The council is cutting the cost of bike hangars spaces in Lambeth to help residents reduce their cost of living and carbon emissions.

The cut will make sure that a family of four will pay less to store their bikes than they pay for any residents parking permit for a car – which is currently just over £120 per year for an electric vehicle.

The on-street cycle storage units are important in helping people who live in flats and other homes with limited space keep their bike safe and secure when they are at home.

The price reduction of £12 per bike for a 12-month permit will come into effect from 10 August 2023.

Cllr Rezina Chowdhury, Lambeth’s Deputy Leader (Sustainable Lambeth and Clean Air), said: “We know that residents are struggling with the cost of living and that they want to do more to tackle the climate emergency.

“A family that cycles should not pay more to store their vehicles than one that drives, but this was the effect of per-vehicle pricing. Now a family of four will not pay more to cycle than drive, and an individual will pay only a quarter for parking if they cycle.”

“Road traffic is a danger, particularly to children and disabled people, and toxic air hurts everyone. Walking and cycling make our streets safer, our air cleaner and is good for our health. The council has a role to play in creating the right incentives for people to make greener choices.”

“This new measure supports our wider work to support our communities as we work on improving our neighbourhoods, improving our health and becoming net zero by 2030.”

There are currently 423 bike hangars in Lambeth, providing 2,538 cycle spaces, as part of the council’s commitment to installing 5,000 secure cycle storage spaces by 2026. As well as annual subscriptions falling from £42 to £30, the council is also currently reviewing its charges for cycle storage on estates with a view to also cutting the cost to help ensure even more residents can afford access to secure bike storage.

These initiatives are part of Lambeth Council’s wider efforts to transform local streets to make them more pleasant, enjoyable public spaces that meet the challenges of a changing climate.

The council’s award-winning Kerbside Strategy will see a quarter of the kerbside reclaimed from car parking spaces, to allow for more community parklets, cycle infrastructure and climate resilient measures.

The council’s Big Shift campaign is also supporting people to make the switch from cars to sustainable forms of travel wherever possible.

https://love.lambeth.gov.uk/lambeth-cutting-the-cost-of-bike-storage-for-families/

That sounds a bit drastic.

No matter how cheap, it'll feel terribly overcrowded.

Have they run out of council flats?

Vehicle restrictions were introduced in The Cut and Greet Street, in Waterloo, during the Covid-19 pandemic to make it easier and safer to walk and cycle. This has led to cycling rates almost doubling as well as the introduction of five new parklets for people to rest or socialise on the street.

The council is planning to make the changes permanent, which sits on an important Healthy Route for NHS staff between Guys and St Thomas’s hospitals.

Deputy leader Cllr Rezina Chowdhury, cabinet member for Sustainable Lambeth and Clean Air, said: “The Cut has been transformed from a space for vehicles to a place for people to stop and enjoy themselves.

“The traffic filter created more space for people, for green planting, for trees, and it has created more space for businesses as they recover from the pandemic.

“Radically re-imagining and decarbonising our public spaces is an important step to achieve our Net Zero Waterloo objective by 2030.”

To manage road traffic and support healthcare staff to travel safely to work during the Covid-19 pandemic, a series of traffic orders were temporarily brought in to restrict vehicles from entering the central part of The Cut and Greet Street.

The space has since been transformed creating a new east-west route for cycling and walking away from busy A-roads, connecting Cycleway 5 on Baylis Road, C10 on Cornwall Road, C6 on Blackfriars Road and C14 on Union Street.

During the trial period the council monitored traffic volumes as well as rates of cycling – it found a 90 percent reduction in vehicle traffic..

Drawing on this monitoring work, the council proposes to introduce further measures including a new permanent Traffic Order in Ufford Street to restrict vehicles, with some exemptions, and other improvements such as planting in underused parking bays.

A permanent Traffic Order would also be introduced to Webber Street (one-way) along with parking bay changes.

The council has also acted on feedback to allow a broader exemption for delivery vehicles to use loading bays on The Cut and exit through the traffic filter.

Earlier this year the council opened applications to design a community parklet for their area – with 25 planned across the borough.

The Community Parklet Programme was funded by the council’s £1..7million Big Shift Community Fund to support people to take up sustainable travel.

It is also supported through the council’s award-winning Kerbside Strategy that aims to reclaim a quarter of Lambeth’s kerbside from car parking, so it can be used as space for parklets or cycling hangars.

Cllr Chowdhury added: “Removing through traffic from The Cut is only one step is making sure that Waterloo achieves Net Zero by 2030. Our ambitious strategy calls for more work to be done, and we look forward to co-design with our partners, residents and businesses on further enhancements.”

https://love.lambeth.gov.uk/the-cut-traffic-proposals/