Less confident cyclists will be able to use quieter back routes Pic: Wikipedia

The first tranche of a pioneering cycle route designed for less confident cyclists will run through Southwark and Lambeth, using quieter backroads, TFL have announced.

Work will start in September to create the new bike routes, dubbed Quietways, which will link Greenwich to Waterloo.

Plans for a network of Quietways were first announced last summer by Mayor of London Boris Johnson as part of his Vision for Cycling.

TFL have said that the bike routes “will be lower-intervention and mainly on streets with less traffic”.

According to the TFL’s 2014/2015 budget document published last week, “construction of the first Quietway routes will start in 2014 – one going from Greenwich to Waterloo and the other from Walthamstow to Bloomsbury”. However, details of the exact route for the Quietways are yet to be revealed.

The announcement comes after TFL released plans last December for a Central London Grid, a set of safe connected routes for cyclists across central London.

The grid will contain a mixture of Superhighways and Quietways.

Superhighways will be high capacity routes on main roads, largely separated from other traffic, for fast commuters. Quietways will be slower routes aimed at those wanting a more relaxed journey.

TFL, who have allocated £54 million for the Quietways within the Central London Grid, have predicted that at least half of the Quietway network will be in place by 2016.