Cycling in K.Lynn: Parking

There's quite a lot of cycle parking in King's Lynn town centre, but not all of it is easy to find or safe. I cycle in the town centre a lot and there's so many cycle parks that I sometimes forget some of them, so I made a list:

Location Status Size Notes
Rail Station, outside south-west corner Official 11 hoops Signed from
cycleway, reputed to be insecure
Rail Station, platform 3 Unknown, good? 40? racks Some covered by CCTV
St James Car Park, Clough Lane Official, stupid 6 hoops Inside. £1 lockers.
Signed access from Blackfriars Street is a tight Z-bend - I use the disabled
car entrance instead
Tower Street, at Majestic Cinema Official, stupid 12? hoops Cycling
prohibited at south end of Tower Street (but motor vehicles allowed sometimes)
and Tower Street is one-way (but unmarked here, so remember when leaving), so
access from Sedgeford Lane only? What a mess!
Bus Station, by Albion Street Taxi Rank Official, good 11 hoops Access over
drop kerb from bus station, exit over drop kerb to Albion Street
Bus Station, by Sainsbury's Official, stupid 12? hoops Covered but new high
kerb obstructs access
St Dominic's Square, by Sainsbury's Official, stupid 6? hoops Cycling
prohibited here
Broad Street, at Norfolk Street Official, stupid 8? hoops Inside a one-way
street that dead-ends into a pedestrian zone. Signs (and probably road rules)
in a mess.
Tuesday Market Place, opp Globe Hotel Official 6 hoops By pubs, often with
broken glass
Tuesday Market Place, by LTSB Official, good 4? hurdles Recent addition
Surrey Street, by HSBC Unofficial 2 street name signs Beyond a "cyclists
dismount" but not in the pedestrian zone
Chapel Street, in Surrey Yard Official, good 3 hoops Need attention
Chapel Street, at King's Court Official, good 3 hoops Off-road, under
overhang outside BCKLWN offices
Austin Street, at Juniper House Official 3 hurdles Alongside path
King Street, opp Custom House Official 4? hoops -
Purfleet Street, opp Amusements Official, stupid 12? hoops Beyond a
"cyclists dismount" but not in the pedestrian zone
High Street, outside Debenhams Official, stupid 12? hoops In the pedestrian
zone, but maybe accessible from Union Lane
Baker Lane, off Queen Street Official 6? hoops In a car park. Avoid the
one-way system and cobbles with footpath exits northbound over Purfleet or
eastbound across High Street to Union Lane
County Court, off Queen Street Official 3 rings Hard to spot, beside the
door in a cobbled street, but handy for town hall meetings
Saturday Market Place, St Margaret's Church Unofficial Railings Overspill
from County Court?
Saturday Market Place, opp High Street Official 3 hoops OK but a bit
exposed
South Quay, at Hanse House Official 3? hoops Covered
Library, Millfleet Unofficial Railings -

Current total: 19 official public racks, of which 5 are good (mostly council- maintained racks in the north) and 7 are stupid (mostly in the shopping centre). In 2006, there were 19 racks, with 4 good and 8 stupid.

Most Irritating Problems

  1. Too many of the shopping centre racks are stupidly in places you cannot cycle to;
  2. Very little, well-hidden official parking by the Saturday Market Place;
  3. No decent cycle parking in Vancouver Quarter;
  4. Missing Links - cycle routes between different cycle parking areas are very indirect and/or use busy roads.

Warning

All this is just my guess. If I've missed one or made a mistake, please email me.

24 Jul 2013, MJR