“It’s not something we should advertise as secure”: Cycle park plagued by
bike theft “epidemic”, with cyclists now too fearful to use it
The Cambridge site was the country’s first “secure” cycle park — built by
repurposing car parking spaces — but has now become a frequent target for thieves in the UK’s top-ranked city for bike thefts
by ADWITIYA PAL
WED, JUN 11, 2025 12:11
Cambridge’s Park Street Cycle Park, once heralded as a groundbreaking secure facility, has come under fire after a string of thefts left cyclists fearful to leave their bikes there — many criticising the local authority’s
efforts to create safe parking spaces in the city which once again topped
the rankings for cycle thefts in the UK last year, with eight bikes stolen per 1,000 people.
Omar Terywall, who runs a Facebook group (link is external) called ‘Official Stolen Bikes in Cambridge’, to provide cyclists a platform to share news about bike theft and hopefully retrieve them, said he has been “disappointed” by the so-called secure Park Street facility.
“This is labelled as a secure facility, but when you walk in, there are only three security cameras. The position of these cameras is completely obscured by pillars as well. It’s not good enough,” he told Cambridgeshire
Live (link is external).
The group, and other local Facebook communities from Cambridge, are filled with pictures of stolen bikes shared by cyclists in a desperate bid to
locate them. Last week, Terywall posted about two electric bikes that were stolen from Park Street Cycle Park, despite being secured with three additional locks.
While one bike had since been recovered, the other remained missing, with
the police involved in an investigation. However, Terywall said that
cyclists have told him they do not want to park their bikes there anymore.
[linked article] Cambridge tops list of UK cycle theft hotspots, new crime data analysis reveals – as large student population and cycling culture blamed for “thriving” bike theft environment
He said: “People have told me they are uncomfortable with parking their bikes there. I think it’s a trust issue.
“At the park, you have big slide-in doors that are supposed to be one of the good things there. I don’t understand the rationale behind them because if I was a thief, I could pick up two bikes and take them through the door
as it would just open automatically for me.
“The cameras are also not positioned in a good place. Both of those bike owners had three bike locks, so that was not a deterrent.”
[linked article] "If it's bike theft you need to expect to solve your own crimes": Journalist tracks down stolen cargo bike after "overstretched" police told him "that's up to you" and "we do not attend when it's a block
of flats"
While he said there were no “short answers” to fix the problem, Terywall suggested the use of loud sirens, alarms, and flashing lights triggered by sensors as a possible deterrent to potential thieves. “The cameras are only useful if people check them quickly enough,” he added.
The council’s advice to cyclists was triple-locking their bikes: “Ideally,
both wheels and the frame should be locked to a stand as tightly as
possible when left, and marking bikes with a police-approved identification scheme, such as BikeRegister, can also deter theft and assist in recovery.”
However, it would appear that no number of locks can prove to be enough to fend off the thieves. Laura Cavill, a Cambridge cyclist, commented on
social media last week: “Seems like they need to improve on the ‘secure’,
given someone’s triple locked bike was taken today.”
Kate Beer also wrote: “It [Park Street Cycle Park] sounds great in principle, however, as there was a theft of a triple locked bike from there only last week, so I won’t be risking it. Something needs to be done about this epidemic of bike thieves,” while Jim Dennison added: “I left my bike there once and someone stole my lights and tools off my bike so I never trusted it again.”
[linked article] Police force admits bike thefts "unlikely to ever be
solved" after spoof sign pokes fun at station's "Bicycle Redistribution Point"
The Park Street Car Park was the UK’s first secure cycle park, opened in 2002 by converting 24 car parking spots to 271 cycle spaces. In November 2024, it reopened after a major redesign and redevelopment, now featuring
222 car spaces (down from 450), 23 EV charging spaces, and 239 cycle spaces in the main area, plus 10 cargo spaces in a separate room.
The facility included an automatic sliding door, shallow ramp access,
widely spaced Sheffield stands and ground anchors in the cargo room.
Camcycle said one of the main improvements from the original cycle park was how illuminated and spacious it had become.
However, for many cyclists, these investments haven’t been enough. Rob Izzard said: “Back in the day, I’d use this on weekdays and weekends — I
loved it. Now? No chance. The chance of theft, even with CCTV and ‘secure’
doors, is too great.
“Until this problem, and especially the known thieves in and around Cambridge, are addressed, I’m walking or on the bus… It’s not something we
should advertise as secure.”
[linked article] "Theft has become legal": Police close stolen bike case a day after it was taken from outside Scotland Yard HQ, despite CCTV cameras and tracker showing location
The frustrations of cyclists in other UK cities were echoed by a parody
sign in Chichester earlier this year, when an anonymous campaigner placed a “Bicycle Redistribution Point” sign at the city’s railway station, mocking
the lack of police action.
The sign read: “Chichester Bicycle Redistribution Point. Many thanks for your donations,” with police and Southern Rail logos and the note: “Police
logo included for aesthetics only (they don’t like getting involved).”
British Transport Police admitted bike thefts were “unlikely to ever be solved” and there was “limited opportunity for investigation” in many cases. However, the sign’s creator, known as CARP, told road.cc: “It’s clear that the issue here is lack of action from Southern Rail and the police.”
In Cambridge, there have been occasional successes in tackling prolific offenders. In July 2022, Joshua Collinson-Prime was jailed for six months after being caught by off-duty officers breaking the lock of a Pinnacle mountain bike in Fitzroy Street, Cambridge.
More recently, John Bruce Miller was sentenced to seven months after being caught on CCTV stealing a bike from Cambridge Station Cycle Park in
November. Despite these convictions, Cambridgeshire Constabulary and campaigners acknowledged that most thefts went unsolved, with
investigations hampered by limited resources and a high volume of cases.
<https://road.cc/content/news/popular-secure-cycle-park-plagues-bike-theft-epidemic-314389>
“It’s not something we should advertise as secure”: Cycle park plagued by
bike theft “epidemic”, with cyclists now too fearful to use it
The Cambridge site was the country’s first “secure” cycle park — built by
repurposing car parking spaces — but has now become a frequent target for thieves in the UK’s top-ranked city for bike thefts
by ADWITIYA PAL
WED, JUN 11, 2025 12:11
Cambridge’s Park Street Cycle Park, once heralded as a groundbreaking secure facility, has come under fire after a string of thefts left cyclists fearful to leave their bikes there — many criticising the local authority’s
efforts to create safe parking spaces in the city which once again topped
the rankings for cycle thefts in the UK last year, with eight bikes stolen per 1,000 people.
Omar Terywall, who runs a Facebook group (link is external) called ‘Official Stolen Bikes in Cambridge’, to provide cyclists a platform to share news about bike theft and hopefully retrieve them, said he has been “disappointed” by the so-called secure Park Street facility.
“This is labelled as a secure facility, but when you walk in, there are only three security cameras. The position of these cameras is completely obscured by pillars as well. It’s not good enough,” he told Cambridgeshire
Live (link is external).
The group, and other local Facebook communities from Cambridge, are filled with pictures of stolen bikes shared by cyclists in a desperate bid to
locate them. Last week, Terywall posted about two electric bikes that were stolen from Park Street Cycle Park, despite being secured with three additional locks.
While one bike had since been recovered, the other remained missing, with
the police involved in an investigation. However, Terywall said that
cyclists have told him they do not want to park their bikes there anymore.
[linked article] Cambridge tops list of UK cycle theft hotspots, new crime data analysis reveals – as large student population and cycling culture blamed for “thriving” bike theft environment
He said: “People have told me they are uncomfortable with parking their bikes there. I think it’s a trust issue.
“At the park, you have big slide-in doors that are supposed to be one of the good things there. I don’t understand the rationale behind them because if I was a thief, I could pick up two bikes and take them through the door
as it would just open automatically for me.
“The cameras are also not positioned in a good place. Both of those bike owners had three bike locks, so that was not a deterrent.”
[linked article] "If it's bike theft you need to expect to solve your own crimes": Journalist tracks down stolen cargo bike after "overstretched" police told him "that's up to you" and "we do not attend when it's a block
of flats"
While he said there were no “short answers” to fix the problem, Terywall suggested the use of loud sirens, alarms, and flashing lights triggered by sensors as a possible deterrent to potential thieves. “The cameras are only useful if people check them quickly enough,” he added.
The council’s advice to cyclists was triple-locking their bikes: “Ideally,
both wheels and the frame should be locked to a stand as tightly as
possible when left, and marking bikes with a police-approved identification scheme, such as BikeRegister, can also deter theft and assist in recovery.”
However, it would appear that no number of locks can prove to be enough to fend off the thieves. Laura Cavill, a Cambridge cyclist, commented on
social media last week: “Seems like they need to improve on the ‘secure’,
given someone’s triple locked bike was taken today.”
Kate Beer also wrote: “It [Park Street Cycle Park] sounds great in principle, however, as there was a theft of a triple locked bike from there only last week, so I won’t be risking it. Something needs to be done about this epidemic of bike thieves,” while Jim Dennison added: “I left my bike there once and someone stole my lights and tools off my bike so I never trusted it again.”
[linked article] Police force admits bike thefts "unlikely to ever be
solved" after spoof sign pokes fun at station's "Bicycle Redistribution Point"
The Park Street Car Park was the UK’s first secure cycle park, opened in 2002 by converting 24 car parking spots to 271 cycle spaces. In November 2024, it reopened after a major redesign and redevelopment, now featuring
222 car spaces (down from 450), 23 EV charging spaces, and 239 cycle spaces in the main area, plus 10 cargo spaces in a separate room.
The facility included an automatic sliding door, shallow ramp access,
widely spaced Sheffield stands and ground anchors in the cargo room.
Camcycle said one of the main improvements from the original cycle park was how illuminated and spacious it had become.
However, for many cyclists, these investments haven’t been enough. Rob Izzard said: “Back in the day, I’d use this on weekdays and weekends — I
loved it. Now? No chance. The chance of theft, even with CCTV and ‘secure’
doors, is too great.
“Until this problem, and especially the known thieves in and around Cambridge, are addressed, I’m walking or on the bus… It’s not something we
should advertise as secure.”
[linked article] "Theft has become legal": Police close stolen bike case a day after it was taken from outside Scotland Yard HQ, despite CCTV cameras and tracker showing location
The frustrations of cyclists in other UK cities were echoed by a parody
sign in Chichester earlier this year, when an anonymous campaigner placed a “Bicycle Redistribution Point” sign at the city’s railway station, mocking
the lack of police action.
The sign read: “Chichester Bicycle Redistribution Point. Many thanks for your donations,” with police and Southern Rail logos and the note: “Police
logo included for aesthetics only (they don’t like getting involved).”
British Transport Police admitted bike thefts were “unlikely to ever be solved” and there was “limited opportunity for investigation” in many cases. However, the sign’s creator, known as CARP, told road.cc: “It’s clear that the issue here is lack of action from Southern Rail and the police.”
In Cambridge, there have been occasional successes in tackling prolific offenders. In July 2022, Joshua Collinson-Prime was jailed for six months after being caught by off-duty officers breaking the lock of a Pinnacle mountain bike in Fitzroy Street, Cambridge.
More recently, John Bruce Miller was sentenced to seven months after being caught on CCTV stealing a bike from Cambridge Station Cycle Park in
November. Despite these convictions, Cambridgeshire Constabulary and campaigners acknowledged that most thefts went unsolved, with
investigations hampered by limited resources and a high volume of cases.
<https://road.cc/content/news/popular-secure-cycle-park-plagues-bike-theft-epidemic-314389>
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