Proposal for mandatory Lime and Forest bike parking in Greenwich borough
Greenwich Council are setting out plans for e-bikes such as Lime and Forest to be parked in mandatory bays.
The borough like many places has seen issues with rental e-bikes being dumped in various locations and sometimes blocking paving.
Now the authority are looking to provide 157 bays for e-bikes to be left. Almost all sites are in Greenwich itself with a couple in Charlton.
Proposed locations can be viewed in further detail here.
Some already exist in the borough – such as beside Greenwich station – though there aren’t a great deal at present.
In the past parts of Greenwich town centre have seen numerous bikes left blocking pavement in tourist-heavy areas that are congested at the best of times.
Councillor Calum O’Byrne Mulligan, Cabinet Member for Climate Action, Sustainability and Transport, said:
“We’re calling time on the irresponsible dumping of rental e-bikes in Greenwich. Mandatory parking bays for dockless e-bikes will help to keep our pavements clear and accessible for everyone, while also supporting active travel with regular and predictable bays to help people find a bike to use when they need one.
“Dockless e-bikes are a convenient and simple way to make short journeys, and a vital tool helping us all get around in more sustainable and healthy ways, but it’s important they’re managed properly. These proposals would help keep our streets accessible for everyone while supporting more sustainable travel.”
Click here to view consultation details. Consultation will run until 11:59pm on 11 March 2026.
Neighbouring Lewisham council are also undertaking a rolling programme of bays.
Lewisham have a dedicated website on the roll-out stating “our first phase marked bays in Lewisham and have identified Blackheath, Lewisham Central, Ladywell, Crofton Park and Forest Hill for the second phase.”
Funding in Lewisham comes from TfL and Section 106 revenue from new developments. Click here to view a map showing proposed borough-wide locations.
A step in the right direction, but it doesn’t tackle the biggest problem which is dangerous cycling (running red lights, riding on pavements, no lights on in the dark) which is absolutely rife among Lime bike users
@ A G. It is a step in the right direction as you say. The riders leave these bikes all over the pavements causing an hazard for pedestrians.
A lot of the riders do tend to be dangerous running red lights, not stoping at zebra crossings, riding on pavements with out lights and with out care and attention of other road users and pedestrians.
So something has to be done about these Lime and Forest bikes in the Borough.
It’s all very well providing dedicated parking places for these bikes , but what sanctions will be in place for those people who still dump them in places which cause a hazard to others
Good that they are doing this – and also that they have parking by the station. Unlike Lewisham who have managed to make commuting on lime bike (via roads!) as difficult as possible by putting the nearest parking 200 yards away across a busy street….
Echo another comment here – what happens when users still dump the bikes where they want irrespective of authorised bays being available ?
Do council officials or cllrs seriously believe this will stop the problem of bikes just being abandoned ? Of course they won’t.
The problem will remain.
I don’t even know how lime users do that..? I know the app won’t let me “park” my bike (I.e. end my ride) outside one of these zones… I wonder what’s going on? It may be these are not legit rides and people are bumping the bikes – I really don’t know!
Not a terrible idea, but the main issue is the shortage of bays. If you compare the map to popular tourist spots there will be no where near enough parking. The easy solution is to convert a few parking spots.
I wish lime and forest would extend to the rest of the borough, especially Woolwich.
Coming to Woolwich would be great but really it’s the Santander scheme that needs to be extended. Much nicer set up with physical stations. I’m less a fan of the Lime bikes.
Bigger picture. They take up so little space and restrict accessibility so much less than the parked cars lining every street everywhere. Reduce the absolutely massive public land usage by private vehicles before reducing the far far smaller land use from bicycle parking!
I don’t want them where I live. It aint goin to stop them dumpin lime bikes ahrtside my block of flats by the gates we all use in ere. Iss selfish parkin n cyclists don’t stop at red lights, on zebras or crossins rahnd ere. Ere are pedestrians, dissabled n people on foot come first not cyclists.
We don’t want them dumped everywhere rahnd ere, pedestrians first. Blue badge olders ave rights n all.