Lime bikes or actually some of the selfish, thoughtless, dumb, inconsiderate morons that use these bikes and leave them in the most inconvenient places need prosecuting.
If you use one of these bikes, don't just dump it and leave it up so someone else has to get the bike moved because you are a selfish moron and sort out your mess because you are a lazy so and so.
These bikes which cause or create an obstruction should be crushed.
You can also contact then through their website, but all you get are platitudes, after much searching I found the number I posted above and spoke with someone Outside of the UK, but at least a human who seems to have had the issue dealt with. Also posted on Fix my Street and regular updating on the Lime website.
When supermarket trolleys were being dumped all over the place Lewisham Council impounded them and charged the supermarkets for their return. Now shoppers have to deposit a pound (last time I used one) to get a trolley. I don't think we have this problem anymore.
It staggers me how the Lime users get away with bikes just being dumped like that as they have to take a picture after they've finished using the bike to show it's been left in a safe place.
Having recently used a Lime bike for the first time, I think I can understand why there are certain hotpots for bikes being dumped in large numbers.
The app controls the amount of assist the bikes give riders along their ride reducing this and the max speed in certain higher risk areas.
Unfortunately this seems very badly thought out, and the bikes cease to function at all in certain areas, and give dangerously and frustratingly low amounts of assist in others. The South Circ for example is limited to 8mph. I'm sure this is what causes some riders to reach a certain point and just stop. At 21p per min, you don't want to pay that to push a tank up the road.
They have their use, but certainly need more managing of where they can be left without penalty.
Definitely a LOT more appearing now though. Maybe the station would be a good hub, or the old bus stands on Westbourne.
I also saw 4 parked outside Sainsbury's. Clearly they're an important mobility option for some people, maybe can't afford to run their car anymore, maybe they prefer them for environmental reasons, or they're nicer than public transport to do the shopping run.
Agreed some of the pavement parking is atrocious, so what are the options? Should they be parked on the street in parking spots, or should we try to campaign for designated parking for them, as suggested up at the station or in the car park behind Sainsbury's.
From a previous thread on another forum about cars parking on pavements:
"There is now a number you can call to report it (as well as idling vehicles) - 02087875397, option 5."
It comes down to the age old issue... People.
Common sense says leave them in a suitable spot, but some people can't be bothered. The option to end the ride almost anywhere and leave the bike is important, but should be done within reason. But some people struggle with that part.
For as long as dockless bikes and scooters exist, and people can get away with it, the issues will continue. Some might argue that if you are offended by where one parks, and are able to, move it. But that's unfair really as it should be the rider doing that.
Would be nice if there were official spots to leave them. But as an example, if I rode from Lewisham to Forest Hill, and was expected to end the ride at the station, with minimal assist, going up around the corner by Devonshire, I would be compelled not to bother.
More work needs to be done by Lime on its zones, limits and expectations of its riders.
Between Forest Hill and Brockley Rise, I counted at less 8 Lime bikes abandoned some blocking footpaths. The council enforcement team which is a joke in itself are responsible for removing bicycles from public areas if they are classed as abandoned: A bicycle may be classed as abandoned, if it meets one or more of the following criteria:
It is secured in a dangerous way (i.e. blocking the public highway)
It is secured to a council cycle rack and considered unroadworthy (see below)
When it is reported by a member of the public and assessed as unroadworthy or in a dangerous position
When it is noted as not having moved for a reasonable period of time – several weeks and can be destroyed under the Ametiy Refuse Act 1978
A bicycle that is defined as unroadworthy will have sustained one or more of the following:
I spotted hundreds of abandoned cars in the area, some of them parking on zig zags, others on pavements, some don't have VED or MOTs. The council enforcement team hasn't given anyone a parking ticket on my street since before Covid.
They're abandoned on both sides of the street which makes them too narrow for two way traffic, sometimes I even get stuck behind a bin lorry and can't get past. Loads of deserted private property, not even shareable, just littering the streets. It's so normalised it seems odd to even challenge it. I don't set up my shed outside my front door.
But seriously if you're going to use the 'abandoned' argument perhaps first think about how we bias our public space towards cars, how much land they take up in proportion to bicycles - ride sharing is literally pick up drop off anywhere, they're not abandoned, simply parked. Why not get Lime to instruct riders to park their bikes on the street like other vehicles so they don't block the pavement for pedestrians? No reason at all these bikes should be on the pavement either. Why shouldn't a ride share bike use the same parking spots as cars? What's better - pavement or road space?
Well, well, well isn't that a surprise (not ) that you step in to defend Lime bikes. Suggest you declare your interest in the promotion of cycling and anti car bias.
The cycle rack outside Costa is the most sensible place on London Road to park them where the pavement width is wide enough to cope with them and pedestrians.
The one outside Sainsbury's isn't where it's already cluttered with standard bikes.
Problem with using that location is the Lime Bike app reduces the power of the bikes in that area, so they become extremely unattractive to use. Same for the south circ from Catford. I'm sure that's why they keep being dumped like that.
Westbourne Drive this morning has 3 across the pavement.
Needs a collaboration from local authorities and Lime to have go to areas, where the bikes work properly.
Other issue is of course the whole idea of Lime is dockless, and not having to take a bike to an area nowhere near where you were riding too.
Ultimately it needs people to be a little less selfish, but that's not gon a happen.
This post was last modified: 13-09-2022 12:35 PM by Snazy.
The speed restriction as soon as you get into Forest Hill is ridiculous, by the time you reach Sydenham Rise, the bikes only go up to 8mph. Earlier in the summer you could ride them along Dartmouth Road, but they become unusable.
Parking has also changed, you can park them as far as Century Walk, but you can't park them at Forest Hill Station while the vast majority of SE23 is now in a no-ride zone.
Search
Help
