Richmond Park MP Zac Goldsmith and Putney MP Justine Greening cut a ribbon to open a new bridge over Beverley Brook along with Royal Parks boss Linda Lennon and Transport for London’s head of cycling, walking and accessibility, Peter McBride.
Chohole Pathway is a new shared-use pathway which was created in a partnership between TfL and the Royal Parks. At almost a mile long it improves access from the east and takes people off the busy A3 road.
Lennon welcomed guests to the launch and said the pathway would be a great addition to the park.
She added: "The legacy of London 2012 is that more cyclists are now using Richmond Park, and indeed all the Royal Parks and this is one of the more significant projects delivered out of the £4.5million spent on cycle infrastructure in the parks since 2007. I think everyone will be very pleased to see it open."
The path now forms part of London Mayor Boris Johnson’s £900 million 10-year Vision for Cycling programme to persuade more to cycle.
In the 2012/13 financial year TfL paid £215,000 from its Cycle on Greenways fund to pay for the bridge and path. Johnson’s Vision for Cycling has expanded the scheme to create Quietways - cycle routes running through low-trafficked side streets, parks and other green spaces and alongside waterways. Existing Greenways are incorporated into the Quietways network.
Greening said: "I think it’s a wonderful chance to get more people in the park and get cyclists off the busy A3 in to a much safer and nicer environment. Putney residents will now have a better way of getting into the park."
She was now pushing the Royal Parks, Richmond Borough Council and Wandsworth Borough Council for a direct entrance to the park from the Alton Estate which houses 15,000 people as she thinks this will encourage more people to use the park.
