Bedford Park swamped with Lime bikes

Abandoned Lime bikes causing problems for pedestrians and cyclists who own their own bikes

Lime bikes opposite Turnham Green Tube station on Saturday night

Lime bikes are filling up bike racks used by cyclists who own their own bikes and spilling over onto the pavement and residential car parking spaces in Bedford Park.

There were 130 there on Saturday night, Cllr Andrew Steed told The Chiswick Calendar, in the bike racks opposite Turnham Green station and round the corner in Priory Avenue, and a similar number the previous weekend.

Lime sent a van to pick them up on Monday (10 November), but the number of bikes being left is still causing problems at weekends.

Many residents are raising the problem with local councillors

Cllr Andrew Steed showing the number of Lime bikes opposite Turnham Green tube station at the weekend

Andrew, who represents Southfield ward on Ealing Council, told us:

‘Many residents are actually in favour of campaigns to increase cycling. However, the actions -or rather the lack of actions – by the bike hire companies put people off.

‘Why are there 90 Lime bikes opposite Turnham Green Station and another 40 on Priory Avenue in Hounslow, on a Saturday night?

‘Apart from blocking pavements, the sheer number of Lime bikes at Turnham Green result in no facilities for private bike owners.

‘Why can’t we have proper bike stands thus preventing the bikes falling over?’

Influx of bikes since LB Hounslow banned Lime from operating in the borough

Lime bikes on Priory Avenue, beside St Michael & All Angels Church

The issue comes up a lot when he is talking to constituents on the doorstep, Andrew told us.

He has approached the relevant officer on Ealing Council, who told him:

‘We have raised this issue with Lime’s Operations team.

‘They apologised for the inconvenience, sent an in-field team to the site on Tuesday, [4 November] and the bikes were removed.

‘They say they will look into what may have caused this influx and take the necessary measures to help prevent this from happening further’.

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A Lime operative picking up bikes on Monday

Ealing Council considering putting in more parking bays in 2026

An additional parking bay has been added quite recently in Bedford Road, which runs parallel to South Parade to the north, but the bays beside the tube station are evidently more attractive to people wanting to continue their journey into central London.

Ealing Council is now considering putting in more bays. The officer told Andrew:

‘With Lime no longer permitted to operate in LB Hounslow as of August, we are seeing instances of build-up of e-bikes along the borough boundary, such as this location.

‘Officers are reviewing potential marked bay locations in proximity to Turnham Green Station for our next batch of bays in 2026.

‘In the meantime, we do have 2 virtual bays nearby at South Parade where users can park and there is also a bay on the Hounslow side of the border nearby.

‘We are reviewing bay locations along the borough boundary more broadly in the context of different operators in different boroughs and are keeping lines of communication open with both operator teams and neighbouring borough officers’.

Lime bikes at Turnham Green the previous weekend, on Friday 31 October

Lime say they are increasing bike pick-ups

A spokesperson for Lime told The Chiswick Calendar:

“The concentration of vehicles in areas like Turnham Green follows recent changes introduced by Hounslow Council, which have caused some confusion as riders adjust to new parking rules around the Hounslow/Ealing borough boundaries.

“To manage this, we’ve increased our local operations team along the Hounslow border to meet higher weekend demand and ensure bikes are collected promptly.

“While only a small minority of riders park incorrectly, we continue to warn, fine, and ban those who leave or park their bikes in Hounslow.”

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