A shortlist in a competition to name cycleways in east London has been unveiled to encourage more bike-riding during the coronavirus pandemic.

East London Advertiser: Now's the chance to put a name to that cycleway. Picture: GLANow's the chance to put a name to that cycleway. Picture: GLA (Image: GLA)

The public has a chance to vote online for their favourite names over the next week for the shortlist that ranges from unsung cycling heroes to landmarks and personal stories.

One name suggested for CS2 which passes through Aldgate, Whitechapel and Mile End to the Olympic stadium at Stratford is ‘Beryl Burton Way’.

Beryl is a British cycling legend who missed out on competing at the Olympics because women’s cycling wasn’t admitted until 1984.

Other names have been selected for the CS3 cycleway which runs across east London from Westminster and the City through Tower Hill, Shadwell, Limehouse, Canning Town, East Ham, Barking and Dagenham.

East London Advertiser: Suggested name 'Cable Street Cycleway'... after the 1936 'Battle of Cable Street' that stopped Mosley's facsists marching through Whitechapel. Picture: GoogleSuggested name 'Cable Street Cycleway'... after the 1936 'Battle of Cable Street' that stopped Mosley's facsists marching through Whitechapel. Picture: Google (Image: Google)

They include ‘Cable Street Cycleway’ after the 1936 Battle of Cable Street where Jews, Irish dockers and socialists stopped Mosley’s blackshirt fascists marching through Whitechapel. Another is ‘Lamartine Lane’ after suffragette Rose Lamartine Yates who became the first woman elected to the Cyclists’ Touring Club council in 1907.

The public vote is part of a campaign by the environment charity Possible to reduce transport emissions and move to a zero-carbon Britain.

“We want names to reflect how much Londoners cherish cycleways,” the charity’s Hirra Adeogun said. “We name the things we love—our tube lines, rivers and famous buildings all have names.”

Names are also being suggested for cycleways in Clapham and Elephant and Castle in south London and in Kensington and Hounslow in west London.

The “name that lane” shortlist was whittled down from 1,000 suggestions sent to the charity. The online voting closes a minute to midnight on November 24 with winning names announced in December.