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Sturdy opposition has been offered in opposition to the proposals of Camden Council to introduce bike parking costs to the London borough.
The proposals have been first raised final 12 months, and would see the revocation of free motorcycle parking bays within the borough, to get replaced by mandatorily paid bays. Camden is just not the primary London council to make such proposals – in Hackney, motorcyclists have been opposing parking costs there for over two years by now – and, actually, this isn’t even Camden Council’s first try, however their fourth, at bringing in bike parking costs. Evidently, till now, the Council has failed.
At one level, the aforementioned costs in Hackney have been set to price motorcyclists both dwelling or working within the borough as a lot as £14,000 per 12 months, though that has been decreased. Camden’s proposals will not be fairly as outlandish, however motorcycle parking bays could be charged at £2.60 per day, or £2 per day for electrical bikes.
Resident permits might be obtainable, however might be charged on the identical charge for a motorbike as for a automotive, and won’t be obtainable to motorcyclists who stay in a ‘automotive free’ property.
Camden Council defines ‘automotive free housing’ thus: “Automobile-free housing schemes typically haven’t any automotive parking throughout the web site and occupiers will not be issued with on-street parking permits. Nonetheless, allowances may be made for individuals with disabilities who’re blue badge holders.” Which means that motorcyclists dwelling in automotive free housing in Camden should pay the £2.60-per-day charge for a paid bike parking bay, including to £950 over the course of a 12 months.
There will even be enterprise permits for bikes at £419, and docs’ permits at £326 – each additionally costing the identical because the equal allow for a automotive.
A spokesperson for Save London Motorcycling (SLMC), a London-based group that campaigns in help of motorcyclists within the capital, mentioned: “This isn’t an formidable coverage from a progressive Council; it’s a regressive, counterproductive coverage that secures a car-led future for Camden. The Council has made a mistake by even proposing these costs, and now’s the time for councillors to right it.”
The criticisms of the proposals from SLMC are matched by discontent amongst residents. 1,500 individuals signed a petition delivered to Camden Council by SLMC, with signatories together with “the chief of Camden’s opposition, the GMB union, Camden residents and employees, carers, practice drivers, couriers, docs, and nurses,” SLMC says.
A senior employees nurse at a Camden hospital individually raised considerations to SLMC that the brand new tax will pressure key employees out of the borough. They mentioned: “I’m completely outraged that Camden Council would deal with key employees like this. We stored Camden going by way of the pandemic and now they only wish to kick us out. I like working with sufferers in Camden however utilizing a motorbike is the one manner I’m in a position to proceed working in Camden so if these costs are carried out I’ll have to search out some place else to work.
“When the NHS is already below a lot pressure, what number of nurses and docs can Camden afford to lose only for this misguided assault on motorcyclists? Is that this what a Labour council needs throughout a cost-of-living disaster?”
The costs additionally threaten electric motorcycles, primarily based on tyre and brake particulates. This concern is highlighted by a Camden resident of 30 years who additionally makes use of an electric bike. They mentioned: “Resident permits for electrical bikes are deliberate to be the identical worth as electrical automobiles, which is not sensible when it comes to house utilisation. Electrical motorbikes are a significant and sustainable a part of Camden’s future. The Council ought to rethink these plans.”
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