Lime hire bikes stack up udner Islington’s policy of allowing users to leave them outside official bays

RESIDENTS have been told new parking bays will be constructed outside their homes in a bid to sort out blocked pavements caused by dumped hire bikes.

Seventy new bays were announced by Islington Council but those who will be living right next to the zones – where users of cycle and scooter apps like Lime and Forest will pick up and return the bikes – say it was the first they had heard of it.

The aim is to encourage riders to stop the free-for-all on the pavements, which has led to complaints about obstructions for the elderly, disabled and people pushing buggies.

But Sharon Augustine, a housing association tenant whose home is next to one of the repurposed car parking spaces, said: “I have no problem with [the council] having bays for them, but they definitely should not be outside people’s houses.

“People just dump them, and it also encourages young people to congregate on the streets, and then you’re going to get trouble.”

Sharon Augustine said she felt like a bay outside her home would make her life a misery

Islington Council is seeking public feedback on the plan. It already created 88 of the drop-off points last year.

The new ones are now planned for residential streets in Highbury, Holloway and both sides of Upper Street, Essex Road and Caledonian Road.

Canonbury resident Claudio Di Matteo, 69, a drummer who toured the world with Black Sabbath in 1989, was surprised to receive a letter about plans for an e-bike bay at his address.

“I don’t need anything outside my house because it will obstruct my driving – do I move a bike every time I arrive?” said Mr Di Matteo, who has a disability and keeps his vintage sports car in his driveway, which would seemingly be blocked by hire bikes under the new street layout.

Mr Di Matteo told how he had already had a nine-year “fight” with Islington Council to get a dropped kerb built out­side his home, to prohibit parking and allow him to drive in and out freely.

Thanks in part to an intervention by Islington South MP Emily Thornberry, he got permission for the drop kerb in 2015, but then learned that he would have to pay for it himself.

“They told me, disabled or not disabled, everybody has to pay,” he said.

Another decade on and the drop kerb is yet to be installed, so when he read about the proposed cycle bay he went straight to the council’s offices to complain and says he has been reassured his street has been removed from the list.

According to the council, the proposed parking locations have been chosen based on data from hire bike companies, proximity to popular destinations and areas with poor parking behaviour.

E-bike riders in Islington will not yet be required to park in the new bays, although the council is liaising with bike operators to introduce “mandatory parking zones” in future.

Ms Augustine, a former foster carer who has lived at her home for 22 years, told the Tribune: “I don’t want e-bikes outside my house – this is the first I’ve heard of it. It would be of no use to me because I’m disabled. Most of the time I’m in a wheelchair when I go out.

“Now and again I like to go around the park, just for a bit of fresh air, and I wouldn’t be able to do that if they start throwing bikes outside there. I would have to turn around and go home again.”

Drummer Claudio di Matteo went to Islington’s offices to complain and said he won an assurance that his address would be taken off the list

Other residents likely to be affected were more ambivalent about the prospect of having bike stations outside their front doors.

Becca Asquith, who lives near Upper Street, said she was “pro-cycling” and has no issue with a bay as long as it is “small and ordered”.

She added: “I know e-bike hubs tend to turn into mass chaos – if one goes, it’s a domino effect and the whole lot fall over, so I’m worried about that.”

Residents have until May 18 to share their feedback on the plans. Islington‘s environment chief, Councillor Rowena Champion, said: “We’re committed to making it easier for people to travel sustainably, safely and affordably – and that includes improving access to shared e-bikes.

“The popularity of these schemes, with over 5.25 million journeys in the last 12 months, brings with it challenges.

“We need to work closely with the hire bike companies to address the concerns raised about badly and obstructively parked hire bikes.

“We consider that the best way to tackle this is through the introduction of new parking bays for hire bikes and careful management of those bays.

We are currently consulting on a number of bays.

We are particularly mindful of the needs of disabled residents, and will be reviewing proposed locations closely to ensure that pavement access and public space are protected.”

Jack McKenna, senior policy manager at Lime, which is one e-bike provider in Islington, said: “We’re really pleased to be working with Islington Council to deliver the second phase of dedicated parking bays in the borough.

“This is a significant step forward building on the first phase of 78 bays earlier this year which have had a hugely positive impact, particularly as demand for shared e-bikes in the borough continues to reach record levels.

“As part of Lime’s new £20m London Action Plan we are investing £5m in a bike parking infrastructure fund to ensure that users have dedicated parking locations in which to park safely and considerately.

“We look forward to continuing our partner­ship with Islington Council to create an envir­onment where cycling is a safe, integrated part of daily life for all.”