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The Standard's campaign for more bike parking spaces at railway stations highlights one of the most crucial weaknesses in London's provision for cyclists.
Our report today reveals the feeble number of parking places available at major stations - minuscule compared with Tokyo, let alone that cycling nirvana, Amsterdam.
Last week we reported how Transport Secretary Lord Adonis had cycled to six of the capital's major railway stations and been distinctly unimpressed by the cycle parking on offer: as few as 25 spaces at some stations, often badly signposted and hard to find.
The situation at Tube stations is even worse.
Mayor Boris Johnson promised last year to triple the number of journeys taken by cyclists in London by 2025.
But as transport researchers have found, it's not realistic to expect people necessarily to switch to a bike for their whole journey.
Many people travel by what the policy wonks call "multi-mode" transport, using several different ways of getting around for a single journey.
One of the most important combinations is bike and train. For that, though, you need to be able to know your bike will still be chained up when you get back off the train.
In fact, secure parking is every bit as important as safer routes in terms of persuading people to get on their bikes in London.
Councils can spend hundreds and thousands of pounds on cycle lanes and changes to traffic layouts, but if people can't lock their bike up they will leave it at home.
We know from polling that fear of getting their bicycle stolen is one of the main factors dissuading would-be cyclists.
A London Cycling Campaign survey this week found that 99 per cent of cycle parking spaces at key London locations were taken. It estimates that to achieve his goal of tripling cycling in London, Mr Johnson needs to install another 100,000 parking spots city-wide.
Yet the problem is not money. Decent bike parking rails cost only about £50 each - at that rate the total cost of the 40,000 parking spaces promised by former mayor Ken Livingstone, plus the extra 26,000 spots pledged by Mr Johnson in his election campaign last year, would be £3.3million.
This is a tiny sum compared with major roadworks or Tube repairs, even allowing for maintenance costs.
But while secure cycle locking stations are relatively cheap and easy to put in, planning them requires co-ordination between Transport for London, councils and Network Rail. To date, that sort of thinking has often been in short supply.
It is an issue that Mr Johnson urgently needs to tackle. Next year will see his vaunted bike hire scheme finally launched. Even if you take your own lock, since the scheme will inexplicably not provide them, finding a place to lock up your rented bike could be tricky.
Without more bike parking spaces at stations, the Mayor stands little chance of hitting his ambitious cycling targets - and more important, of getting more of us on to the only mode of transport guaranteed to green our city.
Reader views (2)
Westminster Council now charge for scooters and motorcycles to park on motorcycles parking bays; they are the only council nation-wide to do this, as the bays were meant to stop people using their cars etc; if Westminster get cycle bays in their area; they will soon start charging for that as well; they are not concerned about the traffic congestion in London; they are only interested in making the money travellers to London generate etc.
You can bet your last penny, that if everyone rode a bike and stopped using cars; they would soon start charging you road tax and a sweat fuel tax, on your sweat from cycling, and for cleaning up any sweat that drops on the road; plus Westminster Council would have their litter patrols out fining sweaty cyclists for dropping sweat on their roads.
Now if the Government and local councils were really serious about pollution; they would ban cars completely, and ban local council plastic refuse bags.
One can be forgiven for thinking the UK is really Monty Pythons Paradise.
- Mickinlondon, london., 14/07/2009 17:17
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Whilst I totally agree we don't have enough cycle parking - especially safe parking around tubes and stations - saying it's the only mode of transport to green our city, leaves out walking. Whilst you might say it's not a straight swap for some of the routes you could cycle, it's highly effective, easy to do (generally) and much more easy in London than many people realise.
- Jt Wong, London, UK, 30/06/2009 12:42
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