Thoughtless riders should be discouraged from blocking pavements

• AS an occasional user of Lime hire bikes, I have been aware for some time that Camden and Hackney councils have managed to put more controls on them than Islington.

These include dedicated on-street parking in popular areas, to discourage thoughtless riders from blocking pavements, and low-speed zones in parks, where the bikes slow down automatically.

I raised these issues with Islington Council officers recently and am grateful that they have now arranged for a low-speed zone to be put in place on Highbury Fields, which will significantly reduce risk of accidents or conflict on Church Path.

But while this is a good step forward, Islington still lags behind other boroughs to ensure hire bikes are properly regulated. Hire bikes are a great way to encourage more people to use active, convenient, low emission forms of transport, but this must not be at the expense of pedestrians, wheelchair users, people pushing buggies, etc.

I would urge Islington to at least catch up with our neighbouring boroughs, to control these bikes, but preferably to go even further.

CLLR BENALI HAMDACHE
Green Party Leader
Islington Council