21st December – Green Councillor Caroline Russell has welcomed a commitment by Islington Council to apply for funding for bike hangars across the borough.
At a council meeting on Thursday 15th, Islington community nurse and Highbury Quadrant resident, Ciara Murphy, spoke of her difficulties as a cyclist who relies on her bike for work. She described huge amounts of time wasted and delays caused whilst trying to find places to park her bike safely during visits to her patients and doctor’s surgeries. She also raised the lack of permanent bike parking on the Quadrant, which means that people have to store their bikes in corridors and on balconies.
Responding to the council’s new commitment, Ciara said:
“My bike provides an affordable and efficient way to do my job as a community nurse. The only issue is the struggle finding anywhere to safe to lock my bike on many estates that I visit. It’s a relief to hear that the Council will now install more bike parking, which will give me more time with my patients.”
Caroline Russell said:
“I was both surprised and delighted to hear Councillor Webbe say ‘Hey it’s Christmas, let’s provide bike hangars in Islington!” I hope she understands that we need both permanent bike hangers where people live, and also temporary parking for visitors to ensure people such as Ciara can move around Islington for work or leisure, without struggling to park their bike.
She continued: “I welcome Cllr Webbe’s commitment, and I hope that she will go further and pursue a more systematic approach to installing bike parking. We shouldn’t have to rely on residents coming to the chamber to make requests. Funding is available from Transport for London for bike parking, so I do hope the Council will waste no time in applying for it, and in the meantime, I’m very happy to hear from anyone with ideas for new bike parking locations.”