Dorset Council wants to know what Weymouth residents think about their plans to relocate cycle parking facilities in the town.
The existing cycle shelter has been in a bad way for a couple of years. The structure has been set fire to, broken into and damaged from vandals climbing on it. Maintenance and management costs have been high, while the shelter itself does not generate any means of paying for these repairs.
Users of the current shelter access it with a fob. When it first opened lots of cyclists made use of the shelter, but usage has dropped off over the years leaving the facility with far fewer users than envisaged. This is despite a large number of people currently placed on a waiting list for access fobs, showing a real appetite for cyclists wanting casual parking for their bikes in the area.
The location of the shelter is also not ideal. Government advice suggests that secure parking for cyclists should not be more than 100m from their actual destination; Westham Bridge is more than 100m from any prominent location in the town centre.
There is also a need for more cycle parking for residents, particularly in parts of Weymouth which have a high number of flats. This is in contrast to the cycle shelter at Westham Bridge, which was built mainly for the benefit of visitors.
The Council is proposing to remove the shelter, and work with Weymouth Town Council to find alternative – and better – cycle parking in and around Weymouth town centre. We want to know what Weymouth residents think about the suggested shelter removal and find out where people think new facilities could be installed.
Cycle parking has already been introduced as part of the temporary layout at Custom House Quay and is currently very well used. Dorset Council has similar temporary units which can be trialled in other places around the town where space is available, in response to any ideas proposed, to see how they perform and measure demand.
Cllr Ray Bryan, Dorset Council’s Portfolio Holder for Highways, Travel and Environment, said:
“Cycling plays a key role in our aspirations to reduce traffic and the pollution it creates in Weymouth as part of our Climate and Ecological Emergency strategy and action plan. But we cannot expect people to leave their cars at home and hop on their bike if we don’t have the appropriate facilities in place to help them.
The shelter on Westham Bridge has had its day. It’s costly, under-used, frequently vandalised – putting it out of use for everyone – and is too far away from the town centre to be of any benefit to most Weymouth residents. We want to make sure we’ve got everyone on board for our plans to remove it, but we also want to hear from local people about suggestions as to where alternative facilities could be placed in and around the town.
Whether you’re a local cyclist or someone who is considering cycling more in the future, we’d love to hear from you regarding our plans and if you have any ideas about where in Weymouth such a cycle parking facility would be welcomed and well-used. Please take a couple of minutes to fill in the survey, thank you.”
The survey can be found online and will be open until Sunday 4 July.
it seems a sensible plan, except that massed pedestrians and speeding bikes do not combine well (as I find daily on the Esplanade). Some thought will need to be given on how to avoid accidents (as it has not been on the Esplanade).
“… while the shelter itself does not generate any means of paying for these repairs.” Presumably this means you are intending to start charging bikes to park in the more convenient and enhanced shelters? I would just point out that residents of the area already pay a very high Council Tax for the services we receive, and it might be a sop to consider providing local cyclists with these ‘fobs’ free of charge, leaving visitors to pick up the tab for a change.
Why was it put there in the first place if if should have been 100metres from destination- presumably meaning town – when the Government had issued guidelines? Have only ever seen one or two bikes in there and that was a while ago. Was sighted too far from town.
Will someone take responsibility for this mistake.
Typical Council’s wrong decision again. Such a waste always of ratepayers money.