Southwark cyclists are to get 160 more hangars to park their bikes safely after the council set aside more than £560,000 in funding, writes Kit Heren…
The council is inviting Southwark residents to comment on where they would like the new bike hangars.
There are currently about 300 hangars in the borough, and this is part of a push by the council to get up to 500 by March next year. Each hangar can fit a maximum of six bikes, but can also be adapted to fit bikes for disabled people.
The scheme is part of a wider effort to encourage active travel in the borough and across London to help cut emissions, improve air quality, get people fitter and reduce congestion. The new funding is from the council’s Cleaner Greener Safer fund and Devolved Highways Budget.
Bike thefts have skyrocketed since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, Met police figures have shown. More than 3,070 bikes were reported stolen in September last year – three times as many as a year previously.
Bike hangars are locked when not in use and so help keep bikes out of the hands of thieves. Southwark Council said local bike theft levels are one of the factors in deciding where to put in new hangars, alongside public transport in the area and demand for safe parking.
Once there is a hangar in your area, you can ask to be put on the priority list. The hangars are run by Cyclehoop, who contact local residents on the list when they are in line to be added.
Annual rent on a selection of hangars in the borough reviewed by the News was between £30 and £40.
You can tell the council where you’d like a bike hangar here: https://cyclehangarsinsouthwark.commonplace.is/comments
Whilst I think it’s a good idea for more covered and protected spaces for storing bikes, the Cyclehoop scheme is still £30-40 per annum. What does the £560,000 funding do? Is it to up marketing and clear admin logjams? Or is it going to reduce the rental cost?
You can bet they will put them in the way of pedestrians , the disabled and women with pushchairs . At Camberwell Green you cant even get off the bus due to cycle racks . Its the same all over London .As usual the majority of public transport users are at the bottom of the pile for a minority of cyclists