Cycle parking in London

**Cycle parking in London – tell us your views online
**Research shows that the availability of cycle parking and the security of parked bikes remain the two biggest cycling-related concerns: what do you think?
Are you a London cyclist who is frustrated by the lack of parking spaces for your bike? Or are you satisfied with the number of bike spaces that are available in the capital? Perhaps you’re concerned about how safe and secure parking your bike is?
The London Assembly Transport Committee has launched an investigation – led by Joanne McCartney AM - to identify ways of increasing the provision of good quality cycle parking, and we would like your views. We are looking at cycle parking at home, at work, and ‘out and about’.
**Please complete our online survey at **http://www.london.gov.uk/assembly/scrutiny/transport_cycleparks.jsp
The survey closes on 24 April. Your views will be fed into our investigation and we plan to publish our findings in the summer. More information available at: http://www.london.gov.uk/assembly/scrutiny/transport_cycleparks.jsp

cool. I'll certainly give that some time. i had to leave my bike in central london whilst seeing a film in soho last night and couldn't find anywhere that i was comfortable leaving it.

Ended up leaving it locked to one of the ornate gateways into gerrard street outside a busy pub (figuring there would be people standing there to deter theives till i got out). I also went down the mental trickery road of convincing myself it *would *be stolen anyway so as to prepare fo rthe worst. that way if it wasn't i would be happy and relieved but if it was then at least i wouldn't have ruined the film by sitting there for two hours worrying about it.

is that nuts?

Joanne McCartney (AM = assembly member) (not everyone cares for the nomenclature of London's City Hall)
http://www.london.gov.uk/assembly/members/mccartneyj.jsp

From the above website:
Key issues and concerns

• Policing and community safety
  
• Health and public services
  
• Children and young people
  
• Jobs, skills and economic development
  
• Keeping London moving
  

• A greener and environmentally friendly London

  I'm sure the above list isn't a hierarchy, or I hope not.

I had a good (but constructive) vent on the above survey.

Thanks for the link. I've done some constructive spleen venting as well :)

I'll fill that in, but I think posting as LondonAssembly and saying 'we' makes you sound like the Borg.

Just filled it in. Don't know whether they're expecting some blistering new insights from this. It kept asking about cycle parking "apart from the number of spaces" - um that's by far and away the biggest problem!

To be fair, they know the numbers issue is going to be a problem from the outset. Compounding that is cause of a lack of parking spaces. In places like, Westminster, The City and the West End, it isn't bikes bought in by shoppers, visiting business people or other itinerant commuters, it's mostly the traffic of commuters who work locally. That's a whole element of cyclists who need to be treated differently in the provision for cycle parking.

Other key issues should also be addressed. Anything less secure than a Sheffield Stand should be removed and replaced immediately. On top of that, cycle parking suffers heavily from broken window syndrome. Racks are rarely cleaned around and abandoned and stripped bikes are often left to disintegrate in the elements for lengthy periods of time. Where there is an obvious absence of care, the follows a cyclical decline to criminality. Stealing bikes is one thing, which I don't think would be reduced by regular maintenance, but acts of vandalism are also an issue. I would be in favour of a system of identifying, marking and removing bikes that have been left for long periods of time and automatically removing, logging and storing any frames that have been stripped to a certain degree.

LondonAssembly has not made any friends yet

No comment.

This is great:

http://kenningtonpob.blogspot.com/2010/11/lambeth-sign-of-times.html

I hope they're easy to lock up to and not a victim of design, but I'm sure Tony has seen to that.

Rode past there at lunchtime.

Makes less sense from the other direction.

This is great:

http://kenningtonpob.blogspot.com/2010/11/lambeth-sign-of-times.html

I hope they're easy to lock up to and not a victim of design, but I'm sure Tony has seen to that.

I rode past this morning Olly. Had to double take it but it made me smile..

Great bike park.. But kind of out of the way.. Can't figure where I would be going to use it.

There's a new website showing where you can lock your bike in central London (plus other info).

This is the main page
http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/Corporation/LGNL_Services/Transport_and_streets/Cycling/

This is the parking page
http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/Corporation/LGNL_Services/Transport_and_streets/Cycling/Cycle+Parking.htm

The map is interactive, but it's also a bit crap as the parking icons don't scale with the map...so they are tiny at every level. But I suppose it's a start.

There are also details there about a new 'secure' bike parking facility off queen street which has cctv and is inside an existing car park.

Any Architects or designers interested in this competition for cycle parking bike shed on Bankside.
http://www.architecturefoundation.org.uk/programme/2010/bankside-bikeshed-competition-call-for-entries/bankside-bikeshed-competition-brief-and-appendix-documents

Bloody bike parking in the west end is a bloody joke. I was in Carnaby Street the other day and every piece of street furniture had a sign on it saying the usual guff about bikes locked here would be removed...

I am seriously considering some kind of protests against buildings and landowners who try to prevent cyclists from locking up. How about just locking loads of random (not bicycle) objects to any railing that carries one of these signs? After all, the signs only mention cycles .... And lots of stickers that say 'This business hates bicycles. Do you?'

Skully, someone did that and actually look a lots of furniture to street furniture that stated bicycle is not allowed, I think that was in Spain (googling as we speak).

I agree, bike locking in the west end is awful, I end up having to get a huge D-lock to compensate for the large old style lamp post.

what bother me the most is that they allowed cars to park (well at certain time of day and vehicles), but bicycles are very much an alien concept to them.

There is absolutely nothing to lock to in/around China town. Nothing.

Yeah it's weird how patchy the provision of stands is.

Especially now all the railings have gone outside Oxford Circus, there's nothing to lock to around there.
There's a few stands at the top of Carnaby St, by the O'Neills and Liberty, and there's always bikes locked up on the railings around the public toilets there despite the warning signs.

Soho in general is a nightmare for parking, a couple of stands at the bottom of Wardour St and on Broadwick St by the John Snow but not much else.

Luckily I work on Coventry St, so usually leave my bike in work if I'm gonna be around there.

Soho Square... Bike locking haven..

There is absolutely nothing to lock to in/around China town. Nothing.

Big red metal gates, either end of Gerrard St (main China town pedestrianised drag).

Sorted.

Is it possible to lock a bike to one of the Boris bike stands? There are lots of them about in central London - surely???

Bloody bike parking in the west end is a bloody joke. I was in Carnaby Street the other day and every piece of street furniture had a sign on it saying the usual guff about bikes locked here would be removed...

I am seriously considering some kind of protests against buildings and landowners who try to prevent cyclists from locking up. How about just locking loads of random (not bicycle) objects to any railing that carries one of these signs? After all, the signs only mention cycles .... And lots of stickers that say 'This business hates bicycles. Do you?'

I would put money in for this.

I have seen photos of kettles and fridge door chained up railings as a protest about this

Brave, that's exactly what I was talking about, any chance you know where you find those picture?

I foresee a day of deep searching the interwebz..