Kingston residents voiced their frustrations over e-bike parking in the area, with abandoned bikes causing obstructions on local pavements.
The bikes, manufactured by electric vehicle giant Lime, can be parked in public bicycle racks or neatly at the side of pavements.
However, residents expressed concerns about the number of bikes left causing problems for pedestrians.
New Malden resident, Shelley McClean, said: “I am a mobility scooter user and I am tired of having to try and get around pay-as-you-go bicycles that have been left in the middle of pavements. It doesn’t matter where you go these days, you can more or less guarantee there will be at least one bicycle on your route.”
These concerns were echoed by Enid Palmer, a fellow mobility aid user, who said she had struggled to get around an e-bike that had been parked blocking her gate.
Similar problems were detailed by Martina Howley, a local resident, who described the bikes as “a hazard to the blind, disabled, wheelchair users, parents with pushchairs and toddlers learning to ride bikes”.
Lime has online processes in place to tackle illegally parked vehicles, including both an in-app report option and a digital complaint form.
However, residents have found that despite contacting the company, the problems have persisted.
Kingston local, Helen Stoddard, approached Lime to complain about bikes being left in private parking spaces on her road.
She said that despite Lime notifying their local operations team to remove the bikes, this offered only a temporary solution and bikes continued to be left in private spaces.
Another local resident, Louise Barnes, similarly contacted Lime over a bike that had been abandoned near her home.
She said that although Lime replied to say they would escalate the situation, the bike remained nearby over nine months later.
In an attempt to find a long-term solution to the issue Transport for London is currently liaising with London Councils to explore how to provide space for dockless bikes to be parked safely.
Some London boroughs have already implemented designated parking bays, however these are currently not available in Kingston.
In a request for comment, Kingston Council said: “The Council does not have an agreement for Lime to operate in Kingston. We cannot remove or impound them, but you can report abandoned bikes on our website.”
Lime have been approached for comment regarding residents’ concerns, but at the time of publication had not responded.
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