Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, plans to spend £770 million on new bicycle paths and further initiatives in order to encourage Londoners to get on their bikes.

Khan’s proposal comes in light of statistics, which show an alarming number of people dying from pollution related diseases. There is also the problem of congestion faced daily by commuters on London’s transport system. The idea is to boost cycling numbers in order to cut pollution numbers and offer another form of transport.

In a statement issued this week at City Hall, Khan promised to “continue to work over the coming months developing further detailed plans for making cycling a safe and obvious choice for Londoners of all ages and backgrounds” and hopes to be “the most pro-cycling mayor London has ever had.”

Plans include the building of new cycle superhighways, the renewable and extension of existing bike paths, especially in suburbs where a the ‘Mini-Holland schemes’ have proven to be successful. One of the main new cycle superhighways will include number 4, which would start at Tower Bridge in London Bridge and go to Greenwich in south-east London.

Tfl statistics released last week had also shown the success of new superhighways, one of which runs past Blackfriars bridge, as the cycle traffic there “had risen by 55% in six months.”

According to a study by researchers from Kings College London, “nearly 9,500 people die early each year in London due to long-term exposure to air pollution” and in 2010 “there were 9,416 early deaths caused by the pollutants NO2 and PM2.5” which to large extent, are created by cars, trucks and buses.