A defence lawyer who regularly cycles to Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court to represent clients has told road.cc of his bafflement at a new ban on visitors parking – or even bringing – bikes of any kind to the court.
The London-based lawyer, who did not wish to be named, says he was “informed by friends in the security staff” at the court yesterday, so he would not arrive next week finding he was unable to park his bike.
> Worst bike racks — from the useless to utterly unusable places to park your bicycle
“I have cycled to this court for years and have either parked my bike locked to the railings outside the court or in the car park”, he said.
“There are no bike facilities there except for court employees where there is a small bike rack. There is a large car park… in fact I had a bike stolen in the car park there a few months ago but that is another story.
“On Friday I was informed no bikes are now to be allowed on court premises, including any locked to the railings or in the car park… this includes folding bikes or as in my case, a road bike. A notice has gone up outside the court stating all bikes should be stored in the bike racks in the town centre.
“Whilst I regularly cycled and parked there I am not the only one. There are Prosecutors, Interpreters, other defence lawyers who also choose to cycle there. No reason has been given as yet for this decision.”
At the time of writing the Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court website makes no mention of a ban on cycle parking for visitors, with a page titled ‘a guide to Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court’ recommending nearby car parks for drivers, and advising that it is “a better idea to take public transport.”
road.cc has contacted Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court for comment.
19 thoughts on “Magistrates Court says “no bikes are allowed on court premises”, allegedly telling visitors to park bikes in town centre nearby”
Surely they make an exception
Surely they make an exception for a Gavel Bike?
Sriracha wrote:
And surely Wiggo would always be welcome?
Nope, not even for an open
Nope, not even for an open-and-shut one, such as a Brompton.
And don’t call me Shirley.
They have done this to force
They have done this to force people to travel by car to court so they can catch muppets like the “person” in/near Liverpool who drove to hand in his licence then went to drive home and got immediately rearrested.
But still think the best (?) one was When Addenbrookes Hospital took out the sheffield bars from the bus stop style bike shelters so the smokers could use them!
Well they are the ones with a
Well they are the ones with a lamp post in the very middle of the rather hopeless cycle lane, on a tight corner too!
Bob's Bikes wrote:
It’s all about joined-up thinking and holistic health outcomes! If they’d not had that bright idea smokers might have been tempted to smoke closer to other patients. Or got colds by smoking in the rain / become depressed since their needs weren’t addressed. You have to look at the bigger picture…
My memory of Addenbrooks is
There’s no smoking enforcement at hospitals either way, I’ve seen indoor smoking in the main entrance of multiple hospital sites. I’m all for compassion and tolerance, but I’m sure it doesn’t help people who are trying to overcome their addiction for the health of themselves and those around them.
I have seen bike/smoking shelters directly across from the entrance to a Maternity Ward, at a different Hospital.
Welcome to the world, enjoy the smoke.
The times I was visiting
The times I was visiting hospitals in Edinburgh a common sight was a group just outside the hospital doors, smoking in the cold, with one or more amputations.
Lots of proximate reasons they could be in that condition of course (just unlucky – diabetes 1, poor heart or vascular health, industrial accident) but probably some of diet, ciggies, booze or even drugs feature. It seems to be a common “condition of the poor”, in Edinburgh at least. (Possibly the rich folks with gout and smokers’ cough are at the private hospitals…)
Certainly not just Edinburgh,
Certainly not just Edinburgh, last time I saw this was in a Hospital in Central London; it was raining though.
It’s a pity that the previous
It’s a pity that the previous Chief Executive of the Courts Services (up to 2020) isn’t still in post because she cycles to work (or at least used to, when we both worked in a different government organisation).
They’re lawyers so they can
They’re lawyers so they can afford to rent a van each to literally “obey” this rule. Just rent one van for each cyclist and then turn up really early with the bike in the back of the van and park the vans in all the best spots. After work, ride the bike home leaving the vans there overnight. Use the vans for parking the bikes for as long as it takes to get the policy reversed.
Funnily enough, I do just
Funnily enough, I do just this at my large workplace which has a very large carpark, but zero facilities for cyclists; I have an old van on historic rego that I keep parked at work just so I can securely ‘park’ my bicycle..
I hate to admit that
I hate to admit that Gloucestershire has got something right but when I did my jury service I cycled in every day. When I did my recce the very friendly gate man pointed out the secure bike storage and said I was welcome to use it. I had no problems apart from having to get changed in the toilets. They even paid me a travel allowance specifically for bike users which was not much but it’s the thought that counts.
Of course he’s had a bike
Of course he’s had a bike stolen, there’s too many criminals get in those courts.
Arrrrrgh! Come on, brits!
Arrrrrgh! Come on, brits! Just ban cycling already! Come on! Pull it together! I know you can! =))
Make car driving compulsory! (And not only)
Some local cultural knowledge
Some local cultural knowledge – the UK doesn’t tend to actually ban anything (though the papers / popular culture uses that phrase). Yes, some laws may be enacted but the key thing is something (normally already contentious) becomes less socially … “the done thing”. It may be made more inconvenient (though the usual way is simply to ignore things / reduce or stop funding), organisationally disfavoured, socially unpopular (or even sneered at). And (in rare cases) something might come to court, and might even attract a (usually small) penalty!
After some time the “banned” thing tends to mostly wither away, or become the preserve of criminals (we seem to accept that “we’ll never fix everyone” – probably sensible).
On the flip side – things which appear “banned” can be quite common, due to UK laissez-faire fudge.
So we have:
Cycling – only banned on motorways and a few other roads, and technically on the pavement (enforcement is minimal). However for decades authorities have “encouraged cycling” … by massive promotion of driving, hundreds of billions of pounds of “strategic” road building and indeed financial support for the road building, motor and road transport industries – oh, and individual drivers. The result is that the national average (2022 – after a lockdown boost) is 2% of journeys are cycled.
Speeding – clearly “banned” by law but many people do it (most people, in 20mph speed limit zones).
Driving on the pavement – illegal, so obviously you can’t park on the pavement either – though technically not a specific offense. BUT you’ll see this happening everywhere because it’s seen as less socially acceptable to “block” the carriageway for other drivers. With the exception of recent developments in Scotland (e.g. Edinburgh – and it’s early days) courts have decided that it’s going to be too hard to prove and the police have said they just won’t bother.
What about walking, catching
What about walking, catching a bus, train, tram or ferry or for gods sake taking a cycle on one of these modes of transport?
Possibly just to avoid the
Possibly just to avoid the public embarrassment of multiple thefts from the actual flipping Magistrates Court.
They know better than anyone how little enforcement and control there is, thieves probably walk out freshly emboldened to steal, and have a go right away.
Well that makes sense.
Well that makes sense.
If you were done for nicking bikes for your fix, you’re probably clucking by the time they’ve given you a community order / fine and you’ll need some quick cash to score.
If you’ve just been banned from driving in there, how are you going to get home? *
* Drive, of course. Being banned from driving doesn’t actually “do” anything, because in the unlikely event you’re caught, you’ll just be banned again…