To achieve this the council believes dockless hire e-bikes should only be parked in dedicated spaces off the pavement, but there are currently no laws to enforce this.
The council first called on the Government last summer to give councils the powers needed to tackle this issue. That call has now been restated to MPs amid growing concern about across London.
A voluntary agreement was reached between dockless bike operators and Lambeth Council last year that the dockless hire e-bikes had to be parked in one of 240 bays installed across the borough.
But because this is a voluntary agreement the concerns persist.
On Tuesday Cllr Rezina Chowdhury, Lambeth’s Deputy Leader (Sustainable Lambeth and Clean Air), spoke at the all-party parliamentary group on walking and cycling – which aims to influence government policy – to call for urgent regulation of this industry.
Cllr Chowdhury said: “I explained to the parliamentary group that we remain concerned about dockless hire e-bikes being left on the pavement because they can cause a real hazard, especially if you’re a wheelchair user, visually impaired or pushing a buggy or pram.
“The measures we have taken to date are only on a voluntary basis.
“Despite efforts in Lambeth and by other London boroughs, we lack the legal power needed to control how these bikes operate on our streets. We are continuing calls for the Government to give councils, or Transport for London, the power to act to really tackle this situation.
“Supporting active travel is vital to help tackle the climate crisis, and we are committed to boroughwide cycle hire. Dockless hire bikes are important if we are to achieve that without spending lots of extra money. But, providing access to bikes is not enough, we need to ensure people are safe on our streets.”
Lambeth Council has already invested heavily in making it easier for people to get around by walking, cycling, wheeling and using public transport, with a series of protected bike lanes, school streets and healthy neighbourhood projects.
This month Lambeth Council set out its next steps for its ambitious plans to make the borough’s neighbourhoods safer and healthier for all, especially local children, the vulnerable and the elderly.
Lambeth still has some of the country’s most polluted air, lacks outdoor space for exercise and socialising for the many local people who live in flats, and dangerous roads resulting in too many people getting injured.
To address this a new Healthy Neighbourhood Plan has been set out to build on the pioneering work already undertaken in Lambeth, and to work alongside local residents to create a better future.
