NEW bike storage shelters in Glasgow are in high demand, with hundreds of applications flooding in.

The Bikehangars are being installed at 60 locations across the city from today under a pilot scheme ran by the city council and Cyclehoop.

In the first five days after the scheme went live on Cyclehoop’s website, 420 applications were received.

The 60 units provided 360 spaces for cyclists, with six per unit – and 31 of the 60 were “full” by Thursday.

Arundel Drive in Battlefield received 22 applications alone, with nine other units getting more than 10 applications.

Cyclehoop founder and design director Anthony Lau said: “Interest in the Glasgow Bikehangar scheme has been incredibly positive.

“I’m looking forward to seeing more people cycling, helping to decarbonise the city’s transport system.

“On Monday alone, we had an additional 1700 visitors to our rentals websites, all of which we attribute to interest in the Glasgow scheme.”

The pilot project focuses mainly on the south and west of the city, with some shelters planned for Dennistoun. Waiting list numbers will be used to map demand and determine future plans.

City residents can fill out a ‘suggest a location’ form on Cyclehoop’s website – www.cyclehoop.rentals.

Councillor Anna Richardson, city convener for sustainability and carbon reduction, said: “It’s great to see such a positive response to the introduction of our on-street cycle storage scheme.

“This early interest justifies our belief that there is a demand for safe storage for bikes in Glasgow from people living in flats.

“I’m really hopeful the current pilot provides a basis for introducing storage units in as many areas of the city as possible.

“Shelters will start appearing on city streets next week and we will be looking closely at how they work in practice before looking to a further roll-out of the scheme.”

It is hoped the scheme will provide safe storage to residents living in flats or tenements. The spaces are available at £6 per month.

Around 70% of Glasgow’s homes are in flats or tenements, where spaces to park bikes can be hard to find.

Cyclehoop has partnered with Scottish cycling charity Bike For Good to carry out maintenance of the units.