Double NIMBY Fun. With a Side-Order of Home-Owner-Ism.

From the Evening Standard 17 August 2010:

A series of bizarre protests from residents has left 1,000 “Boris bikes” stranded in an underground garage and unable to be used by cyclists... One group of residents claimed it would be a “violation of their human rights” if a docking station were to be built outside their mansion block in Bloomsbury.

From the Evening Standard 10 September 2010:

It's a property rule of thumb that some of the most sought-after homes are near Tube and train stations — but now a new transport hub is driving up prices: the Boris bike docking station. Estate agents are reporting a surge in demand for properties with easy access to the Mayor's cycles for hire... Edward Mead, sales director of Douglas and Gordon in Chelsea, said: “The bikes are so impressive, they will put up rental prices. My only whinge with them at the moment is that they are very much only in the centre.”

So by a miracle of Home-Owner-Ist DoubleThink, these land owners will be claiming compensation for the disturbance with one hand and collecting extra rents or selling their land for higher prices with the other.

PS, somebody emailed me the link to the second story or left it in the comments a couple of weeks ago. I'd give him or her a hat tip but I can't track down who it was.