Loading...
29 view(s)
How many empty spaces are there in your local cycle parking facility? Whether outside your office, in the basement of your apartment block, at student accommodation, or lined up at a train station; rows of unused steel bike racks are a common sight across the UK.
Compare this with cities like Amsterdam, Ghent, or Copenhagen, where you are more likely to find three bikes crammed to every stand, and the difference is stark. Despite good intentions and growing investment, the UK’s active travel picture can sometimes feel disheartening.
For planners, developers, and councils, cycle parking has become an important feature of new developments–and rightly so. It can help boost cycling numbers, reduce on-street bike theft, and work toward net-zero targets. However, new research from the City Property Association (CPA) warns that well-meaning, but rigid planning standards could, in some cases, actually be holding back progress.
The CPA report, published earlier this year, raises concerns that current cycle parking planning requirements might unintentionally be adding unnecessary costs and an unwanted environmental burden on buildings. The large volumes stipulated, which are based on fixed ratios tied to building size or occupancy, could be leading to underused facilities, adding to missed opportunities for more flexible end-of-trip designs.
To understand how these challenges play out in the real world, we spoke with Sam Turney, Head of Cycling UK’s Cycle Friendly Building accreditation programme. Through his work helping landlords and developers create better cycling environments, Sam is an important voice of what is and isn’t working, and has some important insight on the UK needs to get more people cycling.
A tale of two cities?
In London, cycling has been on a steady rise for a number of years now, with levels up a dramatic 26% on 2019. For Sam, Grade A commercial developments in the capital have come on leaps and bounds in recent years.
"Cycle storage and End-of-Trip facilities are no longer a nice-to-have. They are now a crucial part of development and redevelopment of buildings," he explains. “Factors like MEES 2030 may divert some funding, but will also provide an opportunity to see these standards improve across the board as buildings become more sustainable.”
Outside London and other major cities, though, progress is slower. Turney notes that "the quality is generally lower," often due to a mix of stronger car dependency and weaker public transport options.
This regional imbalance means that national cycle parking standards, when applied uniformly, can sometimes miss the mark. For instance, what makes sense in a high-density urban centre may not always work in a suburban or rural setting.
When good intentions could risk creating new problems
Cycle parking is important, there’s no doubt about that. Getting the numbers right for new developments, however, is not quite so simple. With the CPA report highlighting the risk of rigid planning rules creating unintended negative consequences, we asked Sam whether this rings true in the real world.
“There are a few potentially negative side effects,” explains Sam. "The financial and carbon impact of installing a set number of racks can make a development or redevelopment non-viable," he says. This is because many developers, eager to deliver sustainable buildings, are increasingly conscious of the embodied carbon costs of materials like steel.
There is also a psychological challenge. If large cycle facilities sit empty, it can send a discouraging message. "After installing all of the cycle parking, it has the potential to drive a negative bias of 'nobody is cycling, so I will not either,'" Sam points out.
Rather than mandating a fixed quota, Sam suggests a more flexible approach. He advocates for planning systems that allow developers to phase cycle parking over time. "Space for pop-up gyms, cafes or community hubs could be reserved for future expansion," he says, so that cycle provision can grow organically as demand increases.
Moving beyond the numbers
Cycling UK’s Cycle Friendly Building accreditation is one way to shift thinking beyond simple number allocations. Rather than focusing solely on capacity, it encourages developers to think about the overall cycling experience–surely the primary goal in the first place.
"The overall goals are twofold," explains Sam. "Firstly, to help landlords develop better facilities for those cycling to their buildings, and secondly, to make sure users understand that they can, and should, cycle to work."
Getting cycle parking right involves more than installing bike racks and stands. Design, accessibility, security, and the integration of end-of-trip facilities like showers and lockers all play a role in making cycling a viable commuting choice.
Smarter planning for sustainable growth
Planning and standards can help raise the bar of cycle parking and infrastructure, of course, but rigidity has its drawbacks. If Sam could change just one thing in current planning policy, it would be to introduce that greater level of flexibility.
"More joined-up thinking," he says. “Giving developers the ability to flex and phase their cycle facilities would make it easier to balance ambition with real-world usage.” It would also help developments adapt over time as cycling habits change.
This adaptive approach could help close the gap between the UK and much of Europe. As Sam puts it, "In an ideal world, more people would already be cycling, and the narrative would be about how to get more cycle parking into buildings." Instead, building that culture will require a combination of infrastructure, policy, behaviour change, and above all, patience.
Of course, it’s campaigning that can make this happen. Dutch cities are evidence of this.
“We will only catch cities like these up with holistic and pragmatic measures approaching the problem from all angles,” says Sam. “Something that we at Cycling UK work tirelessly to achieve through our grassroots Behaviour Change programmes, as well as our local and national campaigning.”
Why thoughtful cycle parking facilities matter
Despite the challenges, there is no doubt that high-quality cycle parking and End-of-trip facilities are a vital part of the journey towards more sustainable towns and cities.
When done well, they make cycling a more attractive, convenient choice for daily journeys, reducing car dependency and lowering emissions. They also support broader goals around public health, community wellbeing, and better urban liveability.
For developers and landlords, cycle-friendly infrastructure is becoming an important marker of quality and forward-thinking design. Facilities that genuinely meet a user’s needs can improve occupier satisfaction, boost property values, and enhance a building’s ESG performance.
Rather than cast a negative shadow over cycle parking, the CPA’s research is a timely reminder that good intentions need good execution. Cycle parking planning must be smart, flexible, and centred around real behaviour, not just capacity numbers. With careful thought and planning, the UK can create developments that not only encourage cycling today, but well into the future.