Parking & riding in Central London

Parking & riding in Central London

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digger_R

Original Poster:

1,807 posts

205 months

Saturday 17th October 2015
quotequote all
All new motorcyclist here, I'm new(ish) to London and very new to biking in London. I'm looking for some advice on riding and parking in London.
In general, I know I don't have to pay a congestion charge until 2020 and I have an app for my mobile which tells me about free parking spaces in the city. Are there any other general guidelines on where I can park and any other neat tricks I should know about?
I read about £1 a day parking but I haven't found clear details on how it works.
thanks

Reardy Mister

13,757 posts

221 months

Saturday 17th October 2015
quotequote all
Buy good riding kit.

Get in early for the bike bays.

Chain it.

Have eyes in the back of your head.

Learn meditation for all the acts of lunacy you will see or be subjected to.

Cover the horn and the brake.

If you can't filter, make way for someone who can.

Tribal Chestnut

2,997 posts

181 months

Saturday 17th October 2015
quotequote all
digger_R said:
All new motorcyclist here, I'm new(ish) to London and very new to biking in London. I'm looking for some advice on riding and parking in London.
In general, I know I don't have to pay a congestion charge until 2020 and I have an app for my mobile which tells me about free parking spaces in the city. Are there any other general guidelines on where I can park and any other neat tricks I should know about?
I read about £1 a day parking but I haven't found clear details on how it works.
thanks
£1pd in Westminster only. In Westminster, best to get there before 0730 to find a space, otherwise it can be a bit of a bd. I'm often in RBKC and the obvious bays get busy, but I've found a few that are tucked away and rarely full. Only other place I've been to regularly is Greenwich and I could always park.

As for riding, expect pedestrians to step in front of you lots and the usual cars/buses/vans etc pushing into lanes and out of side roads, often without indicating. The lack of indicator use pisses me off, but the rest of it's just how they need to drive - they'd get nowhere otherwise. Be assertive with your riding to - people won't necessarily let you out, but rarely have a problem with a bike being cheeky. Always expect the unexpected though.

creampuff

6,511 posts

142 months

Saturday 17th October 2015
quotequote all
Parking is a PITA. I'd get the train.

Tribal Chestnut

2,997 posts

181 months

Saturday 17th October 2015
quotequote all
creampuff said:
Parking is a PITA. I'd get the train.
Parking can be a PITA, but I enjoy riding in and it's far more reliable.

ccr32

1,968 posts

217 months

Sunday 18th October 2015
quotequote all
There are a few car parks about with spaces for bikes, some free ones too (London Wall, for instance) - my experience is that these fill up less quickly than the bike bays, so while it may be a longer walk to your office, at least you get a space/it's away from the elements.

An obvious suggestion perhaps but also ask if you can park under your own building - many places will allow a few bikes in, as I have just discovered for myself!

ETA - I wouldn't use the vast majority of the bike bays if you are in any way precious about your bike - the scooter wkers generally don't give a st and will commonly use even the very smallest of spaces and your own bike as a side stand.


Edited by ccr32 on Sunday 18th October 10:48

creampuff

6,511 posts

142 months

Sunday 18th October 2015
quotequote all
ccr32 said:
There are a few car parks about with spaces for bikes, some free ones too (London Wall, for instance) - my experience is that these fill up less quickly than the bike bays, so while it may be a longer walk to your office, at least you get a space/it's away from the elements.
The carparks are a good option. The Chinatown carpark tends to fill up, the others less so. They are undercover which is good.

The big advantage is that you don't get an idiot on a scooter jamming their bike in next to you. That's one of the reasons why I don't like riding into London. I can live with tight parking but scooter riders jamming their busted up scooters into spaces where not only are they touching the bikes next door, but they are pressing on them hard enough you wouldn't even have to put the stand down to stop it falling over.

In general though, I'd still get the train.

sjg

7,444 posts

264 months

Sunday 18th October 2015
quotequote all
Every borough has different rules about bike parking - some are in marked bays only, some are ok with using the end of residents spaces. Good reference at http://www.parkingforbikes.com/boroughs/boroughs

TfL controlled roads (the main routes in) allow bikes in bus lanes. Outside of those it's down to the local council that is responsible for the road - some do, some don't. Learn which is which on your regular routes and be careful to look at the signs elsewhere.

fergus

6,430 posts

274 months

Monday 19th October 2015
quotequote all
Reardy Mister said:
Buy good riding kit.

Get in early for the bike bays.

Chain it.

Have eyes in the back of your head.

Learn meditation for all the acts of lunacy you will see or be subjected to.

Cover the horn and the brake.

If you can't filter, make way for someone who can.
+1

hehe

happyWanderer

388 posts

137 months

Monday 19th October 2015
quotequote all
fergus said:
Reardy Mister said:
Buy good riding kit.

Get in early for the bike bays.

Chain it.

Have eyes in the back of your head.

Learn meditation for all the acts of lunacy you will see or be subjected to.

Cover the horn and the brake.

If you can't filter, make way for someone who can.
+1

hehe
Especially the bit in bold! smile

jhoneyball

1,764 posts

275 months

Monday 19th October 2015
quotequote all
I had trouble last week trying to park in Soho Square. No problems with spaces -- thajt was fine. It was the "phone up and pay" system which was completely borked. Said that the zone (code 5678, I think, which is all of westminster?) was not currently in a parking payment time, which was rubbish -- it was midday on a week day.

Their online phone support was useless -- refused to help, saying "well you cant park then" and then took phone off hook so all calls went to voice. Tossers.

Had to download a parking app and pay that way (RingGo)

sjtscott

4,215 posts

230 months

Monday 19th October 2015
quotequote all
digger_R said:
All new motorcyclist here, I'm new(ish) to London and very new to biking in London. I'm looking for some advice on riding and parking in London.
In general, I know I don't have to pay a congestion charge until 2020 and I have an app for my mobile which tells me about free parking spaces in the city. Are there any other general guidelines on where I can park and any other neat tricks I should know about?
I read about £1 a day parking but I haven't found clear details on how it works.
thanks
Just to correct you 2020 is when the low emissions zone applies to all motorcycles registered before 2007 - if you have a bike registered before this date then its £15 a day to use it in central london. There is no congestion charge in the works to apply to any motorcycles.

Driller

8,310 posts

277 months

Tuesday 20th October 2015
quotequote all
Out of interest, what happens if you park on the pavement in London?

jhoneyball

1,764 posts

275 months

Tuesday 20th October 2015
quotequote all
They give you a ticket. Parking on pavement is apparently illegal in london

TT Tim

4,162 posts

246 months

Tuesday 20th October 2015
quotequote all
anonymous said:
[redacted]
All boils down to whether the council own the land, or whether it's part of the footprint of someone's building.

You can normally tell as there'll be a clear difference in the pavement finish.

I guess in theory you could get fined for riding on the pavement to get to the inside, if seen, so maybe safer to push the bike.

Tim

lindrup119

1,228 posts

142 months

Tuesday 20th October 2015
quotequote all
happyWanderer said:
fergus said:
Reardy Mister said:
Buy good riding kit.

Get in early for the bike bays.

Chain it.

Have eyes in the back of your head.

Learn meditation for all the acts of lunacy you will see or be subjected to.

Cover the horn and the brake.

If you can't filter, make way for someone who can.
+1

hehe
Especially the bit in bold! smile
This morning. North Circular. Chinese fking 125 or whatever it was. MIRRORS. fkING USE THEM.

happyWanderer

388 posts

137 months

Tuesday 20th October 2015
quotequote all
lindrup119 said:
This morning. North Circular. Chinese fking 125 or whatever it was. MIRRORS. fkING USE THEM.
Worse than that are Charlie/Ewan wannabies carrying their lunch in fking panniers...
Some of them will see you in the mirrors but refuse to move over....

Wyvern971

1,507 posts

207 months

Tuesday 20th October 2015
quotequote all
happyWanderer said:
Worse than that are Charlie/Ewan wannabies carrying their lunch in fking panniers...
Some of them will see you in the mirrors but refuse to move over....
They also seem hacked off when you overtake on the inside and cut back in front of them....

Hooli

32,278 posts

199 months

Tuesday 20th October 2015
quotequote all
Wyvern971 said:
happyWanderer said:
Worse than that are Charlie/Ewan wannabies carrying their lunch in fking panniers...
Some of them will see you in the mirrors but refuse to move over....
They also seem hacked off when you overtake on the inside and cut back in front of them....
laugh

As did the hi-viz tosser on the M18 today when I filtered past him as he was holding everyone up.

Fleegle

16,688 posts

175 months

Tuesday 20th October 2015
quotequote all
Hooli said:
Wyvern971 said:
happyWanderer said:
Worse than that are Charlie/Ewan wannabies carrying their lunch in fking panniers...
Some of them will see you in the mirrors but refuse to move over....
They also seem hacked off when you overtake on the inside and cut back in front of them....
laugh

As did the hi-viz tosser on the M18 today when I filtered past him as he was holding everyone up.
He's obviously running it in otherwise you wouldn't have seen him for dust


90% of the GS's I see on my commute are driven by incompetent tts. I'm no longer giving a fk how I overtake these idiots and the other road blockers. I'm adopting courier mode!

A shame, as I've always considered myself a courteous rider, but what's the point if no-one else is?? It's a dog eat dog world