NEW cycle routes and extra parking spaces for bikes are planned in London’s East End to encourage more people onto two wheels. A 10-year master-plan of new routes has been released today by Tower Hamlets council

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NEW cycle routes and extra parking spaces for bikes are planned in London's East End to encourage more people onto two wheels.

A 10-year Cycling Connections master-plan of new routes and facilities has been released today by Tower Hamlets Council to boost the number of people choosing to cycle to improve fitness reduce road congestion.

The local authority is running training courses with the Bikeworks charity for up to 3,000 adults and children a year. It wants eight-out-of-10 youngsters aged 10 and 11 to be proficient on the roads every year by 2015.

Lead Member for Cleaner, Safer, Greener, Councillor Abdal Ullah, said: "A lot of people are interested in cycling, but feel worried to start because they're scared of traffic or aren't confident in their skills."

So the authority is backing Boris Johnson's 'cycle superhighway' network across London, including the first across East London from Barking to Tower Hill along the A13 Commercial Road and Cable Street, opening next May.