Cyclists hijack Cambridge police’s #badlyparkedbike hashtag

When Cambridge police employed the #badlyparkedbike hashtag beneath a photograph of a bike locked to a plastic chair, they didn’t intend for it to become a means of documenting poor car parking in the city. Nevertheless, that is what it eventually became after cyclists in the city concluded that the force was painting cyclists in a negative light.

“We're introducing #badlyparkedbike to encourage people to think about how and where they lock & leave their bike,” said @CambridgeCops on October 18, following it up with this:

The first example we found for #badlyparkedbike. (We will always anonymise the owner to avoid any embarrassment!) pic.twitter.com/U7YG8WhCOC

— Cambridge Police (@CambridgeCops) October 18, 2015

After a few more examples, cyclists started to feel that the hashtag was more focused on inconsiderate parking than security. Concluding that cars were a bigger problem than bikes in this regard, they started to join in with a few suggestions of their own.

.@cambscops #badlyparkedbike interfering with driver on phone parked on 2x yellows pls RT pic.twitter.com/VLjuonMEPR

— JC_Cat (@Pottonski) October 25, 2015

It was also suggested that many of the examples highlighted by the police – such as bikes locked hanging for a tree – merely served to highlight a lack of bike parking spaces in Cambridge.

Lorry in bike lane; bikes by poles as no parking. 30m from police station. @CambridgeCops @PCCCambs #BadlyParkedBike pic.twitter.com/guZyDGuQR1

— Camb. Cycling Cam. (@camcycle) October 29, 2015

But badly parked vehicles remained the main focus.

Another van stops in cycle lane. Car on pavement. 40m from police station. #BadlyParkedBike @CambridgeCops @PCCCambs pic.twitter.com/rpffYltnnz

— Camb. Cycling Cam. (@camcycle) October 29, 2015

@camcitco @CambsCC as usual on a Friday morning Bateman Street cycle lane obstructed #badparking #badlyparkedbike pic.twitter.com/cUW6FcK8yo

— James Smith (@drjnsmith) October 30, 2015

#badlyparkedbike pic.twitter.com/D3Y5SoC77T

— John^iπ+1=0 (@phramewerk) October 29, 2015

Inspector Matt Johnson told Cambridge News that the force wasn’t intending to favour drivers over cyclists. "Inconsiderately parked cycles can cause issues for some, particularly anyone with impaired sight or mobility and those with buggies."