Cycle parking standards review

Cambridge City Council recently produced a consultation document on proposed changes to their Parking Standards – for both bikes and cars. This is an important document, as it sets out what developers are required to do in order to get planning permission.

You can find a summary of the current regulations on our website.

In the past, our main concern has been the very patchy enforcement of standards, rather than the standards themselves (see Cattle Market site article). In our consultation response, therefore, we explicitly asked for a meeting to find out how planning applications are checked against the standards, and how the planning department checks that cycle parking to the required standard is actually installed.

We welcomed the document, and also asked for:

• more emphasis on the importance of locating cycle parking near to entrances
• improvements in the description of spacing needed between stands
• greater emphasis on the importance of good support for the bike and a place to lock the bike frame to the stand
• an explicit statement that concrete slots and V-grip (wheel-bender) designs are unacceptable, and
• a short leaflet to be produced for developers, as a practical guide on installing cycle parking.