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@The_Seldom_Killer
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.