Anyone popping into Harrods for a lobster roll at lunch or to pick up a new Jimmy Choo handbag in advance of the Christmas rush may have to watch their step on nearby pavements in case they walk into a haphazardly parked e-bike.
The streets surrounding the historic department store have become the unlikely latest front in the problem of e-bikes being dumped on thoroughfares, blocking pedestrians and causing disruption to disabled people, who are trying to navigate the already densely populated paths. Residents in Kensington complain that there are so many e-bikes being parked in some of the streets that they have difficulty leaving their multi-million-pound homes. The area, they say, has turned into a “scrapyard” as tourists and commuters dump the rental bikes on the pavement when the designated collection bays are full.
Recent years have seen a sharp rise in the number of e-bikes in the capital, with operators such as Lime and Forest growing their presence on the streets. But with it has come the increasing problem of e-bikes being dumped on and around pathways, cluttering the way for pedestrians and vehicles.
Last week Transport for London (TfL) announced that e-bike companies would be fined when their cycles block roads and spaces outside underground stations.
In Kensington, Farih Tabbah said he has been unable to leave his house on Walton Place three times because of the number of cycles parked outside and dumped against walls surrounding his home. Outside his end-of-terrace home is a 10-metre bike bay where Lime and Forest e-bikes are parked.
Because of their popularity, the bay is almost always overfilled, he says, and at one time more than 90 bikes were parked on the two opposing corners of Walton Place and Hans Road, right across from the back of Harrods – far more than can be accommodated in the bay.
“I documented 93 e-bikes haphazardly strewn across the main road completely obstructing pavements and creating hazardous conditions for pedestrians … This is not merely an inconvenience – it is a blatant violation of public safety standards and a direct affront to the rights of residents, particularly elderly and disabled individuals, visually impaired people and families with children,” he said.
Although the companies routinely send vans to relieve the congestion, residents say the pavements are blocked up with e-bikes soon afterwards. On one recent afternoon, there were 60 bikes on the junction, some discarded on the footpath and others blocking tactile paving stones to alert visually impaired people that they are about to cross the road. E-bikes were also parked randomly on nearby roads including Herbert Crescent and Pavilion Road, where it was impossible to pass without going on to the road.
One resident said that “at the worst of times, you would be fortunate just to be able to walk up here. It is absolutely outrageous. [The operators] should be fined.”
Matt Kaczmarczyk, a cyclist who works in the area, took matters into his own hands by moving the e-bikes out of the way so people could pass and he could park his own bike. “I see this more and more. It is getting worse and worse,” he said.
The experiences of the well-heeled Kensington residents is one mirrored in many other areas of the capital. Brent council threatened to remove e-bikes from the borough because of abandonment and poor parking until Lime reduced the number on the streets and promised to remove errant cycles within two hours of reporting. Other new transport systems have faced similar difficulties. In the summer Melbourne banned rental e-scooters, as did Paris last year. Italy last month passed a law requiring all e-scooter riders to wear helmets and be insured. The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea council put bays in place in Kensington to tackle the problem of discarded cycles and said it had not seen e-bike operators implementing charges on users who leave the bikes outside designated parking areas. After the TfL enforcement announced last week, the council is taking advice on “applying the law in a similar way”, according to a statement.
“We remain supportive of the principle of e-bikes, but not at the expense of disabled and vulnerable people getting around the city and our narrow pavements,” said Cllr Cem Kemahli.
A spokesperson for Lime said one of the biggest issues facing the e-bike industry is overcrowded parking bays and called for more parking locations to be designated by the council. “We are working to address this issue in Kensington by enforcing mandatory parking, improving our response time to any issues raised and bolstering our Lime parking patrol, a dedicated team who tidy mis-parked bikes and overcrowded bays,” they said.
Forest also called for more parking spaces and apologised for the congestion. “Users who misuse Forest e-bikes or leave them outside of bays are warned, fined and ultimately can be banned from accessing the service,” a statement said.
