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1,000 Boris bikes kept off roads as residents object

Ross Lydall and Emma Worthington
17.08.10

A series of bizarre protests from residents has left 1,000 “Boris
bikes” stranded in an underground garage and unable to be used by
cyclists.

Councils have refused to grant permission for 76 docking stations,
meaning that Transport for London can only put 5,000 of the 6,000 hire
bikes on the street.

One group of residents claimed it would be a “violation of their human
rights” if a docking station were to be built outside their mansion
block in Bloomsbury.

Another complaint centred on the fact that the bikes would be
positioned under a tree and would be covered in bird-droppings. Many
residents have expressed concern that the bikes would be used by
drunken revellers indulging in “horseplay”. One Kensington resident
said anybody wanting to cycle “will already own a bike”.

An Evening Standard investigation has found that Westminster council
has refused 29 docking stations. Twelve have been refused in
Kensington and Chelsea, seven in Camden, six each in Islington —
including one in Boris Johnson's street — the City of London and
Lambeth, five in Southwark, two each in the Royal Parks and in Tower
Hamlets and one in Hackney.

The shortage of docking stations — there are 335 at present, 65 short
of the 400 that should have been in place for the £140 million
scheme's launch on July 30 — has left 1,000 bikes, each costing around
£350, stranded in TfL contactor Serco's depot in Islington.

It has also meant that “Boris bikers” have complained about shortages
of cycles at Waterloo and other mainline stations, and of a dire
shortage of docking stations around Covent Garden. Serco has now
deployed staff to Waterloo to ensure there are extra bikes and docking
points during the morning and evening rush-hours.

For the whole article, go to:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/2b6aj73
or:
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standa...ents-object.do