Camden Parking Review

Motorcycling
#1

Is everyone already aware of Camden’s parking review? - they are gradually going to do away with almost all bike parking and intend to bring in charges next year on a par with car parking charges.
Eventually you won’t be able to park for more than 2 hours in Camden.

In short:
Removal of all solo motorcycle bays

Removal of all free parking for motorcycles

Parking charges of £6 for a temporary daily permit, which would only be available for two years

Parking charges of up to £5.92 for one hours parking, the same as for cars

The stated aim of these proposals is to reduce the number of motorcycles in Camden and if it goes through it may make it impossible to visit or work in Camden via motorcycle.

If you visit, work or live in Camden, or care about motorcycling in London you need to respond to the consultation on these proposals. The deadline for responses is 18th December.

More information can be found on the proposals here: https://news.camden.gov.uk/proposed-changes-to-parking-permits-and-charges

You can respond to the consultation by emailing: [email protected]

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#2

Not good news. Discussed earlier Camden Plans to motorcycle charges but well worth another shout out.

Rural life is so much easier on the motorist whether that be on two wheels or four. It angers me that I now have to put a visitor parking permit on The 250 when visiting mum in LB Waltham Forest. Their excuse to treat motorcycles the same as cars was that motorcycles are allegedly becoming a nuisance in the borough with particular reference being made to the many food delivery 125’s racing around the streets, congregating in busy areas such as outside pizza parlours etc and taking up car parking spaces. The irony is they’re more than happy to take the business premisses rates off the food outlets.

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#3

I’ve been visiting Camden for nearly 30 years on and off by bike. Back in the day I would park on the pavement under the bridge by the market.

Soon I’ll be leaving Camden to the tourists and taking my business elsewhere. Or maybe I’ll start parking on the pavements again and accept a few fines.

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#4

The same food delivery folk who were being lauded for carrying on delivering food through the worst of the lock down no doubt. They can’t have it both ways. They should have managed the behaviour of the delivery riders rather than penalising everyone.

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#5

The problem in Waltham Forest is they want folk walking or cycling. They’ve properly shafted the motorist with their ‘Little Holland’ schemes and resident/visitor parking permits. Why is it we have to pay to park?

#6

The more people write to object the more chance there is of getting Camden to drop this.
I’m surprised Waltham Forest got away with it - is there no on street bike parking in WF then?

#7

You mean like the protests against Westminster council when they introduced parking charges? I was with the protests that grid locked Victoria as were many members of this site at the time. We did it multiple times, handed reasonable arguments and petitions to them.

They ignored us, and still went ahead.

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#8

As far as I’m aware parking in Waltham Forest is the same for motorcycles and cars. Not seen any motorcycle only parking then again I don’t ride around the borough, I just park outside mums where it used to be free motorcycle parking in the resident bays and now it ain’t.

If I visit in the car I’d take mum out so could make use of her Blue Badge. I can’t take her out on The 250 so I can’t use her Blue Badge besides where would you display it so it would be there when you returned?

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#9

Maybe you would be better speaking Sir Kier Starmer as he lives in Camden

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#10

Like I said on the Camden parking thread or the other Camden parking thread, if you are charged the same for parking as a car, then park like a car. Parallel to the kerb.

A complete waste of road space. It will prevent cars from parking, and will lose the council money. But you have paid for that space, so own your road space, and all that.

If they want you to use a fraction fo the space parking perpendicular, so more cars can park, then they can charge you a fraction of the cost.

Maybe also a protest idea. Turn up on a ride out, all park end to end so no cars can park. And when the drivers complain, and when the business complain, the inconvenience may have an actual impact.

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#11

I think MAG is contacting him.

#12

I very seldom visit Camden if at all. However I’ve submitted my objection out of principle and for my fellow motorcyclists. Hope it’s challenged

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#13

:slight_smile: the more objections the better! Cheers Michaels!

#14

Bear in mind that Camden isn’t just Camden Town. The borough stretches from Hampstead Heath / Highgate down to Covent Garden & from Kilburn High Road over to Holborn.

So, despite never going to Camden Market, people may well find they still need to park in the Borough of Camden either for work, running errands, just meeting up with friends or because there’s an interesting exhibition on at the British Museum, etc.

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#15

Couldn’t agree more. I live in Barnet, the borough not the town and often wonder why we collectively curb our freedoms with restrictions on free movement, speed, parking etc then wonder why some towns become ghost towns and businesses leave.

#16

Yes - it will put an end to jaunts to the British Museum, or the British Library, Tottenham Court Rd, UCL, UCH, the Wellcome Institute - I could go on!! I expect there to be parking provided in all boroughs - possibly over subscribed parking - but that is a different issue.

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#17

i work with Camden council a lot
they will do what they want and they don’t care who they upset

#18

It wouldn’t be such a problem if they’d fix the broken public transportation systems

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#19

I think we need to embarrass them in some way. Other councils are keen to work with motorcyclists - or are just not so prejudiced in the first place.

#20

Sadly other councils are not keen to work with motorcyclists, in fact quite the opposite. Waltham Forest has extended its anti-motorcycle legislation beyond its swingeing parking charges (there are no bike bays) and created a Public Space Protection Order forbidding gatherings of more than two motorcyclists or pillions. But apparently if you are doing nothing wrong you will be fine. That is literally how they excused it. Note that there is no similar order against gatherings of boys on bicycles, or car drivers.

Hackney has also started its “consultation” on bike parking charges. No doubt this will go ahead. Hackney is also wanting to introduce a maximum of one parking permit per household for its social housing tenants. This includes their off-road parking areas, and will include motorcycles. So, if you’re a young person with a delivery job, you’ll pay, and if you happen to live with a parent who also need a vehicle, tough, you just can’t have a permit. Private tenants and homeowners can of course have as many permits as they want. Social control.

And now Camden. I always assumed Waltham Forest didn’t introduce bike bays when it started charging for parking because historically it hadn’t had bike bays and didn’t want to pay to put them in. But Camden is wilfully taking its bays out, so denying facilities is clearly part of the growing council action against motorcyclists. It’s difficult to be sure where this antipathy comes from, as clearly it isn’t written down in any of their official policies, but it can’t be a coincidence that all these councils have suddenly got it in their heads that motorcyclists need to be targeted. I can’t help thinking that maybe there is some Simpsons’ “monorail” character somewhere in the mix.

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