There is much to admire about Waltham Forest Council’s support for cycling but bike theft, especially outside train stations, is putting residents like me off cycling

By David O’Driscoll

The benefits of cycling are numerous, which includes our physical and mental well-being, the sheer practicality of getting about and improved air quality for everyone. 

Over the years, there has been much to admire about the Waltham Forest Council’s support for cycling. After winning the bid for Mini Holland, a car-free scheme, they implemented it so we can enjoy safe cycling across the borough, despite huge initial opposition. 

Other successes include the Tour de Waltham Forest, the Dr Bike free repair scheme and the bike storage hangers.  The hangers seem to be in every street across Waltham Forest.  Today there is no doubt that the streets are safer for cycling and has resulted in more cycle journeys across London.  

But there is a huge problem that is not being addressed in any meaningful way: cycle theft, an example being the bike stands outside Blackhorse Road station. After I had my bike lifted, I talked with one of the station staff, who told me it seems to be a daily occurrence.  They often have to deal with upset and angry people.  What’s more, it is all happening in plain sight, often in the middle of the day, with fewer people about. A clearly organised crime.  

Bike theft is a lucrative business, and one of the main reasons is that little attention is paid to catching the thieves. The Metropolitan police do not seriously investigate this in any meaningful way, so the reported recovery of stolen bikes is 1%.

To put it another way you are more likely to win the lottery than get your bike back. The British Transport Police, in a recent report, says it will not investigate bike thefts outside train stations where the bicycle has been left for more than two hours. 

What can be done? Simon Munk from the London Cycling Campaign has contrasted the City of London Police response to cycle theft with the Met’s, giving the example of how the City police tracked the bike thieves, make arrests, and as a result, cycle theft in the city of London was drastically reduced. 

Munk also pointed out that at Blackhorse Road, there is only one secure parking shelter, compared to Walthamstow Central, which has four, as the council has added extra due to demand.  There seems to be the need for another shelter at least at Blackhorse Road, but Munk believes the ground around the station is not owned by London Transport but by Network Rail, and they seemed to oppose the idea of bike storage.  They also operated the camera at Blackhorse Road directly focused on the bikes, but it is not clear what purpose it is used for it.  

While it is great to see Waltham Forest Council support cycling in multiple ways, the reality is that up to a quarter of people who have their bikes stolen do not take up cycling again. Clearly as local authorities and police don’t take bike theft seriously as far as I can see, these statistics are not going to improve any time soon. 

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