Around the boroughs - Wandsworth

Story so far: Wandsworth is a blank canvass, having not been a location in the initial phase or the 2012 extension

Coming soon: 60 docking stations will cover the northern parts of the borough, extending the scheme out from Vauxhall in the east as far as Putney in the west. Highlights will include Battersea Power Station and Battersea Park. The largest dock will be at Clapham Junction. The Council has details of all the new docking stations on its website. Due to the expansion north of the river it will be possible to cross Chelsea, Prince Albert, Wandsworth and Putney bridges and find docks on the other shore. Wandsworth does not have fantastic streets for cycling (the south circular for example is pretty scary for anyone on a bike) but hopefully the arrival of Boris bikes will spur the development of new, safer routes.

The future? Cycle hire could be extended into the south of the borough in due course, and the major redevelopment of the Nine Elms area is an opportunity to develop high quality cycling facilities which link in with the extension of the Northern Line.

Boris rating: 5

Superdock for Clapham Junction?

Facing its Waterloo? Docks going in on Grant Road

As part of the southwestern extension of the bikes this autumn/winter, a new docking station is under construction on Grant Road, one of the two exits from Clapham Junction rail station. And it's huge. About 80 docking plates are already in the road surface, and contractors are continuing along the road installing more. Assuming all are put into use there will be space for almost 150 bikes, a bigger station than Waterloo. Good move? On the whole yes, it will catch commuters coming through Clapham who might work with a 30-minute cycle of the station, just as the Waterloo station has been immensely popular in providing onward journeys from that station. Grant Road is also fairly quiet, so it's a good location to site the station.

Nearly 150 docking points coming to Clapham

Two caveats come to my mind however. Firstly, the dock is nowhere near as close to Clapham Junction as the Waterloo equivalent. On exiting onto Grant Road you can see buses and taxis, but the docks will be a couple of minutes walk to the left. In addition, the main exit from the station is actually at the other end, onto St John's Hill. It's not at all evident to me whether any docks will be put in on that side.

Nonetheless it is a bold decision to create this superdock, and when it opens we'll get a sense of how well it works. A major problem with many of the existing docks is that they are too small and difficult to manage well. It's great to see some lessons being learned in the new generation of docking stations.

Also in the news ...

Are Boris bikes coming to East Grinstead? Well, this article says they might be, though no timetable has been set. What isn't clear is that 'Boris bikes' is now a shorthand for any bike hire scheme. Like these articles about Birmingham and Southend. So let's find out a bit more before I head off on my bike to East Grinstead looking for the docking station!

Will Boris bikes endanger the residents of the Ashmole Estate in Oval? Shades of Lavender Gardens here - I shan't say more.

Wandsworth wants more Boris Bikes

As part of the 2013/14 expansion, TfL has announced a major expansion of the scheme southwards and westwards. Only parts of Wandsworth borough are covered however, and campaigners, especially in the south of the borough, are pushing for bikes across the entire borough. They also urge the bikes to be installed at Clapham Junction.

If you have views you can email them to transportation@wandsworth. gov.uk

I wholeheardedly support the Clapham proposal. It seems idiotic to leave it out, when bikes close to stations (think of Waterloo) are among the most popular. In my own response to the plans for the borough, I also identified Battersea Park as a major omission, as leisure cycling would benefit from a station there, and help new users build confidence before they head out onto London's busy streets.

The campaign for bikes in the rest of Wandsworth also has merit, but with so many other boroughs actively campaigning for the bikes, it's a matter of allocation of resources. Southwark, another central London borough, has been woefully neglected so far. In Lambeth, Brixton will remain a Boris bike desert.

All this makes me wonder why the mayor is bringing forward plans for a new road tunnel in east London for cars and lorries. At the cost of millions of pounds, we will get increased congestion and more pollution, when if the money were instead invested in cycling, everyone would benefit from cleaner and greener streets - a real cycling revolution for London. I've responded to TfL's consultation opposing the plans and calling for investment in sustainable transport - maybe you can too.

Coming soon to Clapham Junction - Boris Bikes!

News from Wandsworth is that plans are underway for a docking station at Clapham Junction as part of the expansion into Wandsworth borough, expected by 2013. With a new dock planned for Parliament, and pressure on for expansion into Brixton and Highgate and Hampstead, it looks like the scheme is set to grow and grow.

I'm cycling up to Camden later today, where I believe the new Parkway dock is now in service.