Campaign To ‘scare The Wits’ Out Of Westminster

Oct. 23, 2009 - PRLog -- The No To Bike Parking Tax is to stage a major rally on Halloween (Saturday 31st October) in a continuation of protests against Cllr Danny Chalkley’s introduction of parking charges for Powered Two Wheeled vehicles such as scooters and motorcycles. The demonstration is expected to be a visual feast, with participants dressing up and parading through the centre of London, ending outside Westminster’s offices where campaign leaders will take questions from participants.

The controversial and widely opposed scheme, which Westminster is desperately trying to allocate expenses to in an effort to make it appear ‘revenue neutral’, has led to mass on street demonstrations, thousands of petitions by hand and via email, the leafleting of the Councillor’s electoral ward, and the prospect of a major legal challenge that could affect the entire pay-by-phone system championed by Westminster through the equally controversial ‘Partners in Parking’ scheme.

With concerns over the way in which Traffic Wardens are allegedly being set targets to ticket vehicles, and the level of income becoming an embarrassment, the issue is likely to become yet more central over coming months. Westminster is still attempting to halt a Channel 4 Documentary called ‘Confessions of a Traffic Warden’, amid fears that it could lead to a backlash against punitive and revenue raising parking charges, and Boris Johnson recently announced plans to charge motorists by the mile.

Warren Djanogly, chairman of the campaign, said:

“While everyone else seems to be sitting there and taking it, motorcyclists are standing up and saying enough is enough. When other motorists begin to feel the squeeze, perhaps they will follow our lead and tell their public servants to wind their necks in!’

Businesses across the capital have stood by the Campaign, such as Metropolis, Dobles, Infinity Scooters, Lexham Insurance, MCE Insurance, and First Colour Printing.

The scheme was due to be made permanent in August but Cllr. Chalkley has yet to take a decision on whether to retain the scheme. Warren Djanogly stated:

“The protestors are fed to the back teeth with Chalkley dithering while he still takes their money, under the pretence that he is giving genuine consideration to their views – we know he wants to just push it through, so why can’t he either pull his finger out and let us bring the issues out in the open in court, or scrap it?”

Westminster has courted controversy during the campaign, accusing campaigners of bullying, writing template letters for businesses to bring pressure on demonstrators, forcing the closure an online forum, claiming that scooters pollute more than humvees, one councillor stating that when it came to guidance on policy, residents ‘have that opportunity every four years’, and stating that the demonstrations, the largest ever seen against the council, were ‘nothing we haven’t seen before’. This final quote was part of a podcast which the council requested an independent journalist to remove from her website.

Charlie Lort-Phillips, spokesman for the campaign, said:

“Having accused us of dirty tricks throughout the course of this campaign, what is fundamentally clear is that Cllr. Chalkley’s department will stop at nothing to retain this additional taxation on mobility. All justifications for this levy have been proven to be shallow and unsupportable, and those within the Council should now see that members of the public are prepared to protect themselves and their wallets from this kind of intrusive taxation.”

The campaign expects thousands to attend, many in costumes, and plans to continue bringing pressure to bear on the Council if the charges remain in place.

# # #

The No To Bike Parking Fees protest group is the leading voice challenging the introduction of revenue raising parking charges in Westminster, with the support of the Taxpayers' Alliance and others. Further information is at www.notobikeparkingfees.com