News / parking
Greens promise to tackle pavement parking
Green Party councillors have pledged action on pavement parking after recent criticism about having “no formal plans” to do so.
Labour previously said they were “disappointed” the new party leading Bristol City Council lacked a plan to tackle the issue.
Greens petitioned last year for a pavement parking ban, before they took control of the council.
is needed now More than ever
Responding to the criticism about lacking a plan, Green councillors on the transport policy committee promised to set up a working group to explore their options.
Green councillor for St George West, Rob Bryher, said: “There was some conjecture about pavement parking recently.
“One of the task and finish groups could be kerbside strategy because if we’re looking at that as an issue, we should look at it in the round, look at all of the issues around how we organise our space beside the kerb.
“That would put off this idea that there’s no action on that. That’s been successfully implemented in Lambeth, they’ve got a kerbside strategy, so it’s not without precedent.”
Lambeth Council, in London, published its strategy in 2023. In it, the council described their aim to turn a quarter of the space along the side of streets into places for trees, benches or bicycle storage.
Before their strategy was launched, 94 per cent of kerbside space in Lambeth was taken up by parked cars, which the council said was unfair and disproportionate given that three out of five households there don’t own a car.
Green councillor for Windmill Hill and chair of the transport committee, Ed Plowden added: “Personally I would like to make it a parking and kerbside strategy, not least because we might want to throw the workplace parking levy in, and that’s obviously not the kerbside.”
A workplace parking levy exists in Nottingham, where some employers have to pay the council for every member of staff who parks at their workplace.
As for any suggestion that @bristolgreen is giving up on pavement parking; quite the opposite, we need an ambitious parking and kerbside strategy. It needs to be holistic not piecemeal. I hope we will finally see @transporgovuk response to its pavement parking consultation soon
— Ed Plowden (@EdPlowden) July 11, 2024
The millions of pounds raised through the levy have been invested in upgrading the city’s public transport, including its trams.
Last summer, the petition launched by the Greens mentioned Sheffield as an example to follow.
Traffic regulation orders have banned pavement parking in the city centre, so drivers are fined if they are caught parked on the pavement. There have recently been calls to expand the ban.
Bristol could do the same, and implement a ban in a specific area under the council’s existing powers, but this could prove expensive.
A change in law would be needed for a citywide ban.
Writing on X, Emma Edwards, councillor for Bishopston & Ashley Down and the leader of the Green group, said: “There isn’t a current plan, because firstly to create a widespread ban we need a change at a government level, but also because we haven’t met to talk about the strategy as a transport committee yet.”
Alex Seabrook is a local democracy reporter for Bristol
Main photo: Martin Booth
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