On the Road Again!

One of the MAG groups has produced a special limited edition t-shirt to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the Motorcycle Action Group. http://www.wycombemag.co.uk/shop/all-departments/mag-40th-anniversary

After getting no replies the last time I tried to get a parking question answered... I get this almost immediately. Dear Mr Devall Thank you for your email. We do not have specific motorcycle parking spaces on street or in any of our public car parks as motorcycles are not prohibited from using normal parking spaces. All motorcycles can park for free in pay and display bays and permit holder parking places but they are still subject to the regulations that apply in time limited waiting bays and other classes of bay such as loading bays and disabled persons’ parking places. Regards Alan Lague Highways Engineer Shepway District Council Civic Centre, Castle Hill Avenue, Folkestone, Kent , CT20 2QY This looks pretty good but if I couldn't find this out by checking online and had to email a councillor, how are we supposed to know?

This is the letter I emailed to the cabinet members for parking at Shepway Council. Dear Mr Dearden, Last year I wrote to Shepway Council, using the form accessible from the website, to comment on the Parking Strategy. This was a mistake as I wasn't rewarded with a reply other than the automated response to say a communication had been received. The point I was trying to make was that the strategy ignores motorcycles and contains no mention of them at all. As a Shepway resident, council tax payer and motorcyclist I see this as a great oversight. In Hythe, where I live, until Sainsbury opened, and created a dedicated parking area, the only marked bays are two in the Prospect Road car-park by what is now Aldi and a small one in the Waitrose car-park. Sadly, the one at the end of Stade Street was removed when the Council decided to make the car-park “pay and display”; the motorcycle bay was removed to fit the machine! Are there any at all in Folkestone? There used ...

The Transport and Tourism Committee (TRAN) of the European Parliament have now had time to look at the new Super MoT proposals from the Commission, so it's time, as voters, that we make contact with them. They had their first discussion on the topic a week ago and are due to meet again on the 8th October, but I haven't seen the agenda to know if they'll discuss it again so soon. MAG has been in contact with the Department for Transport here in the UK, so we know that we share many of the same concerns about this proposed legislation, but there is a long way to go as the legislative process has just begun. You may remember the public consultation was held back in 2010 and is now the subject of an investigation by the Ombudsman, after MAG member John Strong formally complained that it wasn't fit for purpose. This case is ongoing, but I have read erroneous statements on some web forums that no-one was ever consulted. Over 9000 people did respond even though the quest...