We welcome the new bike stands. The ones in Kentish Town Road are a real plus, and are actually having a noticeable effect on some shops there (according to the owners).

The new cycle stands come in two varieties, the more common ones called caMden stands. The photo on the right shows a row of caMden stands outside Senate House. The rarer variety, shown on the left and known as a Butterfly stand is three dimensional.

The new bike stands were developed by the Bikeoff design team, from the Design Against Crime Research Centre of the University of Arts, as part of a research project funded by Design for the 21st Century, an initiative of the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council. This work was described by Adam Thorpe at CCC Members Meeting in December 2006

On developing the stands, advice was sought from the Metropolitan Police and they were then tested and reviewed at prototype stage by the Camden Cycling Campaign. Stafano Casalotti was involved in the design project from the start and several CCC members visited Central St Martins to test the prototype Bike Stands in February 2007.

Launch of new bike stands at Camden Town Hall

Following the above project, Camden Council commissioned two of the stands for deployment throughout the borough with a view to reduction of cycle theft which is an important factoring in discouraging people from cycling, often putting people off soon after they have become regular cyclists.

On Thursday 15th May, 2008 the new, safer design of bike stands that resulted from a collaboration between Camden Council, the University of the Arts (Central St. Martins), the Camden Cycling Campaign (CCC) and TfL were unveiled outside Camden's Town Hall in St Pancras.

There are three new so-called "butterfly" stands directly outside Camden's Town Hall entrance and, on the opposite side of Judd Street, four more of the new "caMden" design - so-called because of the "M" shape.

Participants in the ribbon-cutting were Camden's Cycling Champion Councillor, Paul Braithwaite, Adam Thorpe, the designer from Central St Martins and Rose Ades from the Cycling Centre of Excellence at TfL. The photo on the right shows Paul Braithwaite (cutting the tape) with Adam Thorpe and a butterfly stand. The one on the left shows Paul Braithwaite and Rose Ades with a caMden stand.

The photo below right shows how the stands, if used properly to secure both wheels and frame should prove to be a deterrent to theft.

The date was set to coincide with the Home Office's launch of the Design Against Crime strategy and "Anti-Crime Design and Technology Alliance", which aims to promote design as a means for combating crime.

Adam Thorpe from the Design Against Crime Research Centre, the team behind the stand, said:

"We spent a year observing how thousands of cyclists parked their bikes and investigating the most secure way of parking to resist common bike theft techniques.

"Both sorts of stands are designed to make it easier to lock your bike more securely by locking both wheels and the frame to the stand and more difficult to lock you bike insecurely."

Launch photos provided by Paul Braithwaite

Further photos can be viewed at Belindalawley.com