is Grade II* listed with the entry at the Historic England website telling us:
Westminster Bridge. Road bridge. 1862, by Thomas Page. Cast iron with piers and abutants of grey granite. Gothic detailing in keeping with Houses of Parliament. 7 segmental girder arches, cast iron pierced work panelled spandrels with shields and Gothic pierced work balustrades to parapets with the dies surmounted by Tudor-Gothic cast iron lampstandards with twin bracketed octagonal lanterns and crowning lantern - all with gilded finials. Western half in London Borough of Lambeth.