Nottingham: E-bikes putting blind people at risk, says charity

Users are required to leave bikes upright in painted parking bays

Blind people are at risk of injuring themselves due to "dangerous" electric bikes being dumped on pavements in Nottingham, a charity has said.

The National Federation of the Blind of the UK (NFBUK) has called for the "unsafe" e-bikes to be removed and docking stations to be installed.

The 700-bike scheme launched this month in a partnership between Nottingham City Council and operators Lime.

The council said it would work with Lime to "address any issues".

The e-bikes are available to hire via an app on a pay-as-you-go basis and users are required to leave them at designated parking bays, which have been painted on to pavements.

The National Federation of the Blind says the bikes have been blocking pedestrian crossings

Sarah Gayton, street access campaign coordinator for the NFBUK, said bikes had been "causing dangerous obstructions on pavements and at pedestrian crossing" following a visit to the city on Sunday.

"Blind and visually impaired people would have a nightmare trying to navigate the pavements," she said.

"The bikes will obstruct people who need to use the pavement and create dangerous situations.

"People will end up tripping over them, they can get injured and their accessible routes will be blocked."

'Some concern'

The charity has said installing physical docking stations - similar to the Santander Cycles scheme in London - would help alleviate the issue.

Ms Gayton added: "You cannot make cities greener cities by taking away the pavement space.

"You can't have sustainability without accessibility - it just doesn't work. The scheme is unsafe and it isn't working. It's just a nightmare."

The scheme has seen the rollout of hundreds of e-bikes across the city

The council says some bike racks will be introduced at "key locations across the city" over the coming weeks.

A spokesperson said: "We understand there may be some concern about where these new e-bikes will be left in the city as part of this rental scheme and we will support the operator Lime to address any issues."

Lime said riders were required to take an "end-trip photo" of how they parked to be reviewed, with users warned and fined for unsafe parking.

Alice Pleasant, public affairs manager at the firm, said: "Lime understands the importance of not obstructing pavements and other shared spaces - it is vital that our service works for everyone sharing our streets."

The council's guidance says anyone who fails to park a bike correctly will receive a fine and users who repeatedly fail to park correctly will be banned.

It comes after the charity made complaints over the safety of Nottingham's fleet of e-scooters last year.

The project currently has 100 hire locations across the city centre, but will be expanded further afield under its second phase.