Safety bars for people to secure their motorbikes to have not been reinstalled at a newly refurbished car park.

Commercial Road Car Park in Strood recently reopened after five months of work which included resurfacing the area, improving the link to the town centre plus new seating and lighting.

But the Motorcycle Action Group’s north Kent branch has raised concerns because there is no longer a place bikes can be secured to.

A petition with nearly 200 signatures is being handed to Medway Council to reinstate the bars.

Steve Mallett, representative for the north Kent branch and south east area, said: “The silly thing is they have safety bars around the perimeter to stop cars reversing into fences but none on the 25ft space where the motorbikes can park.

“There’s been a dramatic rise in motorcycle theft and motorcycle related crime and it’s something we are trying to fix.

“In London, there’s a trend of people getting mugged and then the attacker will get away on a bike.

“The people who have been attacked are the second victims. The first victim is the person who has had their bike stolen.

“It would make me think twice about going there. There’s a lot of crime in that area and it makes you nervous leaving your bike there.”

The car park closed in February for work to begin on the redevelopment as part of a £9million project to regenerate Strood.

Medway Council has said it has improved CCTV coverage and lighting in the car park but does not currently have plans to put bars in.

Michael Edwards, Medway Council’s head of integrated transport, said: “There is a dedicated motorcycle parking area in the Commercial Road car park where motorcyclists can park their bikes.

“There are currently no plans to install bars as previously the majority of motorcyclists were not using the existing stands to secure their bikes.

“We will be meeting with the Motorcycle Action Group to discuss their concerns.”

The group, which meets every second Monday of the month at the Nag’s Head, Rochester, will be presenting their question to full council tonight.

What do you think? Email medwaymessenger@thekmgroup.co.uk