Hammersmith resident and former Top Gear presenter, James May, criticises the west London Cycleway 9 on BBC Radio 4's Today Programme.

For a segment on May's Guest Edit for the Today Programme last week (27 December), the cycling enthusiast dives into the future of driverless cars and why a culture change may be needed to end conflict between cyclists and motorists.

Despite not mentioning the Kensington Olympia and Brentford connecting cycle lanes directly on the programme, May does say that "we are in west London, where there is a very complicated and expensive cycle lane in place."

It is reported that Transport for London (TfL) has invested £15.5m towards Cycleway 9, with the project expected to be completed this summer.

In 2021, James May completed renovations to his £3m west London home close to Cycleway 9 (credit: Drive Tribe/ YouTube).

May on the Today Programme, says: "I think there needs to be a fundamental change in culture to help cars and bikes get on. I demonstrated what I meant on a cycleway I use regularly.

"We are in west London, where there is a very complicated and expensive cycle lane in place. I'm a car enthusiast, but I also love bicycles and I love cycling around London because it is good for you and it is quite good fun and to be honest it's now the quickest way to get about."

After cycling in west London during the programme, May continues: "So, cycling is good and I like cycling infrastructure, I like cycle lanes, I think a lot of them are excellent. But I think some of them, such as the one here, are overwrought and to be honest, too complicated for their own good."

Highlighting the issues between cycling and driving infrastructure during his journey, May described seeing a van attempting to enter the cycle lane, saying: "He's going to find that it doesn't fit".

To listen to the full James May guest edit episode for BBC Radio 4's Today Programme, click here.

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