News / Bristol Cycling
Call for 1,000 bike hangars in Bristol to meet huge demand
Campaigners calling for the installation of 1,000 new bike hangars in Bristol say the issue is one of social justice.
There are currently only 15 of the lockable steel pods in the city, yet the demand runs into tens of thousands of people, according to a new report by Bristol Cycling.
The campaign organisation says the lack of secure storage facilities is a major barrier preventing many people from cycling and argue it is often those on the lowest incomes who are disproportionately affected by this.
is needed now More than ever
The report calls for 1,000 new bike hangers to be installed across the city by May 2024, with the first 250 introduced this year, and outlines ways to cut the cost by simplifying the installation of the pods.
“If you can’t securely store a bike at home, you can’t have a bike,” says Eveline Hall from Bristol Cycling campaign.
“And many people in Bristol live in flats and terraces with no outside space for bike storage. The council has received Emergency Active Travel funding for up to 20 more hangars but just to match a bike-friendly borough like Waltham Forest in London, Bristol needs over 800 hangars. And Waltham Forest still has a waiting list of over 5,000 people.
“There’s huge unmet demand in Bristol, and we’re in a pandemic and a climate crisis where we urgently need people to switch to active travel. But lack of secure bike storage at home is a huge problem and it’s the less well off people who are hit hardest by it. They’re less likely to have storage space and less able to replace a stolen bike. This is a social justice issue.”
The report calls for a proactive approach from Bristol City Council and says the burden for providing them should be taken away from residents. Instead, it says councillors should propose the streets where hangars could be installed.
An outreach team from the council could then do a postcard-drop to each household on a target street, similar to that currently done when consulting residents over the creation of a car club parking space.
Bristol Cycling is also asking for bike hangers to be included as standard with any new housing.
The existing bike hangars in Bristol fail to meet demand – photo by Martin Booth
The campaign has garnered the support of organisations in the city, including Knowle West Media Centre and Knowle West Alliance.
A spokesperson for Liveable Neighbourhoods for Bristol said: “The council has said it’s interested in providing liveable neighbourhoods but that means making it easy for those people who want to go by bike instead of car to do so. Bike hangars are absolutely vital for that.”
Bristol Cycling campaign is urging people who want a hanger in their neighbourhood to write to their councillor.
The group says we need “a fair, and efficient system of delivering bike hangars on a scale and at a speed fit for an emergency, because we’re in one. And public pressure will help to get it”.
Read more: Call-out for someone to become Bristol’s first bicycle mayor
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