Clive Crocker, Thames Valley Regional Rep
E-mail clive@mag69.demon.co.uk
Thursday, 31 December 1998
Chris Boylan
Slough Borough Council
Development & Consumer Protection Department
PO Box 570, Slough, SL1 1FA
Dear Mr. Boylan
Thank you for your letter re. "Motor Cycle Issues". I apologise for the delay in replying, I have been out of the country.
I have discussed the contents with fellow members of the Motorcycle Action Group (MAG) both locally and nationally, and discussions with Fiona Mactaggart M.P. and members of Slough Borough Council are ongoing.
We were disappointed by the generally negative tone of your letter, by the selective and potentially misleading use of Government statements, and by the clear failure to grasp the nature of the problems faced by motorcyclists in Slough.
We appreciate that council operated car parks permit motorcycles to park twice as long as cars for a set fee. This does not address the very serious problem of motorcycle theft, or conform to the practice of most town centres in providing free dedicated motorcycle parking. Nor does it encourage choice in transport modality, or address the reasonable anger car drivers might experience on finding a single motorcycle occupying an entire car parking space (let alone the feelings of car drivers expressed when large numbers of motorcyclists occupy one each!).
I am puzzled by your reference to Queensmere, as it is evident parking in general is undergoing building works and renovation, and in any case I did not raise the matter with your colleague.
As to the point about motorcycles being three times more likely than cars to hit a pedestrian (we are not entirely clear which pedestrian), I’d suggest this neglects the question of accident responsibility and, more to the point, the motorcyclist is probably trying desperately to find somewhere to park!
Our initial concern was with removal of informal parking facilities next to Boots (used for motorcycle parking over the last 20 years), and suggestions from traffic wardens that motorcycles could use bicycle parking spaces opposite the Library. To reach the latter entails riding illegally on the footpath and using spaces set aside for pedal cycles, neither of which is acceptable to our group. To use the former apparently may hamper emergency vehicles through "having grown too popular". Which leaves us with no legal or safe parking areas dedicated to motorcycle use (let alone secure use, as provided in other Berkshire authorities) at all.
It would be very helpful if we could organise a meeting between concerned local motorcyclists and Council officers in the near future. A suitable time and place would be the Flags, Chalvey, on any Tuesday from 5th January onwards, from 9:00 p.m. We have a number of sites in mind which in terms of reducing congestion and pollution can be cost justified, and would prefer to pursue the matter by constructive dialogue at this stage.
Perhaps you could contact Mike Roberts of Reading Borough Council in the interim, as I understand he is aware of policies towards motorcycles that are more progressive than those displayed currently in Slough.
Looking forwards to hearing from you
Yours sincerely,
Clive Crocker
