Greenwich Council will finally introduce an initial 29 parking bays for Lime bikes – and is set to sign an agreement so Forest bike users will have to use them too.
Plans to introduce 55 locations were revealed in August last year, mostly in Deptford, Greenwich and Blackheath, but objections by residents mean this total has been whittled down to fewer than 30 for the initial rollout.
Dockless hire bikes have been a hugely popular way of getting around London in recent years – but they have led to a huge number of complaints about bikes left blocking pavements. Last year, backbench Labour councillors in Greenwich even threatened to ban Lime.
However, complaints about introducing bays appear to be slowing down efforts to deal with the problem.
Because Transport for London lacks the power to license operators on a city-wide basis, the capital’s boroughs have to strike their own individual deals.
Two operators – Lime and Forest – are regular sights in the northwest of the borough, covering an area roughly west of Charlton Church Lane and Old Dover Road.
An agreement with Lime has finally been signed, and now Greenwich plans to sign a similar memorandum of understanding with Forest, according to papers on the council website.
Lewisham Council announced that it had signed a deal with both companies in March.
Both councils hope the deals mean they can better deal with bikes that have been left blocking pavements and force operators to up their game. Lewisham has had bays in place in the north of its borough since 2024.
Forest will pay Greenwich £30,000 plus an annual fee of £170 per dockless bike bay. The deal will last for a year, but can be renewed for up to two more years.
The deal, which is based on a template used across London, will outline the areas within the borough where bikes can be used, areas where use is not permitted and areas where bikes are limited to slower speeds.
It will also set rules for the maximum and minimum number of bikes to be provided within each scheme area; the timeframe for operators to respond to issues with bikes; the servicing and maintenance regimes for the bikes, and the customer service available to users and to people reporting issues with bikes.
The 29 locations included in the first rollout are areas where no site-specific objections have been received. Council officers are now reviewing the other 26 locations. No timeframe is given for the rollout, which the council hopes to eventually extend to the whole borough.
The first locations: Trevithick Street, Tarves Way (two bays), Deptford Green, Deptford Church Street, Gonson Street, Thames Path by Clarence Road, Welland Street, Cutty Sark Gardens, Greenwich High Road, Devonshire Drive, Duke Humphrey Road, Royal Hill, Point Hill, Whitworth Street, Banning Street, Tunnel Avenue (two bays), Glenforth Street, Frobisher Street, West Parkside, Horn Link Way , Maze Hill (two bays), Crooms Hill, Anchor and Hope Lane, Old Woolwich Road, Hardy Road, Ulundi Road.
The full list of locations, showing where objections have been received in dark blue, is on this map.
• Lime bikes used by food delivery drivers have been allowed to circumvent speed limits in Greenwich Park and other “go-slow” areas, London Centric reported on Tuesday. The bikes are restricted to 8mph in parks and pedestrian areas, but delivery riders were briefly allowed to go faster while testing a scheme to encourage them to use Lime bikes rather than illegal customised bikes. Lime told the newsletter it would be reinstating the speed limits.
❤️ Get better local news on your phone. Add The Greenwich Wire as a preferred source on Google.
📩 Follow The Greenwich Wire on Bluesky, Facebook, LinkedIn or Threads. You can also sign up for WhatsApp alerts – or subscribe to our emails through the blue box above.
You must be logged in to post a comment.