Many people are happy to pay if it means getting a space
It’s not yet been decided where the new zones will be(Image: Alex Seabrook)
Some communities in Bristol are “chomping at the bit” for new resident parking zones as several are planned. Bristol City Council is planning to create new zones where residents have to pay for a permit to park near their homes, deterring people who don’t live there from parking instead.
Resident parking zones were first rolled out over a decade ago. After eight years of Labour running the city, who were less keen on the idea, the Greens are now considering where to create new zones. Green councillors said they are contacted weekly by people asking for new zones.
Transport bosses will draw up a list of priorities before deciding which areas will see new restrictions later this autumn. An update was given to councillors on the transport policy committee on Thursday, May 15. The cost of a permit varies in different parts of the city.
Green Councillor Rob Bryher said: “There are communities chomping at the bit to get this parking management implemented. It’s been a long time that they’ve been waiting, in an era when it was flat out refused by the previous administration. So we need to have some urgency.”
A decision is expected in September or October on which parts of Bristol will get new resident parking zones. Areas being considered include ones which were initially planned a decade ago but never rolled out, in the upcoming South Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood, and “major trip generators” like Southmead Hospital, the Brabazon Arena and the Downs.
Some existing zones could be divided, as they are considered too large, as people drive from one end to the other so they can park closer to the city centre. The initial cost of rolling out new zones will be funded by income from the Clean Air Zone, although the extra areas will eventually bring in new income from residents paying for permits.
Cllr Bryher added: “Some of the zones need to change in terms of their size. I definitely think Easton and St Philips resident parking scheme is a bit like that. People who live at one end of it can drive close to the centre of town in the scheme area and park, which isn’t really the idea of a parking scheme. There’s a few west of Gloucester Road that are quite large.”
The South Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood will include major changes to Bedminster, Totterdown, Windmill Hill and around Ashton Gate. This will likely include parking restrictions near the stadium, something which residents have long called for due to chaotic roads on match days.
Eight original zones were initially planned but not implemented: Bishopston, St Andrews, St Werburghs, Ashley Down, Totterdown, Windmill Hill, Bedminster West and Ashton. Since then, commuter parking has plagued some neighbourhoods, including streets near the new Ashley Down train station, with some residents struggling to find a parking space close to their home.
The idea behind resident parking zones is that neighbourhoods should be reserved for people who live in the area. Residents pay for a permit, which allows them to park on roads within a certain zone. This prevents commuters and shoppers from out of the area from parking there and walking, cycling or getting the train into the city centre, or other major locations like a hospital.
One problem with the existing set-up is that neighbourhoods just outside existing zones suffer from a ripple effect. Drivers know where the zones end, and choose to park just outside instead. One councillor said she spotted somebody who works at City Hall park on the edge of a zone.
Green Cllr Emma Edwards said: “It’s no secret that our area [Bishopston and Ashley Down] really, really wants one. I get several emails a week wanting one. I’m going to tell an anecdote from this week.
“A council officer, who I will not name, I saw them putting a bike on their car at the end of my road. I said ‘I didn’t know you lived around here’. They said ‘oh I don’t, I just park here and cycle into City Hall’. So it does happen.”
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