Parking bays for electric scooters are planned to be installed in Bristol and the wider area after a raft of complaints. Pedestrians and people in wheelchairs will be all too familiar with clambering around a scooter parked in the middle of the pavement, but new bays could soon help the situation.
Construction is due to start by the end of the year in Bristol, Bath and South Gloucestershire, although it’s unclear how many bays there will be in total. The West of England Combined Authority is responsible for managing the electric scooter and electric bike trial run by Dott.
An update was given to councillors on the West of England audit committee in March. The combined authority is working with councils in the region on where the bays will be created. £1 million has been set aside for creating them, but more could be spent in future too.
Rental e-scooters are still technically a trial, which began in 2020. At some point the government will decide on whether to legalise them permanently. Permission to run rental schemes runs out in 2028.
Lib Dem Cllr Stephen Williams said: “Lots of residents are unhappy with scooters and bikes being parked all over the place and not in designated bays. But we are effectively making permanent something that legally is still a trial.”
Bays will be created both off the street and on the street. Construction is due to start in November lasting until March next year. Since September, 52 additional marked parking bays have been installed across the West of England, a 260 per cent increase.