Liberal Democrats Call for Mobile Parking Bays to Solve Lime Bike Issues

The Liberal Democrats have written to the council to demand urgent action to resolve inconsiderate parking of Lime bikes across the borough, after they secured in-principle commitments from Lime on solutions. In particular, the Liberal Democrats are calling for: 

• The council to utilise Lime’s £1 million parking infrastructure fund
• A dedicated Southwark hotline to report issues with parking
• To deploy “mobile parking bays” in hotspots such as London Bridge

In a meeting between Lime – the largest dockless cycle operator in London - and the opposition group, Lime confirmed that usage of the bikes had doubled in the last year in Southwark.

The Liberal Democrats have now written to the council demanding action to address the increasing issues experienced particularly around Elephant and Castle, Borough and London Bridge, and Canada Water.

One of their suggestions is to roll out “mobile parking bays” - where rather than waiting for reports of issues, during peak times Lime’s collection vans would be already at prime locations such as Borough Market for users to directly drop off their bikes into. The Lib Dems say this would help reduce inconsiderate parking and make the redistribution process much more efficient

The Liberal Democrats also called for the council to take up the open offer Lime has made to make whatever investment is necessary to make the scheme work in Southwark. Whilst some parking bays have started to be implemented, the rollout has been slow, and requires investment from Lime that they have openly said they’re happy to offer.

Following from complaints from residents about inconsiderate parking, the Liberal Democrats have also called on Lime to implement a Southwark specific hotline for residents to call or text to report problematic usage or parking of the dockless bikes

In the meeting between Lime and the Liberal Democrats, Lime welcomed the suggestions, but the Liberal Democrats understand that any changes to operations would have to be agreed to by the council. 

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Leader of the Opposition and Borough and Bankside Ward Councillor, Cllr Victor Chamberlain said:

“I’m pleased to have secured commitments in principle from Lime to implement changes that would resolve the mounting problems residents are enduring with Lime bikes.

Dockless bikes can be an important part of reducing emissions and encouraging active travel, but Lime and the council must work with communities to ensure that it’s a solution that works for everyone.

We’re encouraged that Lime is working constructively with the council, but it’s clear that this Labour administration needs to go much further in showing leadership on this issue.

Lime are ready to do the work and offer the resources needed, the Liberal Democrats and local communities have solutions, so what is the council waiting for?”

Following recent news that local authorities will be granted extra powers to tackle inconsiderate cycle parking, Cllr Chamberlain added:

“Whilst these changes are welcome to help stop bikes blocking pavements, they will take time to implement. Residents need action now - we know that many of the issues could already have been resolved if the council had the willpower to do so. When we met with Lime they confirmed they were very happy to roll out a number of Liberal Democrat suggestions such as mobile parking bays, but cannot make such changes without the council's agreement. 

Yet again what we're seeing is more buck-passing from a Labour council who refuse to accept responsibility for their failure”