Railway Stations
Berkhamsted
London Midland are planning to build an extra level for their car park at Berkhamsted. Tim Vaughan (Chairman, TBCC) contacted the Town Council and discovered the work does not require planning approval from Dacorum Borough Council because London Midland are a "public utility".
TBCC are concerned that this will increase the risk of lack of accountability. All private individuals need to get planning approval for even small extensions to their homes.
TBCC feel that, rather than providing extra parking facilities for motorists, more should be done to encourage alternative methods of getting to the station, for example cycling. Cycling to the station would reduce traffic congestion in the town. Cycling as a way of commuting is a healthier option and has much less environmental impact.
Tim has contacted London Midland to request more details of their plans and we hope to be kept informed of their public consultation process. We very much hope they are intending to provide more cycle racks in this new development. We would be very interested to hear from you with your views on cycle parking facilities at the station. Please feel free to contact us if you wish to share your views.
Updates
30th April, 2009: Berkhamsted Town Council held their Annual Town Meeting at the Town Hall today. Gerard Burgess, Partnerships Manager, London Midland Trains was guest speaker. He promised forty extra cycle parking spaces would be created by 2010. CCTV monitoring of all bike racks would also be introduced. It was suggested that before a new tier was built in the car park the effect of introducing more cycling spaces should be considered. Many Berkhamsted residents opposed to the car park development were in favour of this idea.
17th May, 2009: We receive a mail from Gerard Burgess, Partnerships Manager at London Midland: "Originally the cycle storage was due to be installed at the same time as the car park deck but with the the various delays to the car park extension (we still don't know the start date) and the fact that additional cycle storage is within the scope of the National Stations Improvement Programme (NSIP) we decided to install it under the NSIP scheme instead. Last week I visited the site with a representative of the Railway Heritage Trust who raised no objections to the cycle storage being opposite the rear entrance of the station, so that's one hurdle out of the way. I will keep you informed on progress and I would like to have your opinion on the plan once we have it."
Tring
A friend of TBCC contacted us after his bike was stolen from the cycle racks in November, 2006. His replacement bike was also stolen this month (April, 2009)!
A quick poll of cyclists suggests the station is becoming a hot spot for bike theft, particularly in the less public, recessed (i.e. old) bike rack area. Several commuters reported they had lost, or knew someone who had lost a bike in recent months.
The new racks are a lot better than the old ones, but are heavily over-subscribed. It has been reported that if you catch a train after 7.45am, you have no option but to lock your bike in the older, less public, less secure area. This is long overdue for some maintenance.
Updates
17th April, 2009: TBCC have sent an email to Customer Services (Youssef Cockbaine) and Head of Station Services (Richard Brooks) at London Midland, and also the Officer in Charge of British Transport Police (BTP) for this area (Peter Goodchild) where we argued that the CCTV cannot see under the opaque roof of the recessed sheds. We have suggested the installment of a transparent roof.
18th April, 2009: Police were able to see the bike being stolen via CCTV footage. It was stolen around lunchtime by someone in disguise who Police believe is targeting stations along the Milton Keynes to London route.
The Police don't know who it is, but are fairly certain it is the same person, possibly stealing bikes to order. He turns up in a van with a small bag and doesn't seem overly concerned about being seen. The small bag is of interest - he's probably not using 42" bolt croppers, which will go through any D-lock and most motorbike chains.
The police also suggested this person is taking bikes every few weeks!!!
23rd April, 2009: In Wendover, Chiltern Railways have taken action to help reduce bike theft at the station. They have removed one bike rack that held about twelve bikes and increased the number of car parking spaces! At present we have not been able to confirm if/when new racks will be introduced. Let us hope that London Midland do not follow Chiltern Railways' cunning plan!
17th May, 2009: We receive a mail from Gerard Burgess, Partnerships Manager at London Midland: "We have some exciting plans to double the cycle parking on the forecourt by pushing the existing shelter and stands back to the hedge and fitting another clear polycarbonate shelter (and stands) face to face with it. As for the old shelter down the steps, I would like to close it altogether but it holds 70 bikes so I don't think we can do that yet. We will also be doing some cycle security tagging with the British Transport Police in the near future at Tring."