Fancy grabbing a hire bike outside your front door? Waltham Forest Council wants to know what you think, because it has just opened a public consultation on allowing dockless e-bikes across the borough.
It is a significant shift. The previous Labour administration banned operators such as Lime and Forest from the borough altogether. The new Green party leader, Councillor Paul Perkins, announced the consultation on social media, saying: "This is already the best borough to cycle in, but we want to give you even more green and easy options."
The borough already has nearly 60 kilometres of cycle lanes and more than 1,000 bike hangars. What is on the table now is a scheme built around designated parking bays, brought in gradually and with strict rules for the operators.
Two sides to it
The idea has split opinion. Leytonstone resident Carmen Christensen, whose petition backing dockless bikes gathered more than 1,400 signatures, points to how useful they are: "I rely on Lime bikes to get around, especially if I'm coming back from a friend's place at night."
Others worry about bikes left across pavements and whether anyone will actually enforce the rules. Walthamstow resident Keith Foster shared photographs of abandoned bikes at Walthamstow Wetlands, and said: "Clutter is clearly happening despite the system not even having started."
Conservative leader Emma Best also raised enforcement, particularly in the less densely populated parts of the borough, warning that similar schemes elsewhere "have made pavements inaccessible, especially for those with disabilities."
Lime UK's Alice Pleasant welcomed the consultation, and highlighted better connections across the borough boundary into neighbouring Hackney and Haringey.
How to take part
There is a borough-wide survey asking where you would want parking bays and which areas need extra thought. Feedback sessions are also planned at local venues over the coming weeks — so if you have a view either way, this is the moment it counts.
