Midsummer Place welcomes new secure cycle parking

MK Council has completed the install of several secure cycle parking spaces last week, including Midsummer Place Shopping Centre.

The new free-to-use ‘Streetpod’, located behind the former Gap store is now in service and ready to provide ‘diamond-rated’ bike safety for cyclists.

Each pod can hold two bikes in a ’high-low’ design to avoid handlebar clashes. Each front wheel fits neatly into a secure shell made from recycled materials that contains a ring of reinforced solid steel, and the back wheel and frame can be additionally secured though the steel ring using the cyclist’s own D-lock.

The General Manager at Midsummer Place, Shelley Peppard welcomes the new facility and hopes this will encourage more people to cycle to the shopping centre. She said: “Milton Keynes has been designed to provide people with easy access to each part of Milton Keynes by bike and I hope with additional cycle safety, more people will choose the cycle.”

Milton Keynes Council set aside £60,000 to install 87 ‘Streetpods’ which are designed to give maximum security bike storage in public spaces. The units are sold secure diamond-rated – the highest level of bicycle security available in the UK. They are resistant to prolonged attacks and as such are recommended by UK police.

MK Council is committed to increasing the number of secure cycle parking options available, as it wants to encourage more people to try travelling by two wheels and as such contribute to a cleaner, greener, healthier and more sustainable MK.

Cllr Jenny Wilson-Marklew, Cabinet Member responsible for Climate Action and Sustainability said: “We’re introducing these new Streetpods to give local people more confidence in city centre bike security, and to encourage more people to choose two wheels more often as a way of cutting their carbon footprint. We’ll monitor their demand and keep working with partners to crack down on bike theft.”