Bikers vow to continue parking charge fight
"Some people thought we would just give up, but we're sticking to our guns and not going away"
BIKERS IN LONDON have vowed to keep up pressure on Westminster Council against bike parking charges, despite a reduction in the planned charges to £1 a day, or £100 a year.
Yesterday, around 1200 of motorcyclists converged in Westminster for the latest protest against bike parking charges introduced by the council.
Charlie Lort-Phillips, a member of the No To Bike Parking Fees campaign group, said: "We think the demonstration went very well. There was a turnout of around 1,000 to 1,500 people, which shows we're still taking on the council and standing up for ourselves. Some people thought we would just give up, but we're sticking to our guns and not going away."
The movement have been campaigning for the past 12 months against daily parking fees in the borough of £1.50, or £150 a year. In May, Westminster Council reduced the charges to £1 a day, or £100 a year, and also introduced 900 free motorcycle spaces in its car parks.
An official decision about whether the £1 daily charge will be made permanent is expected by the end of August.
Westminster Council's cabinet member for city management, Councillor Danny Chalkley, said: "We have listened to motor-cyclists and responded by making available 900 free motorcycle bays in our safe and secure car parks, and reducing the daily charge to park a motor-cycle all day anywhere in the city to just £1.
There are now almost 7,000 dedicated motorcycle bays in Westminster and these new changes demonstrate our continued commitment in providing excellent parking services across central London. We recognise that motorcyclists are an important part of the transport mix.
"We were one of the first councils in the country to permit motor-cycles to drive in bus lanes and we continue to welcome open and constructive dialogue on the future of motorcycling in Westminster."
Discuss this story
What is the charge for? The bike parking bays remain in exactly the same condition as when their use was free of charge, so what on earth are we being charged for? For exactly the same "service" as before, we now have to pay. This is a stealth tax as bikers get absolutely no return for their money. http://ukfrance.org/
Posted: 21/08/2009 at 22:35
This is a pure stealth tax that brings no benefits to motorcyclists. The parking facilities (if I can refer to facilities) have not changed at all since parking for motorcyclists was free of charge, so what are we paying for? We are getting the same over-crowded bays, with no security devices (as initially promised). Surely, the "service" provided is not worth a penny. http://ukfrance.org/
Posted: 23/08/2009 at 22:47
I too have not seen a single bay improved in terms of security since the charge was introduced. By the way, there is a large bay in Bressenden Place on a red route that has no payment signs: is it free?
Posted: 24/08/2009 at 11:11
What consultation has Danny Chalkley undertaken and with who, certainly not the BMF, MAG or the residents. We have an ever growing pile of unanswered letters and emails sent to Danny Chalkley. Why has Robin Bevan, CEO of Verrus, the people who sold Pay By phone parking for bikes to Westminster City Council not answered this question? "Why is the Verrus Pay By Phone system of cashless parking is so much of an improvement over what we had before?"
Posted: 24/08/2009 at 13:26
No proper consultation was carried out by Westminster prior to introducing their bike parking tax. BMF and MAG sent a joint letter to Danny Chalkley (the councillor in charge of parking at Westminster Council) in February 2009 to say that they had not been consulted. Motorcycleparking.com had not been consulted either, according to what they posted on their website at the time. The FAQ section of the Council's website state that they have discussed the scheme with motorcycle groups such as BMF, MAG and motorcycleparking.com, but discussing doesn't necessarily mean consulting. http://ukfrance.org/
Posted: 24/08/2009 at 19:25
The only reason the bike parking spaces are free in Westminster Council's Underground Car Parks is that their Enforcement Officer's ticketing machines don't work underground, so no "concession" there then! Let's not forget that this is the Council who first created the "demand" for roadside parking spaces by banning us from the pavements (unlike every other Parking Authrity anywhere in he world), who claimed the scheme would be "revenue neutral" when it's raised in excess of £4,000,000, who's idea of "open & constructive dialog" is to send letters to interested groups saying 'we're going to do this, and you can't stop us" (ask MAG & BMF) and force the "Notobikeparkingsfees.com" website to shut down it's forum under threat of Legal Action - Free Speech anyone?
Posted: 26/08/2009 at 06:53
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