By Joe McCann
A BANGOR motorcyclist has hit out over the lack of dedicated motorcycle parking as new legislation seeks to ban motorcyclists from parking on pavements.
Motorcycle Action Group representative Martyn Boyd said the legislation, due to come into effect this autumn, will leave bikers with few places to park and could create tension with other road users.
Under the new law motor vehicles will not be allowed to park on pavements to make it easier for people with mobility issues to better navigate town and village centres.
Mr Boyd said he doesn’t disagree with the sentiment behind the new law, but he said the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) has not produced evidence that motorbikes are causing problems.
“They’ve told me that motorcycles are not causing a part of the problem but yet we are going to be penalised,” he said.
Mr Boyd said bikers often parked on pavements for security reasons and argued motorcycles rarely obstruct pedestrians. Once the legislation comes into force, he
said bikers will instead have to compete with motorists for on- street spaces, despite there being no dedicated motorcycle parking provision in Ards and North Down, which is home to the highest number of motorcyclists in Northern Ireland.
He said he presented proposals for dedicated motorcycle parking to the council in 2021, but they were never implemented.
Martyn said two major motorcycle rallies in 2021 had bypassed Bangor because motorcyclists believed there was nowhere to park.
“They went to Newcastle because Newcastle welcomes motorcyclists,” he said.
Although motorcycles can legally use standard car parking bays, Mr Boyd said this could create tension with motorists because bikes are allowed to park free of charge in council car parks where cars are required to display a ticket, as there is nowhere to safely display a ticket on a bike.
He said the Motorcycle Action Group had proposed introducing marked motorcycle bays on wide pavements, similar to those already in Coleraine and Portstewart under Causeway, Coast and Glens Council, which he said would be inexpensive to provide.
“I believe if there was more encouragement given to motorcycling, it could help to be part of a sustainable transport policy,” he said.
A spokeswoman for Ards and North Down Council said the council is currently implementing its Car Parking Strategy which includes actions to introduce dedicated motorcycle bays across the borough.
“Bays are due to be installed in Bangor, however, in the meantime, motorcycles may park in any standard parking bay across the Council’s car park estate,” she said.
A Department for Infrastructure spokesman said: “DfI has met with the Motorcycle Action Group and advised that potential for motorcycle parking will be considered as part of emerging transport plans for each area.
“The city centre and metropolitan area of the draft Eastern Transport Plan will be published in the coming months and people are encouraged to respond to share their views on the Plan.
“All road users are reminded that inconsiderate pavement parking is above all a safety issue. A vehicle parked fully on a pavement creates serious and often dangerous barriers for pedestrians, forcing people to step out onto the road into oncoming traffic.”
