RESIDENT parking schemes for Ashley Down, Bishopston and St Werburghs are planned – but not until after they have been introduced in the south of the city.
Transport planners at Bristol City Council hope that the new and expanded zones will tackle parking pressures and reduce the number of trips taken by people driving cars. Residents are charged for a permit to park, preventing other drivers from clogging up roads near their homes.
Several schemes, also known as resident parking zones, already exist, but parking is often a problem just outside these areas. Councillors on the transport policy committee were due to consider proposals to create new zones on October 23, after the Voice went to print.
A committee report said: “Resident parking scheme expansion is being proposed now to help tackle increasing pressure on parking, support cleaner air, and make neighbourhoods safer and fairer for everyone. This will in turn make parking easier.”
The first parking permits were rolled out more than a decade ago around the city centre, to address pressures from commuters parking on residential roads then walking to work. The programme was then expanded to several neighbourhoods including Redland, Southville, St Pauls and Cotham.
A further roll-out was planned but then scrapped in 2016 by the former Labour mayor Marvin Rees, when he first took control of the council.
New zones could involve painting double yellow lines at corners of junctions. Car crashes often happen at junctions when sight lines are obstructed. However in many parts of the city drivers still park on double yellow lines, due to a lack of enforcement.
Each new resident parking zone would be tailored to the needs of the local area, council officers say. The authority will also review prices for permits, and consider splitting up large existing zones into smaller ones.
The price of a permit for a property’s first car is expected to cover the costs of running the scheme. But a surplus would be made from permits for second and third cars.
The first phase of the rollout will form part of the South Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood project, including areas such as Ashton, Bedminster West, Windmill Hill and Totterdown. This could also include matchday parking permits, in areas near Ashton Gate.
The second phase will focus on northern parts of Bristol.
By Alex Seabrook, Local Democracy Reporting Service
Downs fees on agenda
PARKING charges could be introduced on the Downs under plans to raise money in Bristol City Council’s annual budget.
The new pay-and-display meters are expected to bring in £200,000 a year after their introduction from April 2027, while another proposal to charge drivers across the city a standard fixed hourly parking rate instead of the current mishmash of fees, especially for evening and overnight stays, is forecast to generate £500,000 annually.
Both plans have gone out to public consultation in the council’s draft financial plans for 2026/27. The six-week consultation can be found at shorturl.at/tLLkK
By Adam Postans, LDRS