More than 50 new bike stands now installed in Battersea Park

The council is now halfway through a project to install an extra 115 bike stands in local parks – providing secure places for bikes to be stored while their owners enjoy the open spaces.

As well as improving security for existing visitors who arrive by bike, the aim is to encourage more people to use bicycles as a form of travel.

Nearly half the new bikes stands have been positioned in Battersea Park which is the busiest and most popular of the borough’s green spaces and where significant numbers of visitors arrive by car.

Now attention is turning to the borough’s 13 other green spaces where the remaining 63 stands are being introduced. These are:

Fishponds Playing Fields
Furzedown Rec
Garratt Green
King George’s Park
Godley Gardens
Coronation Gardens
Roehampton Playing Fields
Lavender Gardens
Upper Tooting Park
Shillington Park
Christchurch Gardens
Leader’s Gardens
Putney Lower Common Cemetery

The design of each location will also allow some of the stands to be used by cargo bikes, which are increasing in popularity across the borough.

The council’s transport spokesman Cllr John Locker said: “Our hope is that by providing additional secure parking spaces for bicycles at so many of our parks and green spaces that people travel to them on two wheels instead of four.

“We are taking action across the board to encourage people to travel in a more sustainable way and our new walking and cycling strategy aims to make environmentally friendly forms of travel safer, easier and more convenient.

“Improving cycle infrastructure is a key element of these plans and also of the council’s climate change commitments to deliver a carbon-neutral town hall by 2030.”