LIB DEM councillor for Edinburgh’s Forth Ward, Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, is to call on the city council to use their garages and lockups as public bicycle storage.
The move comes as a new Scottish Government budget is announced with local councils asking for more funding and autonomy.
Councillor Djikstra-Downie, the Scottish Liberal Democrats’ net zero spokesperson, is making the request following reports that thousands of Edinburgh cyclists are left unable to store their bicycles.
She hopes to extend the provision of bicycle storage across Edinburgh, aiming to allow cyclists to use council-owned spaces to store their bicycles.
The city council is currently operating a scheme which provides cycle hangars to residents across the city.
Initially launched in 2014, a set of six hangars were installed for public use, and after the trial was deemed a success, a further 180 were installed between 2020 and 2023.
This number has ramped up to 200 with cycle hangars due to be installed across the capital between 2024 and 2025.
Residents will have to apply for space in cycle hangars however with waiting lists reportedly topping 3,000.
Space in cycle hangars is rented with prices set at £6 a month – equating to a total of £72 for a year’s storage.
The cycle hangar scheme is supported by the local authority, but installation and management of the cycle hangars is run by a third party – Cyclehoop.
Cyclehoop claims to have provided 1,080 spaces for cyclists through their provision of cycle hangars in Edinburgh.
Data from their own website shows that the majority of their cycle hangars are full and to get a space, residents will have to apply to a waiting list.
Reports from a Freedom of Information request issued to Edinburgh City Council state that over 3,000 residents are waiting for cycle hangar space.
Councillor Djikstra-Downie aims to redress this issue with her request to make council-owned storage spaces available to residents.
