Brixton news, rumour and general chat - September 2014

[leanderman]

Very true. Although, it's not a high priority in the grand scheme of things for them.

Wankers are always round ours trying to nick bikes. I've kept mine indoors since the first attempted theft I suffered. Arseholes stole the wheels as they couldn't get the bike free. Totally fucked it in the process.

Not sure what is a high priority for the Met.

Fifteen days ago, we told police we had close-up CCTV images of a mugging gang.

They took five days to come to get the memory stick and, ten days later, they have still not examined the footage.

 

[snowy_again]

Wow, I go and spend some more quality time with work and you lot have a constructive conversation about street use.

My lock up at Herne Hill has got too full, which now means we have 6 different but regularly used bikes in a 1 bed flat with no outdoor space & the same Lambeth msg that my block might get hangers some time in the future - although it's noticeable that roads south of Effra Parade seem to have got more street shed things than the other end of Railton.

I'm still pondering options, none of which involve selling a bike. I no longer own a car, but by their very nature even the shittest bike will be stripped & fenced for someone desperate for a fiver in a way that only after >5 car offences would get any where neat a custodial sentence; pah!

 

[SpamMisery]

I'm still p too

 

[han]

To reject an exchange of this kind - 12 bike spaces versus 1 car space - surely you'd have to believe that there's a really good reason the car owner should have such massive priority. It seems that for some, the payment of VED and other costs justifies it. I'm saying they don't. They aren't sufficient to make this 1 for 12 exchange unfair.

I don't believe that car owners should have a massive priority. I just think that on our particular street they're an inefficient and extravagant way of storing bikes when there's so much outdoor space, front and back, to do so. I live in a street with no residents parking so everyone uses our street as a car park and it's a nightmare.

However, I only use my van about once every six weeks to go outside London and I cycle daily into Central London as my main form of transport so can hardly be considered someone who puts the rights of car owners above those of cyclists.

Bike hangars are great in locations where there is limited space for bikes and where car parking isn't such a problem. They work best in places where the needs of everyone involved have been carefully thought out and taken into account.

 

[gaijingirl]

I've moved on from p. I'm q now.

 

[snowy_again]

Yes, my phone seems to hate vbulletin

 

[snowy_again]

R now

 

[leanderman]

I live in a street with no residents parking so everyone uses our street as a car park and it's a nightmare.

Residents' parking is costly but quickly clears the streets

 

[han]

I fear it wouldn't work in our street, and everyone always votes against it. The reason being, there's a huge block of private flats at the top of the road. Under the block is a huuge empty car park that residents have to pay an expensive annual fee to use. None of them pay it, instead they park in our street for free. Residents parking would mean we'd end up paying a few hundred quid a year for exactly the same situation we have now .
Plus, the church and mosque at the top of our street use our street as a car park. Joy of joys.

 

[teuchter]

I suggested it if someone needed a second specialist bike for occasional or weekend use. You're so rabid about cars that you're not reading things properly.

As far as I recall it went something like this - you were suggesting that instead of demanding on-street hangar space perhaps cyclists should adjust their bike ownership habits instead (or as well). One of your suggestions was that London cycle commuters own unnecessarily expensive bikes, and it's the value of the bikes that leads to the demand for protected storage. You said that expensive bikes weren't necessary for commuting. Others made the point that they don't just use their bike for commuting, they use it for leisure purposes too, and having a decent bike is important because of that. You suggested that they have one bike for commuting, and another more expensive one for leisure purposes. It was pointed out that then you still have the issue of storing the expensive one. It was at that point that you suggested the leisure bike could be stored remotely, or that a bike could be hired for leisure use. It was my opinion that this was not a practical idea, and it was at this point I made the comment about storing a car remotely. The point of the remark was to illustrate the impracticality of the proposal. Of course, I understand that storing a leisure bike remotely is not directly equivalent to storing your sole car remotely (although it could be argued that it *is* if you only use your car for non-commuting purposes).

However, if we rewind to the beginning we can see that you were proposing a situation where someone owns a crappy bike for commuting (which they presumably chain to a lampost and accept that sometimes there will be wheels missing in the morning) plus an expensive bike which is stored in a lock up in zone 6 or something. This is a preposterous proposal in itself, but even more so if we examine what is it designed to avoid, namely the bike owner using one twelfth of the space required to park a car.

So on one hand we have your proposal that a bike owner frees up *one twelfth* of a parking space by buying two bikes, storing the nicer one remotely and using the rubbish one every day (when it has wheels on).

On the other hand we have my illustrative proposal that a car owner frees up *a whole* parking space by storing their car remotely (and perhaps using other means to commute).

I ask you, sir, which of these proposals is more likely to indicate its author as a rabid maniac.

 

[han]

I wouldn't mind storing my van remotely, actually, if such an option were available.
We had our street resurfaced a couple of weeks ago and it was so nice having no vehicles at all on it.

 

[teuchter]

I wouldn't mind storing my van remotely, actually, if such an option were available.

I'm sure an option of some kind is available. Perhaps what you need is an incentive?

 

[Crispy]

IResidents parking would mean we'd end up paying a few hundred quid a year for exactly the same situation we have now.

Sounds like a fair price to me.

 

[paolo]

...there's a huge block of private flats at the top of the road. Under the block is a huuge empty car park that residents have to pay an expensive annual fee to use.

Do you know what the fee is for that car park? (I'm wondering how it would compare with a possible residents permit.)

 

[han]

It's a few grand a year. So, over 10x what we'd pay for residents parking.
I'd happily pay for residents parking if the residents of those flats utilised their huge empty car park.

 

[paolo]

It's a few grand a year. So, over 10x what we'd pay for residents parking.
I'd happily pay for residents parking if the residents of those flats utilised their huge empty car park.

Gotcha. Sounds like a ridiculous situation.

 

[han]

I'm sure an option of some kind is available. Perhaps what you need is an incentive?

I've already got an incentive! The inconvenience of having to sometimes wait for hours for a parking space even though I drive less than once a month, whilst people who don't live on our street park there all day after driving to park there, daily, to then get the bus or tube to work, whilst I cycle to work.
Yes, if there was an option for remote parking I'd take it, but there isn't.

 

[han]

Sounds like a fair price to me.

Would you pay £250+ a year for no guarantee of a parking space in a busy street where there's almost always no space? And which has a huge, empty, locked car park at one end?

 

[teuchter]

Yes, if there was an option for remote parking I'd take it, but there isn't.

https://www.justpark.com/ ?

 

[Brixton Hatter]

BIGGUP THE BIKE HANGARS! I am 100% behind the on-street bike parking hangers. Great debate over recent pages. (Amazingly, I 'liked' about 5 teuchter posts in a row )

I think the real issue is whether we want a "liveable" city - one where people can choose to travel around under their own steam (walking, cycling) in a pleasant environment, rather than one which is dominated by noisy, polluting motor vehicles. Lambeth has one of the most polluted streets in the UK (Brixton Road) - we need to change this.

We need to get more people cycling.

The bike hangars aren't a sop to middle class bike users who find it hard to store their £2,000 Pinarello. They are an important signal that bicycle transport is as valued as motor transport (which entirely dominates our city) - as well as a neat and practical solution for the many of us who live in cramped, converted flats, and struggle to store 5 bikes in a tiny hallway.

However, the bike hangars aren't enough - and Lambeth aren't going nearly as far enough with their cycling strategy. We will only truly get mass cycling in London if we build safe infrastructure that encourages people to cycle who do not do so currently. The roads need to be safe enough for your 8 year old kid or your 80 year old granny to ride on. This is why we need thing like proper, segregated cycle superhighways.

High quality, safe cycling infrastructure will get more and more Londoners cycling and our city will benefit hugely as a result.

And then people will be crying out for more bike hangars on the street.

 

[Brixton Hatter]

...even though I drive less than once a month...

Sell the van, join a car club, hire the van once a month (about £12/hour) - surely that's cheaper?

 

[Crispy]

Would you pay £250+ a year for no guarantee of a parking space in a busy street where there's almost always no space? And which has a huge, empty, locked car park at one end?

Well no, I don't consider owning a car to be worth the time and money. If I had to have one though, I'd accept that sort of price for the privelege of parking it on a public street.

 

[leanderman]

people who don't live on our street park there all day after driving to park there, daily, to then get the bus or tube to work, whilst I cycle to work.

This suggests a residents' parking scheme might help.

 

[leanderman]

Lidl Brixton has opened a French fine wine section. Up to £25.99 (!) for a bottle of Bordeaux.

Whole section all but sold out in Acre Lane today. Empty shelves

 

[Winot]

Not sure what is a high priority for the Met.

Fifteen days ago, we told police we had close-up CCTV images of a mugging gang.

They took five days to come to get the memory stick and, ten days later, they have still not examined the footage.

A friend in Herne Hill had her car stolen from a car park with CCTV. She reported it to the Met and they suggested that she get hold of the CCTV footage and investigate it herself. Big Society huh?

By contrast, when we had a (failed) break-in attempt on New Year's Day, Mrs W reported it online just to make sure the statistic was logged, and within 20 mins had forensics round and follow ups from victim support etc.

 

[Winot]

Whole section all but sold out in Acre Lane today. Empty shelves

And I never even made it there

 

[Ms T]

The most polluted street in the UK is Oxford Street. And there are very few private cars - mostly buses and taxis!

 

[dotdotdot]

I've heard a rumour that Pizza Express is buying/ has bought Franco's, anyone know more about this?

 

[editor]

October thread is here!
http://www.urban75.net/forums/threads/brixton-news-rumour-and-general-chat-october-2014.327886/