Swiss Cottage residents will benefit from a direct cycling lane to the West End according to Mayor Boris Johnson, who today pressed ahead with plans for three bike “superhighways”.

Transport for London has launched a consultation on the proposals for protected cycling lanes on the A40 Western flyover, between Swiss Cottage and the West End and between Farringdon and King’s Cross.

The timing of the consultation means that responses must be received before March 21, when “purdah” begins at City Hall and business is suspended until the mayoral election on May 5.

Cycling into central London has trebled in the past 15 years as car use has sharply declined, with bike commuters set to outnumber motorists within just a few years if current trends continue.

The proposals for the CS11 superhighway will remove the Swiss Cottage gyratory and see through traffic banned from Avenue Road.

The two frontrunners in the mayoral race, Labour’s Sadiq Khan and Conservative Zac Goldsmith, both say they are committed to continuing the current mayor’s self-proclaimed “cycling revolution” in London, although Mr Khan has said it is important to minimise disruption whilst superhighways are being built.