It's a cyclist's nightmare: biking all the way into work — risking life and limb along the way — only to find there's nowhere to park.
What, until recently, was only a real issue for motorists, is now affecting London's burgeoning community of cyclists. 720,000 trips on bike are recorded every day and — with a 5% growth in the daily volume of cyclists in London in 2018 — the demand for parking is greater than ever. According to TfL, half of Londoners have ruled out using bikes, due to lack of sufficient parking space.
While there are currently 145,000 bike parking spaces in the city, TfL wants to have an extra 50,000 by 2025, with each station outside zone 1 possessing at least 20 cycle parking spaces. Add to that 1,400 parking hubs in residential areas, and you’ve got yourself over £2.5m worth of cycling parking space — what TfL is dubbing the Cycle Parking Implementation Plan [pdf].
Will Norman, London’s Walking and Cycling Commissioner said:
If people know there is good cycle parking at their local station or at their place of work, they are much more likely to use their bike. Together with our investment in new high-quality routes, we are enabling more people to cycle as part of their everyday routine, making our streets cleaner and greener for everyone.
The Cycle Parking Implementation Plan coincides with the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan's, aim to transform London into a safe haven for cyclists. The goal is to have 80% of Londoners' trips made by foot, cycle or public transport by 2041.
With research showing that inhaling London’s air could cost you up to 22 months of your life (grim, we know), we don’t think that's such a bad idea.
What's going to happen when electric scooters are inevitably legalised on the capital's streets, and every man and his dog has one — we'll just have to wait and see.
All images © TfL
