im all for peaceful protest so rock on guys
Here here!
All this fuss about a £1 a day, I’m all for paying it, it means that traffic wardens are around ‘our’ bike more :)
does it bollox…
Come on Ricky (and others) you’ve mostly all been around long enough not to believe that old pony surely…Camden \ Islington (and others) is infested with wardens and it doesn’t stop bikes being lifted - there’s no security on these bays - there is no marked bay to pay for…(i could go on…) And as for bikes being watched to stop scum nicking it - we both know someone who lost their bike whilst parked in a bay that is run by Westminster Council 
3 years ago LB ran a story about the prospect of bikes being charged and the bloke in charge of the scheme at WCC at the time made plain that security would be put in - has it? Has it f…
Ever since then workings of the council and it’s apparent disregard for the rules about bringing these things in have been highlighted and even now under investigation - it’s such a shame that apathy seems to be it’s greatest weapon as people are happy to roll over whilst this ‘elected’ council takes us as mugs.
This is about making money (there’s an email that shows WCC looking to parking revenue to fill a hole in it’s budget) and in a cynical way too. WCC are claiming now that this charge costs them money to run (it gives them a loss)
At this rate they could give Gordon Ramsey cookery lessons as it seems they are a little shy of admitting how much this brings in and how their contractor operates.
I grew up in Westminster - my flat overlooked a bike bay. The bay hasn’t changed one bit - it’s still there and is still used pretty much the same as always - only thing is now you have to pay - why? (and saying - well cars pay just doesn’t add up as there’e far more cars than bikes on the road) and since parking meters were introduced the price has gone up by about 4000% (not sure the exact figure) so for bikes - a quid today but what will it be in 10 years?
Also - it was 1.50 per day - but due to the actions of the group campaigning against it that was reduced.
1 pound a day is a small price but MAG and BMF agree - this charge is no right. Even if you may feel happy others feel aggrieved give them a bit of support for them getting up off their individual arses and saying they are not happy about things.
£1 a day for bike parking - so what! Travelling into town by public transport or car costs alot more, there’s also congestion charging, parking and at some prime locations it can cost £24 per day.
You lot would make me laugh if you wasn’t causing a rod for your own back. This is going to backfire badly and when it does, so be it on your heads!!!
Just don’t moan and whine here because you will not find any sympathy from me.
Backfire? How? So by doing nothing we don’t rock the boat?
So people should just sit there and take it like good little Citizens?
Isn’t this just the thin edge of the wedge though?
Personally I’ve never found appeasement to work all that well - groups such as this take take take
When is it the right time to stand up for something that is believed to be unfair?
Ang I respect your opinion babe however I’m minded to think that it will be through the apathy of others that will lead to a greater curtailment of things we, as a group, enjoy more so than people taking a stand on something they feel is wrong.
Did you not hear what Boris said today?
Yes I did…
He said (as The Mayor Of London) If we wanted to keep the buslanes…If so stop the protests…
funnily enough it’s on tape…unlucky for him.
I’m not happy to accept what he said and neither do I believe he should get away with it.
Ang by all means get angry but target that anger at The Mayor for even suggesting he’s happy to blackmail people and suggest he’d put bikers lives at risk over this…He’s an elected leader trying to bully people to submit to his will - hardly democratic is it
But then again blessed are the meek…
not that my hours are ‘hot news’ but I’m off to bed so I’ll pick this up in the morning…
Night night
I’m bored of this cr@p too, it makes me tired just reading the long boring ongoing nonsense…
I’ve tried to keep out of this for so long but now it’s going to hamper people trying to raise money for a good cause - No, not the no parking tax malarky!’ but the RBLR 1000, the same day these morons have decided to bring the M25 into chaos it isn’t funny. 
Anyway you and them bore me so good night
Well I’m all in favour of paying to park, AS LONG AS THEY PROVIDE SECURITY. What the hell is the point of paying for the privilege of sticking your bike in a public parking bay, only for some buggers to come along and pinch it?
If Westminster is going to charge us to park, the very least they can do is provide us with a steel bar to lock our bikes up to. It’s not a lot to ask, it doesn’t cost them much, and it makes a massive difference to us.
If they fail to do even that, which they are, then surely that is worth protesting about. And no one on the RBLR1000 ride seems to be too bothered, they seem to be planning around it.
well said panda and im fully behind your opinion mate…;).
smiled:).
Lets all boycott parking in Westminster for 5 years, then theyll feel the pinch in their wallets. I am more than willing to head up this initiative. LABPIWFFY is pretty catchy, dont you think.Empty bays means no one pays.
Park at home, let no one moan.
Direct action and peaceful protest are the key. Let`s take a leaf out of the suffragettes book.
Hows about we catch a train into central london late one evening wearing leathers, tassels and helmets. Bring yer Almax and we all chain ourselves to the bays in Villiers Street, if there are more than five of us, we could deploy over a wider area.
Imagine everyones suprise when we are discovered rogered to death in the morning.
Wrong.
Do come and notify us of actions taking place and any progress being made!
Despite the haters on LB (this astounds me - a biking forum FFS!), jbond has a perfect right, an obligation even, to let us know what is happening.
Those who don’t park in Westminster might not be directly affected now, so you don’t have to add an extra £150 (annual permit charge) to the cost of commuting - good for you.
If you are comfortable commuting to Westminser/ London on public transport and leaving your bike at home, - good for you. I wish I was in that financial position.
I purchased my bike with the intention of pleasure riding and commuting.
But don’t think other councils won’t take up this scheme if they see it works and see a lack of support on protests.
Don’t be lazy, roll over and take it, we have the power to make a difference!
Show some f’in solidarity and spirit.
The idea of security on bays went out of the window ages ago and they have no intention of doing it. The free bays are only there as they accepted mobile phone signals were impossible in an underground carpark.
The demo is timed and the group have worked hard with the Police to plan this. There’s enough notice that for people to sort out different routes to avoid the area on the day…
My point which I keep putting accross is rather than annoying people because you don’t want to pay £1 a day for parking why don’t you campaign for safer parking and use that stats of how many bikes are stolen in London each month, it is after all what we were promised for the money.
The RBLR1000 run may well be planning around this event but the point is, why should they have to??
What I want is for someone from NTBPF to explain to me why they we bikers should be entitled to free aprking in London, we use space as do cars who pay for it, this is a question I have asked many times but has never been answered and also another questions that I would like one of you to answer is what is the point of the slow ride round the M25, what does the M25 have to do with bike parking in central London?
The suffragettes also did acts of vandalism, arson and suicide to get what they wanted.If all they did was moan and chain themselves to random fences…women still wouldn’t have the vote.
We’re talking about £1 a day to park, not giving women the vote ! Strewth, there’s nothing like keeping a bit of perspective is there
All a demo on the M25 will do is alienate drivers who are not aware of the issue, wouldn’t give a damn even if they did know about it and are not in a position to do anything about it anyway. WCC and the other London councils don;t care what happens on the M25 . . . why would they ? It’s a Police issue at worst.
Just another example of a bunch of spoilt, selfish bikers screwing up life for people who are simply going about their business. There is a right way to protest about this but that’s not fun is it . . .
. . . and when you next experience a frustrated driver on the M25 who won’t let you filter or doesn’t bother looking for bikes, you can think back to your comments here and maybe realise why other road users have even less respect for bikers than they do right now . . . it’s people like jbond and you Garret who are making a bad situation worse, not better and all for a £1 a day.
How do we feel about other road users making our lives miserable ?
Try this . . . the next time a car won’t let you filter, just accept it and sit behind it for a few miles . . . he’s only protesting at the lack of road space for cars . . . see how it feels.
In my opinion, bikes can be cold, wet and dangerous. Bikes in London are a bonus for London, it is less people on public transport that is straining under the weight and it is less pressure on congestion in London which is also struggling.Frankly bike riders are doing central London a bloody favour and risking our lives on a daily basis to do it.Don’t think so? But you pointed out earlier that my suggestion to simply drive like cars would bring London to a standstill and annoy everyone…clearly then having all those bikers drive like bikers in London has an impact on the congestion in London. Look at the protest that the French did when threatened with a filtering ban, they just drove like cars to make a point.
As to why the M25, I think the point is to be easily accessible and to show strength in numbers by being easily accessible. Getting on the M25 and going around means anyone from East, West, North or South…both inside and outside London…can join fairly easily.
Also they do intend to drive into central London at about 5pm.