I've said it before, and I'm sure I'll say it again - Boris is a numpty and Gilligan is a word that Shaun won't let me use. But miraculously neither of them manage to wreck what the intelligent chaps (I imagine a room full of men in white coats, I'm afraid) of TfL are doing.
They've spotted (a) a lot of cyclists use main roads already; (b) there aren't enough people in London using bikes in ordinary clothes the way people do in other cities; (c) the main roads are very nearly full; (d) people have a fear of cycling in London that is out of all proportion to the reality.
So they're finding ways of normalising cycling in central London, by opening up back-street routes and helping to remove the fear factor. This is unequivocally a Good Thing, and those of you who like stravaing in lycra have nothing to fear - your choices are acknowledged in the literature.
The PDF is a very good, and very sensible read. Do read it, and do put in your comments.