£5m To Improve Cycle Parking at Stations

---

Following report that showed cycling in capital is suffering due to lack of bike stands

£5m funding to help improve cycle parking at stations has been announced following a London Assembly report showing that the growth of cycling is being held back in London by the lack of bike stands. More than 40% of respondents to the Assembly survey said they would cycle more if there was better cycle parking.

New Transport Minister, Lord Adonis, undertook a guided ride of London's rail facilities by bicycle and was appalled at the lack of provision according to London Cycling Campaign who are calling for an increase in bike stands at workplaces and on the streets.

Bike stands cost £50 per bike and last forever, but shops, employers and councils are not putting in enough stands to meet booming demand the group says.

It's estimated that to meet the Mayor’s target of more than a threefold increase in cycling by 2025 an extra 100,000 additional bike parking spaces are needed.

The London Assembly report recommends that Transport for London draw up a cycle parking strategy and that it identifies where bike stands need to be installed.

LCC campaigns manager Tom Bogdanowicz said, "We know that thousands more Londoners would like to cycle, but they don’t have anywhere to leave their bikes at work, near shops or at other destinations – bike stands are overflowing this year and we desperately need more."

An LCC survey this week found that 99% of bikes stands at key locations were fully occupied.

In the London Assembly survey 75% of respondents said that there was insufficient cycle parking at shops and 70% that there was a lack of cycle parking at tube stations.

Many shops are missing out on business during the recession because they don’t have bike stands. "LCC members consistently report that they choose to spend their money at shops that have nearby bike stands so other shops are losing out," said LCC’s cycling development officer Charlie Lloyd.

Members of the public who want to draw the attention of shops to the lack of cycle parking can download a postcard and get full campaign details from the links on the right. The card tells shopkeepers how they can arrange for bike stands to be installed near their premises.

Transport minister Lord Adonis highlighted the lack of cycle parking at London stations in the Evening Standard saying, "For the most part, storage is very limited, unsupervised, badly signed and difficult to access."

July 22, 2009