Cambridge Cyclepoint cycle parking fiasco

Cambridge Cycling Campaign has slammed the arrangements for the opening of the new cycle park at the station.

What should have been a major cause for celebration, and the result of 15 years of campaigning, looks like it could be a fiasco, if urgent changes are not made to the opening arrangements.

The railway company is proposing to give merely 18 hours for users of the over 1,000 bikes in the current cycle parking to move their bikes.

From 6am on Monday February 15th, the new CyclePoint will be open, and access to the temporary cycle park will be for collection of cycles only. Cycles have to be removed the same day at 10pm. Any remaining after that time will be removed by Abellio Greater Anglia and stored for a further week before disposal, although they can be reclaimed during this time.

Martin Lucas-Smith, Liaison Officer for Cambridge Cycling Campaign, said:

"What happens if people go to London or elsewhere for a night or two? It's not unreasonable for a bike to be left for more than a mere 18 hours. The removal of bikes from the temporary racks with such short notice seems not far short of criminal theft. It certainly doesn't comply with the local bye-laws requiring a notice for 14 days."

Secondly, Cambridge Cycling Campaign has real concerns that the new racks proposed for the cycle park are of a poor design that appear not to enable the frame of the bike to be locked. The last two years have seen a trial of different types of racks, but these new types haven't been tried here, and were not presented as options at any stage of consultation. The racks are designed for Dutch bikes which have built-in locks, unlike most cycle in the UK.

We hope that these two issues can be resolved urgently, and that the opening of the new cycle park, Britain's largest, can be a source of celebration, not marred by problems.