I’m looking for a new flat at the moment and have seen this place which I really like BUT it does not have any bike bays close to it and the on street parking is distinctively lacking places where I could tie a bike to…
However the pavement is quite wide and the house has a small wall (between the outer window and the beginning of the pavement) with some bars on it. If I was to park the bike on the pavement with the chain passing through the bars (with a cover on) am I likely to get a ticket or have the bike removed by the council?
I would only park it there at night (after work) as I would still ride it to work… Though the parking restrictions are in place from 8am-6.30pm for the on street bays…
Depends on the council but generally if the area is open to the general public ( ie there is no barrier around it) then you are open to getting a ticket even if the actual ground is owned by the flats.
A recent case in the West End had the council saying that such areas are public space if there is no barrier and the owner only owned the ground underneath that space ( if that makes sense) …
In practice you could get away with it but every time a bored warden wanders past you would probally get a ticket )
They will ticket anything that is even remotely possibly going to earn them commission. They leave it up to the appeal process to determine whether the ticket is valid or not. You’re then just left with the grief of trying to argue your case each time, although if you win the first time you can try and claim harassment if the tickets are repeated.
I would love to see someone 'barrier a bike - warden issues ticket - then they sue them for trespass…
…where are the no win no fee lawyers when we need them?
i think they have powers to gain access to your number plate now… as lots of people used to do it in the Westend & they got fed up with bags being placed over the plates !!
anyways… they can check your Road Tax for the Reg number !!
phone the Council as said earlier… & get their full name if they say Yes !!
If the bike has a covered plate they can uncover it. If it has no plate they can impound it.
As for the plant pot idea - riding on the pavement and parking on the pavement are specific offences in London. Nothing to do with obstruction. Unless there is a permanent barrier that stops the area being part of the normal footway (or part of an alleyway) you are stuffed.
The short answer to the original question is “your stuffed”. Or will be.
After 50 years of parking regulations and enforcement in London the authorities have got just about every base covered including some you have not even thought of yet.
The days of simply “keeping the traffic moving” have long gone. It’s now a nice little earner.
The real question is how do you display that without it being stolen.
(My firms car park sticker got stolen so often* they came to their senses and made the M/C bays unrestricted. * I tried the second tax disc holder. They stole the whole bike instead.)
If the bike has a covered plate they can uncover it. If it has no plate they can impound it.
As for the plant pot idea - riding on the pavement and parking on the pavement are specific offences in London. Nothing to do with obstruction. Unless there is a permanent barrier that stops the area being part of the normal footway (or part of an alleyway) you are stuffed.[/quo
It’s a minefield of jurisdiction between the Police and the local authority … rights of way, rights of access,private land, definition of pavement, dropped kerb access, difference between ‘pushing’ and ‘riding’… etc etc
The authorities are the only ones with a clear map of this minefield and we are the ones to get blown up…
When I park in the city, I usually stick the bike on the pavement, and lock it to a lamppost. My tax disc lives under my seat, and when the bike’s parked in a place like this, so does my reg plate. Sure, they can theoretically impound it, but they’ll need to cut the chain off first. Almax chains are a formidable barrier, so I figure they’ve got better things to do.
