Wandsworth Council is to prohibit the parking and dumping of e-bikes on busy town centre pavements under a new initiative to “support responsible active travel.”
The ban on careless e-bike parking is set to be implemented in about a month, following the completion of 111 parking bays, the council said in a statement on June 20.
The bays are currently being installed across the southwest London district including in Clapham Junction, Tooting Broadway, Tooting Bec, Wandsworth Town, Balham, and Putney.
These freshly painted parking zones will feature on the pavement in high footfall areas.
Riders will be expected to use the provided parking bays wherever possible, but the council says responsible “free-floating” parking will still be permitted away from hotspots and in quieter parts of the borough.
David Tidley, head of transport strategy at Wandsworth Council, told The Epoch Times via email on Tuesday that the “intention is to move to a model of mandatory parking bays in busy areas” so that e-bikes are “not left on the pavement” in pedestrian hotspots.
“We support the use of e-bikes as they offer a convenient travel option for residents and visitors,” said Mr. Tidley.
He said the council is “really pleased that there have already been more than a million journeys made by e-bike in Wandsworth.”
Mr. Tidley noted that Wandsworth residents “know that there have been some challenges” with the integration of e-bikes across the district, in particular “with a small minority of riders abandoning bikes without any thought for pedestrians and local communities.”
“These new bays will help riders to park in fixed town-centre locations and encourage considerate parking.”
Wandsworth Council did not confirm how it would manage or enforce the incoming ban.
The new scheme comes after the council held an extensive public consolation that heard from groups most effected by the obstructions.
Vulnerable People
Sarah Gayton, street access campaign coordinator for the National Federation of the Blind of the UK, told The Epoch Times that Wandsworth Council has not properly listened to the people, nor does the council fully understand the issue.“If the bikes are not docked and locked the same issues will continue to affect the vulnerable people in society,” said Ms. Gayton.
“When the bikes are not locked into place, they are still able to be moved, removed, and knocked over, creating a trip hazard.”
Ms. Gayton said, “There is also no such thing as responsible ‘free-floating’ parking.
“Every bit of public pavement is important for access and safety of the disabled and visually impaired community.”
The report says inconsistency in parking rules is leading to confusion for users, and urges e-bike operators to define clear, unambiguous parking terminology in all rider communications.
It also highlights the insufficient parking bay density across mandatory parking zones in central London boroughs, and the need to develop a consistent approach to shared e-bike parking in less central boroughs to “help prevent street clutter.”
The Steer report was prepared for the popular shared electric vehicle company, Lime.
The director of policy at Lime, Hal Stevenson, said in an emailed statement to The Epoch times on Tuesday he was “proud” to be working with Wandsworth Council to launch the new parking system.
“Flexible parking rules help to avoid issues with pavement obstructions whilst ensuring shared e-bikes remain easy to use,” said Mr. Stevenson.
Wandsworth Council says a further programme of e-bike parking bays will follow later this year.
The council has also urged members of the public to continue to report any poorly-parked or abandoned e-bikes directly to operators.
