London council to ban ‘free-floating’ parking of e-bikes in borough hotspots once installation of parking bays complete

Wandsworth Council is to prohibit the parking of e-bikes on pavements in busy town centre locations, once it has finished installing 111 parking bays.

The council said responsible ‘free-floating’ parking would still be permitted away from the identified hotspots and in quieter parts of the borough.

Wandsworth said the move followed extensive local consultations. The locations of the new town centre parking bays include Clapham Junction, Tooting Broadway, Tooting Bec, Wandsworth Town, Balham and Putney.

David Tidley, Head of Transport Strategy at Wandsworth, said: “We support the use of e-bikes as they offer a convenient travel option for residents and visitors. They’re a clean and sustainable way of getting around and help to improve local air quality. We are really pleased that there have already been more than a million journeys made by e-bike in Wandsworth.

“But residents will know that there have been some challenges, with a small minority of riders abandoning bikes without any thought for pedestrians and local communities.

“These new bays will help riders to park in fixed town-centre locations and encourage considerate parking.”

A further programme of e-bike parking bays will follow later this year, Wandsworth said.

The council also encouraged members of the public to continue to report any poorly-parked or abandoned e-bikes directly to operators.