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City of London says no to cycle parking, yes to concrete as Crossrail shaft bike plan rejected

Report rejecting automated subterranean cycle parking contains a "number of defects" while City of London criticised for claiming cycle parking will lead to area "dominated by cyclists"...

The City of London plans to fill a Crossrail access shaft with 2,250m3 of concrete rather than permit a 240-space automated underground bike parking unit, claiming the area could become ‘dominated by cyclists’ and citing a 100 year old law restricting use of the surrounding park.

A City report discussing the proposal for Finsbury Circus was found to contain “a number of defects”, including an overestimation of the unit’s footprint by ten to twenty times, along with arguments described by one London Assembly Member as “deeply questionable” and biased against cyclists.

The decision to reject the proposal was made despite a 27,000 cycle parking shortfall within the Square Mile, according to one City of London (CoL) report, for the approximately 10,000 people who commute there by bike daily, plus suppressed demand and future growth. London Assembly Member, Caroline Russell, wrote to the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, this month about the proposal, after errors in the CoL report were repeated by the Mayor’s office. 

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The proposed cycle parking unit, produced by Eco Cycle, is an automated subterranean bike parking facility, as demonstrated in the below video.

468268761 from Eco Cycle Video Channel on Vimeo.

A 2015 draft report, produced in 2015 by Burns & Nice, Tom Stuart-Smith and Duggan Morris Architects for the City of London and Crossrail, discusses options for the access shaft. It lists under “cons” for the cycle parking the “potential for the cafe to be dominated by a single demographic associated with the cycle facility and/or feel like the domain of cyclists only”.

It incorrectly states the unit’s above ground footprint as 150m2, almost twenty times the actual size of a single 240-bike unit, 8m2. It is believed the report included an access path in its footprint calculations.

The report discusses the cycle parking unit replacing a proposed café, while Eco Cycle says its units can be integrated within a café building (see image, below). The report also suggests the combined footprint of the café and the cycle parking would “substantially increase the built footprint of the site”. Eco Cycle points out a pavilion formerly on the site of the shaft was 397m2, 389m2 larger than the unit footprint.

Eco-Cycle Cafe access

In a letter to the Mayor of London dated 3 May 2017, following a response on the issue by Sadiq Khan from Mayor's Question Time in March 2017, Green Assembly Member, Caroline Russell, said the City of London/Crossrail report, titled Finsbury Circus Crossrail Urban Integration Design, “appeared to be biased against any cycle facilities and people using bikes”. She pointed out a number of what she describes as defects within the report, describing the argument cyclists could dominate the space as “deeply questionable”.

She wrote: “Cyclists are not a separate demographic, they are simply Londoners who use bikes and I can clearly see a positive symbiosis of having a secure place to park bikes next to a café that would only benefit from more footfall, especially at commuting times.”

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Urging the Mayor to reconsider his support for the “unique” proposal, Russell added: “The report has been criticised for being misleading, ignoring a Cycle Parking Strategy report compiled by the City of London in July 2011, which recommended utilising the Crossrail shaft for cycle parking.”

According to Russell's office the Mayor has not yet responded to this letter.

The City of London’s own 2011 Cycle Parking Strategy identified a shortfall of up to 27,000 cycle spaces in the Square Mile, and specifically recommended the City “instigate discussions with Crossrail regarding the possible use of Finsbury Circus shaft and the Moor House basement for cycle parking and options for including cycle parking in over-site developments at Crossrail stations”.

It also recommended the City “incorporate cycle parking as an integral element of appropriate future environmental enhancement, pedestrianisation and traffic management schemes”.

An email to road.cc from the City asserts it provides 10,000 cycle parking spaces when its own Strategy, from which this figure was taken, estimates there are in fact 10,000 cycle commuters, parking formally and informally in the Square Mile - not that there are 10,000 formal cycle parking spaces. The City has not since responded to requests for clarification on how many formal cycle parking spaces there currently are in the Square Mile.

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According to a more than 145 page report, produced by Crossrail and the City of London Corporation, detailing three possible options for the site, the cycle storage option occupies four pages. The report’s “high level cost estimate” of the project is £2,954,000, including £742,500 for the unit itself, a figure Knight believes could be reduced by more than a third with a private contractor.

The City describes the installation of the cycle parking “ultra vires”, i.e. beyond its authority or legal power, citing Section 8 of Part II of the City of London (Various Powers) Act 1900 Act requiring CoL to “keep Finsbury Gardens as an open space for the recreation and enjoyment of the public”.

It adds while cycling may be in some cases a recreational activity, the storage of cycles is not for the purpose of enjoying the park, and therefore not compliant with the Act.

Nick Knight, EcoCycles Managing Director, told road.cc the City’s draft report on its decision was “full of factual errors”, adding “it’s outlandish how they stated in their report that the café could be dominated by a single demographic”.

According to Knight, three buildings on the South side of Finsbury Circus house around 6,500 employees, with just 48 bike parking spaces.

Knight says: “There will be many people in these buildings that would cycle to work, but they won't as they can’t park. It’s not just the dangers of the roads that are keeping new cyclists from getting on their bikes.”

Knight also questions why the City asserts the unit would require 24 hour access, when he believes swipe card entry or restricted access are viable options.

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The City did not answer any questions put to it by road.cc pertaining to the discrepancy in the unit’s footprint and its own calculation, its 2011 cycle parking strategy and cycle parking figures, or to clarify its statement on cyclists dominating the space, or the 24 hour access issue. 

Instead a City of London Corporation spokesperson said it is “committed to encouraging more cyclists in the Square Mile”, including its 450,000 workers.

“We recognise the need to make sure that there are suitable and numerous cycling parking facilities within the City,” the spokesperson said. “That is why we provide over 10,000 cycling parking spaces including over 360 free public cycle parking spaces in all City off-street public car parks."

However, when asked to clarify the 10,000 figure, the City sent a report estimating there are 10,000 cycle commuters “parking formally and informally” in the Square Mile, not that there are 10,000 formal cycle parking spaces.

The statement said: “With regards to the EcoCycle storage unit proposal, this measure would have resulted in a loss of precious City green space, unsustainable ongoing maintenance liabilities and issues related to 24/7 accessibility at the site which meant adopting this proposal was not possible.”

The spokesperson cited cycle-friendly initiatives, including a borough-wide 20mph zone, contraflow cycle routes on one-way streets and “working closely with TfL on the delivery of Quietways for less confident cyclists”, as well as with City businesses and the City of London Police on road danger reduction initiatives.

Next week the City of London is introducing an experimental safety scheme at Bank junction on Monday, which will give pedestrians, buses and cyclists access through the junction, while restricting other traffic 7am-7pm.

The London Cycling Campaign’s Simon Munk told road.cc: “We know there’s a serious shortage of cycle parking in the whole of central London, including the City – public, secure residential and workplace parking. The City, as with much of central London, has a lot more to do also to make cycling feel safe on its streets. The welcome changes at Bank junction coming next week are a big step in the right direction.”

This article was updated on 18 May to clarify details of the City of London's Finsbury Square report.

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19 comments

Avatar
bassjunkieuk | 6 years ago
0 likes

What a shambles! Times like this we need Boris to stop faffing around as Foreign Sec and push through something like this as another "vanity project" that could actually be bloody useful.

 

II also dread to think what the environmental impact of just filling the hole with concrete would be compared to actually doing the building work to fit it out as bike parking - at least with the latter, it comes with a massive employment/job creation opportunity too!

Avatar
Ush | 6 years ago
4 likes

I have a compromise suggestion:  perhaps we could fill it with Joanna Lumley's ego?  It would be free, in fact it might be difficult to keep her out of it.

Avatar
burtthebike | 6 years ago
3 likes

Just a guess, but is the CoL dominated by tories?

Avatar
OnTheRopes | 6 years ago
3 likes

Production of one tonne of cement results in 780Kgs of CO2 

Avatar
Jackson | 6 years ago
2 likes

If I had a 2250m3 shaft to fill in in the middle of the City, I'd get 2250m3 of bunk beds down there pronto and fill it with uni students and fed-up renters @ £400/month each

Avatar
jh27 replied to Jackson | 6 years ago
0 likes
Jackson wrote:

If I had a 2250m3 shaft to fill in in the middle of the City, I'd get 2250m3 of bunk beds down there pronto and fill it with uni students and fed-up renters @ £400/month each

You're half right, London rents are typical quoted weekly.

Avatar
nniff | 6 years ago
3 likes

I think it's outrageous how the cafes in Victoria, Waterloo, London Bridge, Paddington, Euston, Kings Cross, St Pancras, Liverpool Street, Cannon Street and Marylebone are dominated by a single demographic. 

 

 

Avatar
thereverent | 6 years ago
5 likes

Quote:

The City describes the installation of the cycle parking “ultra vires”, i.e. beyond its authority or legal power, citing Section 8 of Part II of the City of London (Various Powers) Act 1900 Act requiring CoL to “keep Finsbury Gardens as an open space for the recreation and enjoyment of the public”.

Easy to get round this. The roads around Finsbury Gardens have large numbers of car parking spaces. Take two of these and put the entrance there (outside the gardens).

Avatar
thereverent | 6 years ago
5 likes

Quote:

The decision to reject the proposal was made despite a 27,000 cycle parking shortfall within the Square Mile, according to one City of London (CoL) report, for the approximately 10,000 people who commute there by bike daily, plus suppressed demand and future growth.

I've found that report and it's using 2010 data: https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/services/transport-and-streets/transport...

Some interesting bits:

Quote:

In March 2010, the City of London’s Policy & Resources Committee approved a Cycle Parking Strategy report. The report estimated that there are currently around 10,000 cycle commuters parking formally and informally in the City, but that there is an unmet demand for up to 27,000 additional parking spaces (together representing approximately 10% of the City’s total workforce). Cycling in the City has increased by 54% between 2007 and 2010 and constitutes 15% of the traffic composition in the Square Mile.

and

Quote:

More recently, the City of London conducted traffic composition surveys in 2005, 2007 and 2009. The 2009 survey recorded 23,964 cyclists, which represents an approximate growth of 168% from 2001. If the 2001 situation of 42% of cyclists recorded in the traffic composition survey living and/or working in the City continues to be true, this implies that the 2009 figure for these cyclists is 10,057. The City of London has therefore adopted a conservative current (2009) figure of 10,000 City cycle commuters. The 2010 traffic composition survey results showed a continuing increase in the numbers of City cyclists.

and

Quote:

Demand for cycle parking among several prominent City companies in the business and financial services sectors approaches and in some cases exceeds 10% of their workforce. It is not unreasonable, therefore, to assume that this level of demand is now widespread among City-based companies. The most recent estimate from the Greater London Authority is for City employment to reach 374,000 in 2011. These estimates are accepted and used by the City in its own planning documentation. If the 10% estimate mentioned above is consistent across the City, this equates to approximately 37,400 City cyclists. The City of London has therefore adopted a present cycle parking demand figure of 37,000. When this is considered against the amount of cycle parking already provided (approximately 10,000 spaces), it can be considered that the City of London therefore has unmet cycle parking demand for up to 27,000 spaces.

 

Avatar
PaulBox | 6 years ago
6 likes

Just mindblowing, how could anybody really be against a parking solution like this?

Finsbury circus is a nice place, but the park itself is surrounded by car parking spaces. A lot of the buildings have railings with "bikes chained here wil be removed" signs etc.

This is a win win surely, nobody would lose. As somebody else has said, the cafe will be dominated by office workers. Even if all 240 cyclists popped in to buy a coffee after parking their bikes in the morning they aren't going to be anybody other than people who work in the local. 

Avatar
hawkinspeter | 6 years ago
6 likes

I don't get why this country is so determinedly anti-cycling. All it takes is to look at other cities that have embraced cycling (e.g. Holland, Germany etc) and you can see whether it improves things or not.

What bugs me is that they come up with bullshit excuses and lies to justify their bigotry.

Avatar
rkemb | 6 years ago
2 likes

Quote:

The decision to reject the proposal was made despite a 27,000 cycle parking shortfall within the Square Mile, according to one City of London (CoL) report, for the approximately 10,000 people who commute there by bike daily

Those bankers need 2.7 bike parking spaces each? Well, that's income inequality for you.

Avatar
ClubSmed replied to rkemb | 6 years ago
0 likes

rkemb wrote:

Quote:

The decision to reject the proposal was made despite a 27,000 cycle parking shortfall within the Square Mile, according to one City of London (CoL) report, for the approximately 10,000 people who commute there by bike daily

Those bankers need 2.7 bike parking spaces each? Well, that's income inequality for you.

27,000 was just the shortfall so they must have even more bikes each

Avatar
thereverent replied to ClubSmed | 6 years ago
0 likes

ClubSmed wrote:

rkemb wrote:

Quote:

The decision to reject the proposal was made despite a 27,000 cycle parking shortfall within the Square Mile, according to one City of London (CoL) report, for the approximately 10,000 people who commute there by bike daily

Those bankers need 2.7 bike parking spaces each? Well, that's income inequality for you.

27,000 was just the shortfall so they must have even more bikes each

Lots of the bike parking spaces are secure ones within buildings which you can only access if you work in that building. Some more modern building have enough, but lots of the older building have very few or none.

Bike parking in public areas are always packed (along with bikes locked in other areas).

Avatar
cczmark | 6 years ago
4 likes

Well let's take Hyde Park Corner as an example...

“potential for the area to be dominated by a single demographic associated with cars/vans/buses and/or feel like the domain of motorists only”.

Except that's actual not potential, and I could replace Hyde Park Corner with thousands of other locations.

Avatar
RedfishUK | 6 years ago
5 likes

 The City of London report lists under “cons” for the cycle parking the “potential for the cafe to be dominated by a single demographic associated with the cycle facility and/or feel like the domain of cyclists only”.

 

I worked around there for many years and you would need most of the cyclists in London to come every day, to stop the Cafe being dominated by the 1000's of Financial Services office workers "parked" in the surrounding buildings(surely a single demographic??)

Avatar
Kendalred | 6 years ago
7 likes

Beggars belief. It's this irrational classification of cyclists as a 'single demographic' that reinforces prejudice and a 'them v us' attitude.

There are some real oxygen thieves making decisions that affect us all. Glad I moved out of The Smoke 14 years ago, and my commute is the back roads of the Lake District, not these fume filled war zones.

Avatar
1961BikiE | 6 years ago
12 likes

And they would actually spend money on concrete fill than recoup some of the cost by charging for bike parking. The level of bigotry in this country never ceases to amaze me these days. "Single demographic dominance". So that doesn't happen at motorway service stations then, eg motor vehicle driver/passenger domination!

#4footsnake.

Avatar
1961BikiE | 6 years ago
11 likes

Thank Jeebus Car Parks never lead to the proliferation of cars. Donald Trump school of decision making policy. #4footsnake

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