TfL Smothering the Traffic Flow

The eastern cycle bypass to avoid the horrors of the E&C roundabout(s) has always been a bit of a horror itself. A particularly irritating aspect used to be the Pelican (pedestrian only) crossing of the New Kent Road, demanding 'Cyclist Dismount' from the segregated cycle lane, push your bike over the road, and remount on the shared pedestrian/cyclist pavement the other side. As you can see the Pelican crossing has finally gone due to regeneration works:

to be replaced a few metres along with, you guessed it, not a Toucan (two can cross - cyclist and pedestrian), but another Pelican crossing..

So, there you have it: a clear example that TfL are not all about Smoothing the Traffic Flow. At least, not if you're a cyclist.

In practice, unsurprisingly, 99% of cyclists don't dismount, being able to see TfL nonsense for what it is.

Why would a cycle-friendly Mayor allow such a straightforward opportunity for improvement to be missed by TfL?