Magistrates Court says "no bikes are allowed on court premises", allegedly telling visitors to park bikes in town centre nearby

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...

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 a bus, train, tram or ferry or for gods sake taking a cycle on one of these modes of transport?

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..

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:

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!

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...

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 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, last time I saw this was in a Hospital in Central London; it was raining though.

Sriracha wrote:

Surely they make an exception for a Gavel Bike?

And surely Wiggo would always be welcome?

Sriracha wrote:

Surely they make an exception for a Gavel Bike?

Nope, not even for an open-and-shut one, such as a Brompton.

And don't call me Shirley.