Ken wants more bike parking in London

City Hall is home to the mayor, the Greater London Authority and the London Assembly. The placement of cycle racks for visitors to City Hall will supplement the existing provision of cycle parking for 50 staff in the basement.

Many other modern central London buildings, such as Norman Foster’s ‘gherkin’, only have provision for unloading vehicles, along with a handful of car parking places for people with disabilities. This makes cycling the main form of personalised transport for staff and visitors who use these buildings.

Ken Livingstone said:

"Cycle parking for visitors should be a regular feature of life and design in central London. All new developments should be encouraged to provide it as standard and I hope that the provision of cycle racks will spread in future years."

Jenny Jones, Green Party Assembly Member, said:

“Cycling is slowly making a comeback in central London and with congestion charging it should be seen as one of the main alternatives to car use. Cycling in central London gives people the speed, freedom and flexibility which people desire, but public transport often can’t provide. Extra cycle parking is a small, but practical part of the package of traffic reduction measures in London. I hope that developers and other government buildings in central London will get this message and do their bit.”

Peter Lewis, former director of the London Cycling Campaign and Borough Patnership at City Hall welcomed the arrival of the new stands:

"It is great that visitors to City Hall can now park their bikes securely near to the building. In the past the only place available was a single lamppost that security guards alleged you were not allowed to use and threatened to remove your bike."