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Bike Boxes have been introduced by Lambeth council in order to quell fears about bike theft and storage concerns.
The units will allow residents who have limited space indoors to store their bikes safely without fear of them being stolen. Two bike boxes have been introduced to Bonnington Square in Oval and a further two have been installed on Crimsworth Road in Stockwell. The Transport for London funded bike boxes have been placed on the street, in what is thought to be a UK first.
Residents who want to use them are given a key so the box can be securely locked once the bike is inside. They will pay £5 a month to hire a dedicated space.
Cllr Nigel Haselden, cabinet member for regeneration transport, and strategic planning said: “Many residents in flats are put off owning a bike because they worry about it being stolen and don’t have the room to store it safely inside at night. These new bike boxes solve that problem and I’m really pleased to see them being introduced in Lambeth. There is a huge demand for cycle parking in built up areas like Lambeth and by helping more people get into cycling we can cut pollution and congestion.”
23,748 bikes were reported stolen in London in 2009/10, but the true figure is believed to be higher because many thefts are not reported to the police.
The scheme is a trial and Lambeth Council is exploring whether more bike boxes could be introduced using external funding.
