Transport for London (TfL) has awarded more than £3.5m to 30 London boroughs to create 7,800 new cycle spaces in town centres, stations, schools and residential areas.
TfL expects this investment will enable thousands more cycle journeys to take place each week by ensuring more journeys begin and end with a place to park, with the first spaces set to be in place by the spring.
These include:
– 480 new space at 24 schools in Bromley, 24 schools will have 480 new spaces;
– 600 new spaces in the City of London and Westminster;
– 80 new spaces in four town centres in Wandsworth;
– 1,100 new spaces at stations, schools and residential areas in Hackney and Islington;
– 30 new spaces at two tube stations in Ealing;
– More than 700 new cycle parking spaces at various locations across Greenwich, including at 11 schools;
Other boroughs to receive funding for cycle parking are Barking and Dagenham, Barnet, Bexley, Brent, Camden, Croydon, Enfield, Hammersmith & Fulham, Haringey, Hounslow, Kensington and Chelsea, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Newham, Redbridge, Richmond, Southwark, Sutton, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest.
The funding is part of TfL’s Cycle Parking Implementation Plan, published last year, which argued that thousands of new parking spaces are needed to keep up with increased levels of cycling.
The plan aims to ensure that all stations outside Zone 1 have a minimum of 20 cycle parking spaces within 50m of the station and a minimum of 30% spare capacity.
Some 10 stations will reportedly be brought up to this new benchmark in the coming year.
Tom Bogdanowicz, senior policy and development officer for London Cycling Campaign, said: “Being unable to park a cycle near to their destination is a major deterrent to people cycling.
“It also sends exactly the wrong signal when car parking is more plentiful and convenient than cycle racks.
“So, TfL’s commitment to expand cycling parking across London is very welcome.”
Recent TfL data shows the average daily total distance cycled in the capital exceeding four million kilometres for the first time.
TfL said it has doubled the amount of protected space for cyclists since 2016 and is on course to triple it this year.
