1. There would be absolutely no guarantee of finding a space. Your street may lose a few ‘commuters’ during the day but, if there are not enough spaces for residents now, there wouldn’t be enough with a residents’ parking scheme either
2. And who are these ‘commuters’ anyway. Typically, they work nearby providing the services we want in local businesses. They are not pariahs and many, in any case, would just buy business permits so their cars won’t suddenly disappear
3. Many streets currently experience no significant parking problems. But, if this scheme comes in, the loss of spaces (see 10 below) and consequent pressure on parking would bring new problems to places that don’t have them now
4. Ask friends who live in other cities like Bath, that have residents’ parking schemes, what happens when they come home at 11.00pm. You can buy a permit and still find nowhere to park
5. Even worse, if you cannot park near your home at the moment, at least you can park in any other street. If this scheme comes in and you can’t park in your own ‘zone’ (just a few streets) you would have to try to find a pay and display bay (maybe quite some distance away) or risk a fine or being towed away
6. If the scheme goes ahead you, and all your visitors, would have to pay to park for 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. This includes friends, relatives, builders, music teachers, cleaners etc. Even someone dropping in for coffee would cost you £1. And you would be allowed only 100 ‘visits’ per year - after that visitors would have to find a pay and display bay or risk a fine or being towed away
7. If you drive to church, your GP surgery, the shops, a restaurant, or just to explore another part of the city, you would have to find a pay and display bay
8. The council argues the scheme would not make a profit. See 'Making a profit' for further details but the figures are very questionable. We calculate a £ multi-million profit. And, given what has happened to parking charges in Bristol over the past few years, how long would it be before residents’ parking charges were hiked up?
9. If your household has a second car, the council says ‘you may not be able to park it on the street’. Even if that is OK for you now, what if your circumstances change?
10. If you have a driveway, your entrance would be ‘protected’ by double yellow lines. But the council fails to explain that this means hundreds, maybe thousands, of parking spaces would be lost because people would not be allowed to park across their own driveway, or allow their visitors to do so
11. Businesses would be charged £100 per car per year which we the customer, of course, would ultimately have to pay for. And pay and display parking would replace free parking for the ‘benefit of the area as a whole’. Do you agree with this? Or would shoppers be put off and go elsewhere, leaving us with empty shops?
12. Finally, do we really want more yellow lines, signs, traffic wardens, tow trucks etc? Not to mention the cost, just when people’s finances are already stretched?
If all this worries you, please make sure you tell Bristol City Council you oppose its plans. And add your name to our petition with the online form.
