Monday 17 November 2014

Expansion to the Olympic Park

Good news that a small expansion of the cycle hire scheme has been announced into the Olympic Park. Eight docking stations will provide 320 docking points. Construction will begin in 2015 and the stations will be opened by early 2016. They will be the first docking points in Newham borough.

There has been criticism of the cycle infrastructure in the Park, but overall I think conditions are appealing enough for a good uptake of cycling in the area. The most popular area for Boris biking currently is Hyde Park; perhaps the Olympic Park will be an eastern hub of similar appeal, also providing some revenue to TfL's coffers.

The news of the extension comes after good news on hire figures during the summer months.

But still there is no news on any further extension in the south, especially to Bermondsey and Camberwell in Southwark borough. This summer TfL had promised that further sites would be sought within the existing zones to intensify the scheme. To my knowledge, none have so far been realised.