Cambridge’s Park Street Cycle Park, once heralded as a groundbreaking secure facility, has come under fire after a string of thefts left cyclists fearful to leave their bikes there — many criticising the local authority’s efforts to create safe parking spaces in the city which once again topped the rankings for cycle thefts in the UK last year, with eight bikes stolen per 1,000 people.
Omar Terywall, who runs a Facebook group called ‘Official Stolen Bikes in Cambridge’, to provide cyclists a platform to share news about bike theft and hopefully retrieve them, said he has been “disappointed” by the so-called secure Park Street facility.
“This is labelled as a secure facility, but when you walk in, there are only three security cameras. The position of these cameras is completely obscured by pillars as well. It’s not good enough,” he told Cambridgeshire Live.
The group, and other local Facebook communities from Cambridge, are filled with pictures of stolen bikes shared by cyclists in a desperate bid to locate them. Last week, Terywall posted about two electric bikes that were stolen from Park Street Cycle Park, despite being secured with three additional locks.
While one bike had since been recovered, the other remained missing, with the police involved in an investigation. However, Terywall said that cyclists have told him they do not want to park their bikes there anymore.
He said: “People have told me they are uncomfortable with parking their bikes there. I think it’s a trust issue.
“At the park, you have big slide-in doors that are supposed to be one of the good things there. I don’t understand the rationale behind them because if I was a thief, I could pick up two bikes and take them through the door as it would just open automatically for me.
“The cameras are also not positioned in a good place. Both of those bike owners had three bike locks, so that was not a deterrent.”
While he said there were no “short answers” to fix the problem, Terywall suggested the use of loud sirens, alarms, and flashing lights triggered by sensors as a possible deterrent to potential thieves. “The cameras are only useful if people check them quickly enough,” he added.
The council’s advice to cyclists was triple-locking their bikes: “Ideally, both wheels and the frame should be locked to a stand as tightly as possible when left, and marking bikes with a police-approved identification scheme, such as BikeRegister, can also deter theft and assist in recovery.”
However, it would appear that no number of locks can prove to be enough to fend off the thieves. Laura Cavill, a Cambridge cyclist, commented on social media last week: “Seems like they need to improve on the ‘secure’, given someone’s triple locked bike was taken today.”
Kate Beer also wrote: “It [Park Street Cycle Park] sounds great in principle, however, as there was a theft of a triple locked bike from there only last week, so I won’t be risking it. Something needs to be done about this epidemic of bike thieves,” while Jim Dennison added: “I left my bike there once and someone stole my lights and tools off my bike so I never trusted it again.”
The Park Street Car Park was the UK’s first secure cycle park, opened in 2002 by converting 24 car parking spots to 271 cycle spaces. In November 2024, it reopened after a major redesign and redevelopment, now featuring 222 car spaces (down from 450), 23 EV charging spaces, and 239 cycle spaces in the main area, plus 10 cargo spaces in a separate room.
The facility included an automatic sliding door, shallow ramp access, widely spaced Sheffield stands and ground anchors in the cargo room. Camcycle said one of the main improvements from the original cycle park was how illuminated and spacious it had become.
However, for many cyclists, these investments haven’t been enough. Rob Izzard said: “Back in the day, I’d use this on weekdays and weekends — I loved it. Now? No chance. The chance of theft, even with CCTV and ‘secure’ doors, is too great.
“Until this problem, and especially the known thieves in and around Cambridge, are addressed, I’m walking or on the bus… It’s not something we should advertise as secure.”
The frustrations of cyclists in other UK cities were echoed by a parody sign in Chichester earlier this year, when an anonymous campaigner placed a “Bicycle Redistribution Point” sign at the city’s railway station, mocking the lack of police action.
The sign read: “Chichester Bicycle Redistribution Point. Many thanks for your donations,” with police and Southern Rail logos and the note: “Police logo included for aesthetics only (they don’t like getting involved).”
British Transport Police admitted bike thefts were “unlikely to ever be solved” and there was “limited opportunity for investigation” in many cases. However, the sign’s creator, known as CARP, told road.cc: “It’s clear that the issue here is lack of action from Southern Rail and the police.”
In Cambridge, there have been occasional successes in tackling prolific offenders. In July 2022, Joshua Collinson-Prime was jailed for six months after being caught by off-duty officers breaking the lock of a Pinnacle mountain bike in Fitzroy Street, Cambridge.
More recently, John Bruce Miller was sentenced to seven months after being caught on CCTV stealing a bike from Cambridge Station Cycle Park in November. Despite these convictions, Cambridgeshire Constabulary and campaigners acknowledged that most thefts went unsolved, with investigations hampered by limited resources and a high volume of cases.
12 thoughts on ““It’s not something we should advertise as secure”: Cycle park plagued by bike theft “epidemic”, with cyclists now too fearful to use it”
The article doesn’t make it
The article doesn’t make it clear what constitutes ‘secure’
If Chichester railway station (and Winchester railway station , apparently) are such hotspots for bike thefts, I like to know what opportunities have been taken, to arrange some kind of sting operation?
There’s a few easy ways to
There’s a few easy ways to solve this issue:
Exactly this. We’re at peak
Exactly this. We’re at peak Capital brain. Dont actually bother employing someone for a key job, just build the facility and bugger off.
Would it be too harsh to
Would it be too harsh to expect the Magistrate to order the removal of a hand from anyone nicking a bike?
It’s unclear what security
It’s unclear what security measures are supposedly in place that distinguish this from many other cycle parking spots – there is no mention of anything other than CCTV (which is not a deterrent unless it covers the whole area and is actively monitored).
I still think a covered, spacious bike park is A Good Thing, but you just have to treat it the same as any other public bike rack, and take responsibility for your own security. As per road.cc’s recent articles/reviews, this almost certainly means using an angle-grinder resistant lock (and good locking technique). I would much rather use one good lock than three easily-cut locks.
How does this compare?
How does this compare?
Secure Cycle Parking
There are 196 secure cycle lockers at MK Central train station, each with room for one standard bicycle. To hire a cycle locker costs £63.25 per year or £38 per six months with a refundable key deposit of £50. Use the form below to apply for a secure locker.
https://www.lockit-safe.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Milton-Keynes-Cycle-Lockers-4-lq.jpg
Would people pay for the security?
I was looking forward to
I was looking forward to Reading’s Cycle Hub, would have quite happily paid a few quid for a couple of hours of (hopefully) secure town centre parking. But it was not to be. I try and limit time spent in town, and with good locks too.
yes, I know several people
yes, I know several people who have rented these lockers by the station in MK
Please our ‘high security car
Please our ‘high security car park’. We provide almost no security, but expect you to remove a car wheel to provide our high security.
Grinders cut 1 lock in 10 secs & 3 in 30 secs.
the only way to improve the
the only way to improve the situation is to have permanent staff on the premesis. That will involve costs and therefore some kind of payment scheme. I think people would pay for it, if they knew their bike was really safe.
But even (expensive) multi
But even (expensive) multi storey car parks for motorists are covered in signs saying that people park there at their own risk… I’m not saying that I agree with that, but a payment scheme and staff would not be a panacea IMO.
… but as others point out
… but as others point out locks and cameras are simply a way to slow thieves and alert people (plus maybe evidence after the fact). Both need presence of humans prepared to step in to actually *stop* theft (and as we know once it’s gone that’s almost invariably the end of the matter – so cameras as evidence are limited utility also and thieves know it).