Improvements for Walking and Cycling

The towpath provides a unique experience for users and are enjoyed by millions of Londoners each year. The towpaths provide an off-highway transport and leisure facility across London.

British Waterways is committed to welcoming more people onto the towpath but acknowledges that the relationship between cyclists and other users increasingly requires effective management to ensure that pedestrians and cyclists can harmoniously use the towpath at the same time.

We have worked with Tfl for a number of years and more recently with Walk London to deliver improvements to the towpath including improvements to the useable surface, signage and a campaign to educate users to consider others while using the towpath.

In 2008 Tfl funded a Towpath Management Plan to build a framework for British Waterways to manage the towpath more effectively which will improve user experience.

Mark Blackwell, Business Development Manager for British Waterways London, explains: "We want the peace and tranquillity of our 200-year old towpaths to be enjoyed and accessible to all their users - walkers, boaters, anglers, people with pushchairs, wheelchair users and cyclists. We hope the improvement we make, which have been developed with the help of independent experts and local stakeholder groups, will help everybody to appreciate their surroundings and respect the needs of all people using the path."

For further information on this and other projects see www.waterscape.com/twotings.