New e-bike and scooter racks to be installed

New parking racks for electric hire bikes and scooters will be installed in Nottingham in a bid to stop the vehicles blocking pavements.

A total of 46 racks will be created in areas of high usage and where poor parking issues have been raised, bringing the total number to 275.

The spaces will be for Lime e-bikes, which have been in operation since April 2023, and Dott e-scooters, which were introduced for hire in March under a government-approved trial scheme.

Linda Woodings, who is responsible for transport at the city council, said the new racks follow complaints from people with "sight difficulties, disabilities, and mobility scooters", who had been hindered by discarded vehicles.

"These new corrals are a really obvious place where you can leave your bike and end your journey, and it means that the pavement won't be blocked," she said.

The racks will be installed in areas including Carrington Street, Mansfield Road, and Canning Circus.

Woodings said the council will also check that any prospective location has a strong mobile phone signal.

She said this is because at some previous parking locations, users had been unable to end their ride due to a poor signal, which meant they would be left elsewhere.

They will be maintained by Nottingham City Council, while usage will be monitored by the e-bike and e-scooter operators.

A spokesperson for the authority confirmed more than half of the new racks had already been installed, with the remainder to be put in over "the next few weeks".

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