Manchester doubles amount of motorcycle parking… and it’s FREE!

The Motorcycle Action Group (MAG) has welcomed news that the number of dedicated parking places for motorcycles in Manchester car parks has more than doubled – and they are all free!

A review of motorcycle parking within the city showed that demand for parking exceeded the supply and that, as a result, a considerable number of motorcyclists were parking unofficially, and sometimes illegally. The Manchester City Council Highways Team has reacted by providing more spaces for motorcyclists.  They consulted various motorcycle community groups and organisations including MAG.  We said that having spaces in car parks and on the ground or first floors, making sure they were well-lit and having CCTV coverage was important, along with anchor points or rails for chaining bikes to. All of these suggestions have been adopted. There are now 127 dedicated motorcycle spaces; a mixture of on-street (63 spaces) and covered car parks (64 spaces), and full details are available on the council’s website at: https://secure.manchester.gov.uk/info/500346/city_centre_parking/332/motorcycles

MAG’s Director of Campaigns & Political Engagement, Colin Brown, said: “It is great to see this increase in parking provision for motorcyclists in Manchester and I would like to thank the MCC Highways Team for listening to our comments on the security aspects of the provision.  The bays provided are free to all riders, which is a great way to encourage motorcycle use.  This will, in turn, reduce congestion and emissions in Manchester City Centre.”

Motorcyclists are urged to use the newly available spaces and to avoid parking illegally as enforcement will follow. A grace period informing motorcyclists of the new provisions will run from 12/03/21 to 06/05/21, when motorcyclists who are parked illegally will receive an information leaflet advising them of the new parking provisions across the city centre.  During the grace period motorcyclists will not receive a parking ticket. However, after the grace period ends, MCC will enforce penalties (£70 penalty, discounted to £35 if paid within 14 days of issue) for motorcyclists parking in the wrong place. This includes designated cycle parking spaces and racks. Motorcyclists can park in normal pay and display bays anywhere across the city, provided that they purchase a pay and display ticket. It is advisable to write 'M' for motorbike and the registration number of the bike on the ticket before attaching this to the motorbike, to discourage theft.

A motorcycle parking policy will be produced in order to finalise and formalise the changes.

MAG Chair, Selina Lavender, said: “Any MAG members looking for support due to of a lack of motorcycle parking spaces in their area can contact central office for assistance.