bike bays are a joke at the moment. they’re tiny and if your bike is expensive/desireable/not a sodding scoot then you pretty much cant use them with it being stolen/damaged.
how does 1.50 a day for a bike compensate for £1 per 20mins on a car bay in terms of revenue stream?
How did they justify having something to chain the bikes to as not working practice? i presume it was asked?
oh and slightly off topic but whats with multi story carpark chains like masterpark refusing to accept motorbikes?
This has also been aired on BBC London News (TV) as well today. Might be on again at 6.30pm tonight - it always depend on what else has happened in the capital. If something “important” (lol) comes up it might get pulled.
Have’nt seen it myself yet but apparently the Evening Standard have a news piece as well today.
And on the readers letters page of MCN this week, the main one is about the m/c parking plans for Kensington and Chelsea borough.
Demand for PTW parking spaces has risen by 40% yet Westminster is proposing to increase the number available by only 10%, and to then charge for the privilege of wasting yet more time trying to find one.
From their own figures[1] they are looking to generate a new revenue stream of £264k per annum by introducing parking charges for PTWs without providing an adequate number of new spaces. This is not the way to encourage people to change from using cars to alternative means of door-to-door transport.
Apologies for interrupting, as I do not sign on often due to time constraints and concerns about what I view as the politicisation of the social area of my life…biking. I deal with policy-making and policy-makers all day at work and do not want to allow this to enter into my social life. However, I believe that the issue of charging for bike parking is important and would like to add my two-cents.
I feel that the quickest route for getting our concerns heard is to write directly to Mark Field, MP, as they are required to respond to queries and concerns. I am certain that our responses will create a mountain of work for them, making the weight of our concerns very real. Additionally, I suspect that a request for a meeting to discuss these concerns must be acknowledged, as well. Please write to Mark Field directly, and (if you have time) request a meeting. When this issue begins making their lives difficult, they might consider a different course of action. Finally, we should speak with one voice and have sincere, realistic suggestions and proposals to put forth if and when these letters are sent out or meetings are arranged. It is one thing to complain, and another to be constructive. If something has to give in respect to bike parking, I think that we should make our desires known in respect to the direction those changes should take.
P. S. I just read Mark Field’s biography on his website. He seems to enjoy a photo-op and might be willing to do something with a bunch of bikers. Not many MPs will have a picture like that!
