133 new cycle racks have been installed in Oxford, providing 266 additional parking spaces for cyclists across the city.
The cycle racks have been installed as part of the City Council’s work to encourage and support cycling within the city.
Of the 133 new racks, 76 are on public land and have been installed by ODS on behalf of the City Council. A further 57 racks (114 new spaces) are being installed on private land through the ‘ParkThatBike’ scheme which sees free bike racks installed in publicly accessible areas.
The new bike racks on public land have been installed at locations across the city, including:
- Banbury Road
- Beaumont Street
- Castle Street
- Divinity Road
- Cowley Road
- Frideswide Square
- Old Marston Road
- Penny Farthing Place
- Queen Street
- Rose Hill
- St Aldates Police Station
- St Giles’
- Woodstock Road
Funding for the installations has come from around £50k of capital funding, provided by Oxford City Council.
ParkThatBike
ParkThatBike aims to provide more free bicycle parking for businesses and community groups to use for visitors and staff. Overall, the project will support the introduction of approximately 100 new cycle stands, providing 200 cycle parking spaces on private land.
Businesses and community groups are encouraged to apply for the free bike racks, with five different options of stands available including root fixed and surface mounted ‘Sheffield’ bike racks, wall-mounted rails, and PlantLocks (a combined planter and bike rack).
The stands are installed by the businesses’ (with landowners’ permission), and need to be available for public use. Applications with the most public benefit are prioritised.
Successful businesses and organisations that have already been provided with free cycle stands through the ParkThatBike scheme includes:
- Donnington Doorstep
- Sequoia Seeds
- Falcon Boat Club
- St Michael at the North Gate church
- Restore
- South Oxford Adventure Playground
Businesses and organisations that are interested in receiving free bike racks can apply at ParkThatBike.
Supporting cycling in Oxford
This week is ‘Bike week’, an annual celebration of cycling which takes place from 5-11 June.
Oxford has the second highest prevalence for cycling at least once a week in the country (39% of residents), and the second highest rate of residents cycling to work (25% of residents).
Oxford City Council wants to encourage more cycling and walking, or ‘active travel’, journeys across the city to help people get the recommended level of daily exercise and to reduce congestion on the roads.
The Council is supporting a range of initiatives to cut pollution in the centre of the city, and providing more cycle routes will make it easier for residents to use one of the cleanest forms of transport.
In addition to improving general health and fitness of riders, cycling is often a quicker and cleaner way of travelling. Research shows that swapping the car for walking, cycling or e-biking even for just one day a week makes a significant impact on personal carbon emissions in cities.
“This Bike Week we are delighted to announce the arrival of over 100 new bike racks in Oxford, providing space for over 200 bikes. We want to encourage more people to cycle wherever possible, and to do this we are providing facilities to securely park their bikes close to local businesses and facilities. Especially in bike week, I am looking forward to seeing cyclists using the new racks throughout the city.”
Councillor Louise Upton, Cabinet Member for Planning and Healthier Communities
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