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Scrap the charge now
• AS a Westminster resident, I reluctantly applied for a resident parking permit in August for my two motorcycles at the time the parking tax was introduced.
Reluctantly, because with a low-polluting vehicle that does not cause traffic jams, I believe we should be exempt from any charge, and it is Conservative policy to promote powered two-wheel use. I pay just as much as a car up to 1100cc, even though a bike uses about a sixth of the parking space of a car.
As the permit only applies to one vehicle at a time, one must always be kept out of town, in my case in Berkshire.
The main consequence of the resident permit is I am no longer allowed to park in the bike bays (which are covered by the more expensive bike parking scheme).
This makes my vehicle less secure and I must squeeze it in between residents’ cars.
I immediately started attracting the unwanted attentions of parking wardens, receiving four tickets within three months, even though my permit was clearly displayed. All four were eventually quashed, after hours of letter writing and phoning.
In December, my motorcycle was knocked over for the first time, causing just over £100 damage, and two hours of my time, out on the street fixing it.
Last Thursday, while parked up, it was driven into, shattering the mudguard, and tipping it over. The bike is off the road and I am spending hours on the phone to my insurers, and have a much longer commute to work (three hours a day).
Scrap the bike parking charge, and soon. Visit: www.31st-March.com
Alex Cohen
Queensway, W2
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