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Mr Edwards outside his Great Pulteney Street home with bikes chained around a tree by cyclists |
Bikes being chained to trees as cycling boom goes on
BICYCLES are increasingly being chained to lamp-posts, railings and even trees in Soho.
Community leaders say a cycling boom, following the July 7 bombings and the congestion charge, has caught council environment chiefs unprepared.
Bike racks are in short supply and cyclists are forced to leave their rides chained to trees and stacked on top of each other, damaging trees and restricting walkways.
“It’s visual pollution,” said John Edwards, chairman of the Great Pulteney Street and Bridle Lane Residents Association.
“They pile them up on top of each other and leave locks overnight on trees. We spent three years getting trees planted in Great Pulteney Street. The joy of having a tree is destroyed because the bikes make them so ugly. It is disrespect for private property and anti-social.”
He added: “We don’t want more signs saying ‘no bicycles’ because there are enough already and it is like being at school.”
Mr Edwards, who lives in Great Pulteney Street, added: “I’m not anti-bike. It’s just that the council don’t acknowledge it – because there is no money in it, I suppose.” |
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