Site of 108 dockless bike bay locations revealed by Greenwich Council
Greenwich Council have commenced consultation on the potential site of 108 dockless cycle spots across the borough.
Areas covered include Woolwich, Kidbrooke, Eltham and other sites borough-wide.
The authority state that specific areas will be designated for the likes of Lime and Forest bikes to avoid a build-up of cycles blocking paths:
“The council is proposing to introduce designated parking bays to enable the managed operation of dockless e-bikes within the Royal Borough of Greenwich.
“When bikes are parked incorrectly, they can obstruct footways or create difficulties for pedestrians, particularly disabled people, people with pushchairs, and those with visual impairments.”
This follows an earlier stage which included 29 locations mostly around Greenwich hence the lack of representation in this latest 108 bays. The operators will fund installation of parking bays and pay an annual operating fee.
Currently Lime and Forest isn’t available in most of the borough so this must mean expansion is on the cards.
Missing locations
A quick look appears to reveal some missing locations such as any near Abbey Wood station which is now one of the busiest in the country.
While the borough boundary between Bexley Council and Greenwich Council does run down roads either side (Wilton Road and Felixstowe Road) of the station making it harder to find a suitable spot (Greenwich have signed an agreement allowing Bexley Council to manage the Greenwich side of Felixstowe Road) there should still be scope for a bay.
Whether that be in an area in Greenwich borough they’re allowing Bexley Council to manage or metres away on Greenwich-managed land, there seems to be no attempt to do so.
As an aside, Bexley Council do a pretty poor job of managing the Greenwich side of Felixstowe Road and Greenwich council really should be asking more questions regarding management of their side of the street.
At first I wondered if this is because dockless bikes can’t be used in the area but Abbey Wood does see proposed bays at quieter spots in town under this proposal, just not near the station.
Looking further west there are proposed spots beside stations such as Plumstead, Woolwich Dockyard and Charlton, as well as other sites right at the borough’s edge such as Falconwood station which borders Bexley borough and another in the far south.
Eltham sees around ten near the station and High Street.
For Abbey Wood station the lack of any spot means dropping a bike off about 10 minutes away then walking which sort of nullifies the point. And not something seen at most other stations.
Thamesmead
Another site with no proposed bays is around the shops in Thamesmead. This is the town’s main town centre area with a number of shops and the town’s main leisure centre and library.
Perhaps due to Peabody? That doesn’t appear the case as much like Abbey Wood, other quieter parts of Thamesmead do see proposed bays. Though not many, with just one in Thamesmead Central and one in Thamesmead West.
There’s presumably some good reason Abbey Wood and Thamesmead see some odd choices of location aside from the busiest spots in each town and hopefully this isn’t yet another example of the authority having little idea of the areas in question.
Time and again they’ve confused the two towns in news stories, council reports and strategies despite being different in both nature and needs.
This has led to some areas being grossly neglected, while potential offered with the arrival of the Elizabeth line has often been squandered.
Transport management hasn’t been great either with Greenwich Council recently supporting TfL bus cuts serving both new and existing homes in Thamesmead, and now both towns look set to see few bays compared to other parts of the borough – and the obvious spots for them aren’t included.
As for the 108 locations, click here to view.
Hi
I’m interested in people riding their own bike, and Abbeywood station, where there is a rank of bike installations opposite the entrance to the station
The question I ask myself if I rode a bicycle to the Station and left it there, would I feel it was safe….
Nope, no chance…this tells a story about the new bicycle lanes and the Council attitude towards privately owned bicycles
Zero responsibility
I wouldn’t risk it. The far more secure cycle racks put in by TfL almost a decade ago beneath Harrow Manorway flyover have never been opened to the public. That’s solely down to Bexley Council as it’s on their side of the boundary.
Did you see the news story about DLR in Thamesmead? Again the council and TFL stating how great it’d be for Thamesmead while yet again on the ground they do the complete opposite. Failing to oppose TFL bus cuts across town this year and then all but ignore the town when it comes to hiring Lime bikes in future. Surely it’d make sense to have lots of bays around Thamesmead and beside the station to allow people to cycle to and from. A lot easier, cheaper and more use than the DLR will ever be for 90 per cent of people in the area!!
Agree that much of Thamesmead is currently being overlooked when it comes to improvements (or even seeing services worsen) at the expense of a DLR plan that won’t benefit the vast majority of existing residents (or even many future ones) given the Liz line at Abbey Wood will still offer so much more and be no further away, hence getting people to and from it is key.
Which does make the apparent lack of bays very odd but there may be a good reason. I’ve contacted then council to find out.
I am still amazed TfL cut buses this year serving near enough 800 new homes – let alone existing dwellings – and RBG supported that. That spoke volumes about how on top they are when it comes to Thamesmead (and Abbey Wood).
Recent consultation on road changes from north Thamesmead towards Woolwich Elizabeth line merely cemented the view given how weak it all is, and having zero plan to improve the bus bottleneck on the approach to Abbey Wood station along Harrow Manorway is another obvious improvement when linking all of Thamesmead to Abbey Wood station that there’s no plan to fix.
Nice to see that the Queen Elizabeth Hospital is well covered,Not, is not cycling all about keeping fit and looks like few heath centres are covered plus Greenwich Town Centre is lacking so sorry tourist you just going to have to walk
Have RBG still not grasped that Abbey Wood is now a massively busy station and there’s quite a few people living 10-15-20 minute walk away who may be tempted to cycle there?
One spot for a drop off point for bikes is near the Abbey Arms or the old Post Office when that is finished. On the other side what about Felixstowe Road outside the vets and around the corner the shops.
Such few sites in Woolwich is a shame but private land the obstacle presumably in some areas. Could Greenwich have a word with Berkeley to do better? Still, not much is proposed even on public land.
Plumstead, Charlton and Eltham all seem well covered. Abbey Wood, Thamesmead and Woolwich aren’t. An odd contrast. I’ll respond to the consultation but normally these things are about taking some away to whittle down to a final number as seen with the previous consultation covering Greenwich rather than adding new ones in, particularly if its the bike companies funding it.