You don't have to be a cycling aficionado to know that London’s bike theft situation is out of control: you can barely pass a cycle rack without seeing the dismembered corpse of some poor sap’s beloved Raleigh chained to the rail. The only way for bike lovers to keep their precious pedally pals safe is to keep them locked up at night. But that's not easy to do in a city with a major shortage of cycle storage hangars.
Currently, a whopping 60,000 Londoners are on the waiting list to get a spot in a storage hangar near them. And now, they're taking to social media to raise awareness of this wheely serious problem, using the hashtag #ThisIsAwkward.
#ThisIsAwkward
— Sarah 🍓 (@SarahJ_Berry) March 8, 2022
Since my bike was stolen, there’s only one place it’s felt safe, and been possible, to store my partner’s new bike — I’m practically sleeping with it.
We need better bike storage now @cities_clean pic.twitter.com/MT3IE5UFGZ
Family living in a first-floor flat without safe bike parking storage.
— Kylie 🚲 (@netwench) March 25, 2022
The inconvenience of hauling bikes up a flight of stairs, through the flat and onto the balcony would discourage a lot of easily-commutable cycling trips.#ThisIsAwkward pic.twitter.com/MeyDmwiFKs
My partner's bike and my road bike. I have a space in a hangar (5 mins away) that I secured after a 5 year wait. Only another 5 years and we'll hopefully be able to enjoy the fireplace. #ThisIsAwkward pic.twitter.com/nHa3Hl9KXF
— Kentish Town LTN (@KentishTownLTN) March 16, 2022
There are plans to ramp up the pressure with a two week billboard campaign in Southwark and Islington displaying the most awkward photos in all their glory. Let's hope local councillors listen: the climate crisis is encouraging more and more Londoners to travel by bike, and they deserve a safe space to stash their cycles when their commutes are done.
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