Camden New Journal - Letters to the Editor: Are snoopers about to turn into bicycle thieves?

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Camden New Journal - Letters to the Editor
Published: 8 November 2007

Are snoopers about to turn into bicycle thieves?

• IN February 2006 you kindly published a letter from me pointing out that “cyclists using the Oasis Sports Centre, Endell Street, found a litter of notices tied to the kerbside railing, saying that locking cycles there was illegal; it would be detected by camera and any cycle locked there would be cut off, and the owner fined”.
I argued that “the threat to cut locked cycles off the railings is a form of institutionalised vandalism. To spy with a camera on people who might even just contemplate standing there with a cycle is institutionalised snooping and/or to extort fines from a person who has locked a cycle there is institutionalised piracy”.
Others also objected and the threats were removed. Cycles continued to be locked to the railings – for over a year and a half.
Two small cycle stands were provided in a nearby street, which did not cater for the large number of cycles needing to be locked.
Now a new notice has appeared, repeating the previous threats, to which is added the warning that impounded cycles, after a period, would be sold. This appears to me to be institutionalised theft.
We can read that it is “against the law” to lock cycles to railings but equally we know there are very many laws still on the statute books which are neither useful nor applied; and this is surely a case for turning an intelligently blind eye.
Labour have been replaced by Liberal Democrats (with Conservatives) in charge of Camden, and this is hardly an action which springs from either Liberal, or Conservative principles. I hope that, through publicising this piece of petty dictatorialism in your paper, the amenity will be restored.
There are many more important and useful road improvements which Camden can work towards – and I cite two: provide some public toilets; and (as in France) install small traffic lights (on the same posts as the high ones), level with drivers’ and cyclists’ eyes (this allows signals to be seen when in certain positions, when the sun is low).
Mallory Wober and
J M Wober
Lancaster Grove, NW3

Send your letters to: The Letters Editor, Camden New Journal, 40 Camden Road, London, NW1 9DR or email to letters@camdennewjournal.co.uk. The deadline for letters is midday Tuesday. The editor regrets that anonymous letters cannot be published, although names and addresses can be withheld. Please include a full name, postal address and telephone number. Letters may be edited for reasons of space.

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