Dear Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea,

I have noticed that a number of "permits" signs in the motorcycles
bays have been painted over with black paint or removed. If the
permit sign is not visible or readable does this mean that the bay
is free ? Has the decision to make bikers pay in certain bays been
reversed and if so when was this decided as I was unaware of it ?
Why has the council not made the decision public ?
How many permits only spaces for motorcycles are available in the
whole borough and how many permits to park on them have been
delivered ?

Yours faithfully,

Thierry Lafronde

Dear Mr Lafronde

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REF: 2010-025

I am writing to confirm that we received your information request on 10
January 2010. For your information and future communications your request
has been allocated the reference number FOI2010-025. Please quote this
reference in any future correspondence.

We will consider your request and respond in accordance with the
requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Our duty is to
respond promptly or at least within 20 working days.

Yours sincerely

Robin Yu

Information Protection Assistant

FOIA Team, Business Protection Unit

Information Systems Division (ISD)

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

The Town Hall, Hornton Street, London W8 7NX

Tel: 020 7938 8226

Web: [1]http://www.rbkc.gov.uk

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Dear Mr. Lafronde,

I am responding to your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000,
which we received on 10 January 2010 for information held by the Council.

In reply to your questions I would reply as follows.

Q. I have noticed that a number of "permits" signs in the motorcycles bays
have been painted over with black paint or removed. If the permit sign is
not visible or readable does this mean that the bay

is free ?

We are aware that the carriageway markings on a number of residents
motorcycle bays have been illegally defaced and we will reinstate the
correct markings shortly. The only `free of charge' motorcycle parking
bays in the borough are visitor bays and these are marked with the words
"Solo M/CS Only".

If a permit sign has been defaced on a residents motorcycle parking bay
this does not mean that it has become a free parking bay.

Q. Has the decision to make bikers pay in certain bays been

reversed and if so when was this decided as I was unaware of it ?

No decision has been made to convert motorcycle permit bays to free
motorcycle visitor bays.

Q. Why has the council not made the decision public ?

No decision has been made to date.

Q. How many permits only spaces for motorcycles are available in the

whole borough and how many permits to park on them have been

delivered ?

We have 960 spaces for motorcycle permit parking in the borough and we
have approximately 1368 free visitor spaces. On the 31 December 2009 we
had 1148 valid combined motorcycle permits on issue, enabling residents to
park in `motorcycle permit' bays as well as `residents car parking' bays.
We also had 160 valid `solo motorcycle permits' on issue, enabling
residents to park in `motorcycle permit' bays.

Yours sincerely

Ian Buckingham

Principal Engineer

Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea

Traffic & Transportation Policy Division

Room 114

Council Offices

37 Pembroke Road

London W8 6PW

Tel: 020 7361 2798

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Dear Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea,

Thank you for your reply, which partly answers my questions.

Is the charge enforceable if the markings are not clear? i.e. would
a ticket be issued to a bike in this bay (where the permit sign
would not be fully visible) if they didn't hold a permit given it
was reasonable to assume that they were not aware that this was a
permit holder only bay ?

Can you please clarify this matter,

Yours faithfully,

Thierry

Dear Mr. Lafronde,

    

I am responding to your request for further information under the Freedom
of Information Act 2000, which we received on 5 February 2010.

In reply to your question:-

    

“Is the charge enforceable if the markings are not clear? i.e. would a
ticket be issued to a bike in this bay (where the permit sign would not be
fully visible) if they didn't hold a permit given it was reasonable to
assume that they were not aware that this was a permit holder only bay ?
Can you please clarify this matter.”

   

I would reply as follows:-

Each case must be treated on its merits. The Civil Enforcement Officers
(CEO) would not usually be in a position to make the judgement that you
describe; that is whether the state of the markings meant it would be
reasonable for anyone to assume that the bay was for permit holders only.
Our instructions to the CEO would be to issue a Penalty Charge Notice
(PCN). Subsequently, if the owner of the motorcycle that received a PCN
made representations to the Council, we would consider the facts of that
case.

I trust that this clarifies the Council’s position with respect to your
question.

Yours sincerely,

Ian Buckingham

Principal Engineer

Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea

Traffic & Transportation Policy Division

Room 114

Council Offices

37 Pembroke Road

London W8 6PW

 

Tel: 020 7361 2798

 

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