Unfair parking laws for bike owners
I have been riding my motorcycle to work in the city more often to avoid the bottle-neck. However, the 'powers that be' aren't serious about encouraging me to do so because;
- there is no discount on tolls for bikes; and
- I overstayed by 30 mins my free 1 hour park in O'Connell St the other day and got an $80 fine!
With all the hype about 'user pays', how can it be fair that we thrifty bikers get no real advantage in helping relieve the pressure on the roads as we are penalised at the same rate as cars, although take up a fraction of the space with parking etc! Come on Clover, give us a break, get this rort fixed asap. Thanks in anticipation. Rob
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Since late 2008, as part of the City of Sydney's Motorcycle and Scooter Strategy, motorcyclists and scooter riders have been exempt from paying parking meters in the City of Sydney, but must still comply with time restrictions.
Motorcyclists and scooter riders looking for longer term parking options can use the 900 free onstreet, untimed parking spots scattered mostly around the CBD. For a map of locations visit: http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/AboutSydney/ParkingAndTransport/Motor...
Many parking stations offer cheap 24-hour parking rates for motorcycles and scooters in a secure environment - including the Council-run Goulburn St car park which charges $5 per day.
The City of Sydney does not regulate or control tolls, but under the Motorcycle and Scooter Strategy, the City will advocate for more convenient and equitable tolling arrangement for motorcyclists.
You can download the strategy from www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/transport/
Josh MacKenzie
Senior Media Officer
City of Sydney
The official council reply makes it sound like they are making life good for scooter and motorbike riders in the city, but in reality it makes no difference to those who use this transport option to commute to their 9-5 jobs. Timed parking does not help during the week for us - esp. as most zones are loading zones, so this does little to ease the lack of parking options for bikes; 900 free parks! Really that is such a small amount for a city this size and how many of them are timed... I know most of the ones near the area I work have a time limit of only 2hrs. Let’s face it 5$ a day the Goulburn St car park for a bike park is way too much.
I have been riding a scooter in this city for a number of years now, and the parking situation has been getting worse...you have to get into the city at an absurd hour to get park. And while I love the fact that more people are embracing the bike, I believe the council has put forward a strategy that has done nothing to help the situation during the working week. It’s all show and no results, a marketing ploy to big-up themselves. How is the council measuring the "success" of this strategy, and how are they going to accommodate the even increasing use of the bike in this city?
Just out of interest, how would you suggest to resolve this situation? Do you think more free parking that is not timed would be the way? How fair do you think that is for car owners?
I'm not very familiar with this topic so any info is welcome.
$5 a day for parking plus security, what a bargain, typical whinger of the likes of Caroline whom has never had it so good. Which you prefer Caroline, $5 bucks or $80 dollar fine.
Doesn't take a no-brainer to work that out.
I have had 7 sickles, 100, 250, 750, 750 plus side-car,850, 1100, have ridden 27 yrs, visited 5 states, 2 countries.
$5 bucks a day, your kidding aren't you Caroline, $5 bucks a day, your whinging over 5 bucks, Boy, I bet you even whinge more if some low-life stole your scooter, 5 bucks a day, struth, geeesus,5 bucks.
Way way back in the past, before you were born,about 200 riders protested in Sydney about angle parking and straight parking, we use to get clobbered by angle parking, fines-big time,so on a bright sunny Saturday morning, 200 of us showed up in George Street and Pitt Street and parked one motor/cycle per car-space. We had both sides of streets covered, when our time was up, one rode off, another rode in, we literally blocked CBD for 6 hours, one space one bike.
SCC and RTA changed the laws to angled parking and no fines, because of us, we made it easier for future riders to get better conditions and you whinge about 5 bucks, unbelievable
To Chris’ comments, its not meant to be fair to car drivers as the strategy talks about benefits to the city wrt reducing greenhouse emissions, number of cars etc as per their 2030 strategy. However they will only provide bike parks in places where cars cannot park and they don’t really sound like they are doing too much to lobby against the unfair toll booth charges, so I find that a bit of a contradiction.
I had a look through the 2030 strategy and can’t find any mention of motorbikes or scooters… so why mention this in the bike strategy? If the city does have a long term view on this mode of transport it would be good to know about it.
The use of bikes to commute to work is on the increase - not only from people who are changing from cars to bikes, but also from those who are failed by the poor public transport system in this city. So I feel that the strategy hasn't really tackled that part well... it's great for weekends and for other parts of the city of Sydney, but for the actual CBD and commuters, its not so great. I know you can't just make loads of free parks but I am sure there could be some more solutions…. Maybe cheap permits for bike parks in the city, but actually have some parks and put them in appropriate locations. Not just in places “where cars can’t park”
As for "wild hogs" CarlMc, thank you for the insight into your "sickles" collection and as well as your trip down memory lane, however based on your comments I take it you are old and so no longer a part of the commuter community, and my comments relate to this situation as well as the on-going sustainability of the strategy so don’t get so caught up on the $5 parking fee. But its good to know that you can afford to pay whatever for parking....I guess what is cheap for you is not always a bargain for others. But I still say 5$ is a bit high to pay for a bike park in Goulburn street considering you can fit 4 scooters in 1 car spot.... do you know in London you don’t pay congestion tax and parking for bikes is free in council car parks, not to mention just how many on street parks they have which can be used for up to 24hrs…
Now you call me a "whinger" but wasn't that what you and your motorbike mates were doing when you protested back in the old days? I am sure we are all appreciative of your efforts, but I am commenting on the city's strategy for the future. Do you think the changes you fought for in the 70's or 80's is all that is required to satisfy the requirements in the here and now of 2009 as well as what is needed in 2030? Maybe check out what “whingers” in other cities are doing about bike parking and council strategies…
Scooter and bike commuting is a growing global phenomena, so it time for the city to start planning for it….
http://www.notobikeparkingfees.com/
http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/Corporation/LGNL_Services/Transport_and_s...
just got a parking fine for parking my scooter in a metered bay. The ticket says meter expired, but the car parked in the same bay did not receive a ticket!!!
Fair?
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