Merton Council started its rollout of 350 cycle hire bays at the end of last month, demarcating spaces “big enough to fit a van” on local streets.
The bays, which have been mostly funded by Transport for London (TfL), are supposed to tackle the scourge of poor e-bike parking in the borough, amid concerns over the number of cycles left obstructing pavements and driveways.
But one Liberal Democrat opposition councillor raised concerns that there is no formal agreement between bike hire companies and the council, something which would be needed to require cyclists to park in these bays.
Cllr Anthony Faircough told Your Local Guardian that it appeared the council had “put the cart before the horse” by painting out the bays before these agreements are in place.
Some local people are also unhappy that they will lose parking spaces in their road to make way for the bays, despite there being no guarantee that cyclists will actually use them.
“It may be that an agreement can be reached,” Cllr Fairclough said. “But if the cycle hire companies will not agree, it’s very hard to see where we go from there.
“For residents, it’s very irritating to see an empty bay that no one is using.”
One of his constituents, Grahame Darnell, added that his cul-de-sac – Oxford Avenue in Wimbledon Chase – was already “jammed with cars”, a situation he feared would only worsen now a cycle bay had been demarcated.
“It’s very difficult to park and we pay £135 a year for the pleasure,” he explained.
“Now they take a full parking bay. You could fit a van in this space.
“And there are still hire bikes about 20 metres down blocking the pavement, the same as they are normally.
“It looks like one of those idealistic ideas councils come up with that lacks common sense and has very little consideration of the impact on local people.”
He said that he was a “keen cyclist” himself, but that the council had not thought about the impact on drivers, adding that he was not personally aware of any consultation about the scheme.
“It’s a small thing, but it’s our road and it would be nice if council decision-makers remembered that they are public servants and, whether the funding comes from the council or TfL, the source of the funding is the ordinary taxpayer.
“It’s this kind of disregard for people’s views that really annoys the public.”
A Merton Council spokesperson said that the 70 bays on the pavement did not require a consultation, adding that consultations have already run for the 280 new bays on the road.
They claimed these were advertised on lampposts adjacent to each site for 21 days, as well as online, in the civic centre, and in local newspapers.
They added: “We are in discussions with operators and they have been informed that to continue operating in the borough, they will have to agree to parking in the bays, which will be programmed in their respective apps.
“Whilst these talks are ongoing, the new parking model is not yet enforceable, so in the short-term residents may still see e-bikes parked outside of bays.
“In the meantime, if you see a badly parked bike, you can report it to the Lime or Forest, and they should remove it swiftly.”
