Forum Topic

ASBOs for Boris and Ealing Councillors?

It is surely a fundamental principle of good society that people should be at liberty to go about their lawful business as they please – but only to the extent that they do not impinge upon the liberty of others to do likewise. This weekend, Boris Johnson and his fellow cyclists, aided and abetted by Ealing Councillors, have taken away that liberty from the residents of the streets commandeered for the Ealing Sky Ride. That is anti-social behaviour. By their actions, the officials clearly consider themselves public masters rather than public servants, entitled and empowered to take whatsoever liberties they wish with residents at any time of their choosing.Baron Boris and local government officials decided to go for a jolly cycle ride with their guests through the streets where we live and so ordered the peasant residents to remove their vehicles to make way. No consideration whatsoever was given as to where hundreds upon hundreds of displaced cars could be located from 9pm on Saturday until 6pm on Sunday. Nor did the event organisers care a jot about the extreme inconvenience caused to residents.Whatever the merits of cycling in an age of environmental concerns, this is a minority-interest group being awarded exclusive use of the streets where we live.I have absolutely nothing against cycling or cyclists, but any resident who had plans other than cycling, such as to buy soil and plants from a garden centre to work in their garden, could not drive up to their house to unload. The same goes for anyone doing DIY or supermarket shopping. And if the nearest parking space one could find is more than a mile away...Owing to the breathtaking arrogance of Boris and Ealing Councillors, affected residents were not consulted and were not given sufficient notice to have time to organise and consider their options. For the future, and to help other Londoners who will be imposed upon by such events, hopefully we can find out if there is a possibility of obtaining ASBOs and/or a court injunction against this kind of whimsical imposition by careless local government tyrants.

Colum Keenan ● 5914d12 Comments

Sorry to have to say this as much as I wasn't overkeen to have the Sky Ride here - cars had to be moved before 9am on Sunday and could be moved back after 4.30pm Sunday. I did go out Sunday afternoon in the car and despite being held up in traffic for a little while was able to get to where I was going without too much hassle. That said I wasn't on a blocked off street. I did notice that the barriers came down pretty prompty after the even finished.If it comes to Ealing again then yes, more consultation and time should be given to those who will be directly affected by the route.

J Smith ● 5914d

Heaven forbid that the 1m or so cycling adults and children in London might be given unfettered use of the roads for a whole afternoon. The ridiculous comments on this thread (and others) just exemplify how selfish we've become as a society.

Ed Yelland ● 5914d

I wasn't aware I had posted something ridiculous Ed, I was actually disagreeing with something the previous poster had put. I wasn't in favour of the Sky Ride and I have said this, but I had to admit that I wasn't that much inconvenienced in the long run and the dismantling of barriers was pretty prompt.

J Smith ● 5914d

EdQuite right

George Knox ● 5914d

Ed and George, judging from the time you posted your response, you don’t work. I hope you are enjoying your retirement. I can also understand from this that any plans you might have had for Sunday (if you lived in a street closed by the Sky Ride) could easily wait until any other day. However, for those of us who work and who have only one or two days free at the weekend, the access ban to the street where we live was more keenly felt.If vehicular access had been allowed to residents, with resident drivers and cyclists sharing the road under the usual rules, I would have nothing to complain about. Read my original posting carefully: we should not impinge upon each other’s liberty to spend our free time as we wish. The selfishness is not on my side. One side is getting it all its own way.Also, we think we live in a twenty-first century democracy and then find we can be pushed out of the streets where we live on the whim of the “great and the good”. There is something about that which just doesn’t feel right.

Colum Keenan ● 5914d

F, the leaflets that were posted through our doors a very short time before the event said 9am to 4.30pm, but the signs that went up in the affected streets on Friday boldly stated that the parking ban was to begin from 9pm Saturday to 6pm Sunday.

Colum Keenan ● 5914d

Let's ban from the roads,for a specified time,the people who,largely,pay for the upkeep and maintenance of the roads and allow a group that do not contribute one jot,are uninsured and often not trained or competent in the highway code,to have a free rein?Maybe if we banned cyclists from using the pavements...

Keith Iddon ● 5914d

I didn't know that. Admittedly I was not in an affected street, however I can say that even though Mattock Lane was closed off from the Bond Street end, the No Entry sign was waived so that residents were able to leave their properties if they so wished.Regarding the hold up in traffic I had when I left in the car in the afternoon (I too, am not able to do anything until the weekend), it was nothing more than what could be considered normal weekend traffic trying to get out of Ealing towards Hanger Lane.

J Smith ● 5913d

Please, let’s not get into deriding cyclists. I have seen a cyclist’s dead body on a sidewalk in Central London. I am happy to share a pavement with cyclists as long as they ride carefully and with respect for pedestrians, because they are so much safer on the pavement than on the roads. I have no problem either with cyclists going through red lights so long as they do not expect right of way.I applaud Boris’ plans to establish cycle superhighway routes into Central London and to expand cycling in the capital. It is “events” such as the Ealing Sky Ride that I object to, for which exclusive use of the streets where we live is awarded to one group of people, thus infringing upon the liberty of residents who had plans for their weekend other than cycling that involved vehicular access to their homes. Councillors should show respect for residents by refusing permission for such whimsical events and finding other ways to promote cycling.

Colum Keenan ● 5913d

It is a fundamental matter of not allowing your liberty to impinge on that of others. Those affected were never consulted. That included my church. Here is the experience of one member trying to cycle from Drayton Green to The Park.I decided to cycle to church yesterday as I was sure that with the Sky Ride I'd have an easy cycle with no cars on the road. In fact my short journey from Drayton Green, West Ealing, to TVU where our church meets was really stressful. I kept being told by officials that I was going the wrong way, so I had to either ignore them and cycle on fast or tell them repeatedly I am going to church. The worst bit was when I turned on to the Uxbridge Road close to the Town Hall - I was told very firmly I couldn't go on the cycle route as they were all riding the other way which only left the pavement as the cycle route was barricaded off and I couldn't cross the road there. I rode up behind about 8 ride officials and asked them if I could ride on the pavement and they said yes, it was ok. Less than a minute later I rode confidently up to where 2 policemen were standing. They stopped me and told me to get off and that they could give me a £30 fine but they wouldn't this time, and I had to walk the rest of the way. I got back on my bike on the road by M and S and was again told I was going the wrong way, but did eventually get to church feeling very stressed. It was a lovely relief to walk into the calm familiarity of our church and to sit down and calm down.

Graham Weeks ● 5913d

I don't have anything against cyclists either but I don't like heavy handed bureaucrats.Cycle on the road wherever possible.If not,dismount and walk your bicycle on the pavement.I don't go with this nonsense about cyclists having the right to cycle where they please.Pedestrians are not 'allowed' to use cycle lanes are they?

Keith Iddon ● 5913d

In recent years, residents around Gunnersbury Park have been issued with special parking stickers for the day of the Mela (coming up soon now!), so that stewards know to allow them to park and to use roads that have been closed-off for the day.Something similar for the Sky Ride might have saved a lot of upset to people in the affected roads.

Susan Kelly ● 5913d