Parking policy hurts
• I WAS amazed to read (January 29) that the council propose to introduce even more restrictions to deter both residents and visitors from visiting central London.
I have been a resident of Westminster for around 25 years, and I was hit hard when the council introduced charges for parking motorbikes on the streets. Yet I persevered with purchasing a paper residents’ parking permit for my bike, which I think is only suited to affixing to the insides of car windscreens. But after a year of constantly having my bike knocked over as I was forced to park in the car bays, and defending parking tickets when the paper permit was stolen, or not spotted by the parking wardens, I have given up trying to comply with the council’s ever-more draconian parking policies.
I cannot be the only single woman bike riding resident who has now been deterred from visiting central London on what I thought was a congestion-friendly form of transport. Instead I now prefer to do the bulk of my shopping in Kilburn where two wheels are still welcome and free. I earn less than £10,000 per year, ironically in the tourism trade, and feel that Westminster is fast becoming a parking ghetto for only the very rich.
As a resident trying to oppose the bike parking stealth tax, I have found that the council now don’t even bother with the pretence of paying lip service to the residents’ views.
People who ride motorbikes also go to theatres, shops, cinemas and, above all, are voters.
Parking policies may help to fill a largely self-inflicted financial black hole, but they cause people to spend money outside the borough.
SARA MAC
Shirland Road, W9
Comments
Motorcycle parking tax
Submitted by phmarsden on Sun, 2010-02-21 13:00.I note that the Council, whilst announcing that the reviled motorcycle parking tax was to be made permanent stated:-
"The City Council therefore disputes that the scheme has been any meaningful deterrent to attracting casual visitors to the City"
In much the same vein as the previous reply, I too have not used any business in the West End since Aug 08 when the, so called, experimental scheme was introduced for charging motorcycles to park. I have ceased going to the theatre, restaurants, shops etc. in Westminster and all because of the Council's motorcycle charging policy.
It is a comment that I hear from a lot of bikers who have stopped visiting Westminster (except on their way to a Borough that wants their business). Although they may have trapped residents and workers into paying to park motorcycles, they have not trapped those who would have USED the businesses - and how much are they losing? The likes of Councillor Danny Chalkley need to remember that they are elected and should listen to logical objections. Bikers are voters too.
The Council clearly do not listen to common sense when it is democratically given by written objection so I think that bikers now have an obligation to expand the awareness of the problem to a wider audience in the form of repeated (legal) gridlock - charge us like cars and we'll act like cars - until the advantages that motorcycles and scooters normally bring to London and it's businesses is more than obvious and free parking is re-instated.
These actions will, in the long term, benefit the West End, not harm it.
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