Bikers lose court case ref parking in London

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-13127902


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Always thought they were on a hiding to nothing anyway. Choose the
fights you have a chance of winning.

 

Whilst I'd not turn down free parking I was never sure why some people
thought it was a right.

 

I'd be happy if they put it up to about 20 quid a day.

Try finding a parking space around Paddington; nothing but fucking
scooters, and all of them parked a couple of mm from each other. I've
had to move them so I can stand next to my bike to get it out.

These days (when I'm on a bike) I'm just parking it at Heathrow and
using the express. So that's 30 quid a day 'parking'.

 

I paid 50 quid to park the KTM in Wandsworth the other week.

Bargain.

 

Because they've the attitude of children with a misplaced sense of
entitlement?

 

Ding to both of you.

 

You want to be thankful you never got caught in the traffic jams they
created when they decided it is fun to ride round and round and round
Trafalgar Square in a way that prevents any other traffic getting
through the junction .... at 0845 on a weekday morning!

I got caught in it once when I had had to swap to buses because the tube
was a disaster area on the way to work. I could quite happily have
kicked them off their motorbikes.

 

I wonder what sorft of protests will follow the suspension of bikes'
entitlement to use bus lanes?

Me, I'd be strongly tempted not to filter and to use as much road space
as I could.

 

There's resistance, and then there's the kind of nonsense the protesters
have got up to. They weren't arguing it was excessive, they were arguing
that it was their right to park for free.

 

<sticks head above parapet> Since when did we have a parking tax on public
roads? I vaguely remember NCP carparks when yellow lines abounded in town
centers, but when did we get charged for parking on the road? Seems to me,
around the late 70's that 'parking permits' started to come in.

Was it ever the case in London/Edinburgh?

 

When demand outstripped supply.

It's not rocket science.

 

Butbut, what gives the council the right to charge for a) something we've
already paid for and b) what might be considered 'ours'.

No, not in an absolute sense, but, let's face it, loads of bikers were happily
parking bikes for free, now they can't. Who complained? Did it go to court?
Was it just a money spinning exercise. Ah, as you were.

 

What gives the council the right? Law.

I certainly haven't 'already' paid to park in London.

Further, I see no logic as to why bikes should be free when cars are
charged.

Grief. Speak to the car drivers.

And why is 'money spinning exercise' seen as a bad thing? I'd far
rather that people were charged for something that was optional than
had unavoidable things like council tax increased.

 

For me it's more about the hidden or stealth tax thing that galls me.

whilst I don't live or visit London very often it does strike me as old
fashioned elitism, reserving parking only for the wealthy.

 

"Champ" wrote in message

Which, of course, is why bikes pay less.

 

Well, yes, I wasn't deliberately excluding them, it was just the topic came up
wrt to bikes.

But it's getting less optional by the day. We've resisted 'residents' parking
around here, but increasing swathes of the city you now have to pay to park
outside your own house.

Anyway, back to parking meters. Apparently 1968 the first ones appeared in London.

 

You must live in a *really* quiet area if you don't have 'residents only'
parking within a few miles of where you live. It's ubiquitous these days.

 

See I've never understood this. People whinge & moan about lack of
parking where they live, what you didn't fucking notice when you moved
in? I've walked away from more than one house because of inadequate
parking & really wouldn't consider somewhere without a garage and off
road parking.

 

I'm very well acquainted with the hidden tax collectors. If it was about
ensuring the smooth flow of traffic through the city at peak times I
wouldn't be seeing the traffic warden coming down my quiet cul de sac at
exactly 8:30 am to collect money from the occasional visitor who is a
few minutes late leaving as the "traffic controlled" area enters it's
revenue generating period.