Central Parking Zone permit fees to increase fivefold

Bristol’s cabinet member for transport has said that “there is no evidence” that residents’ parking schemes have reduced car usage but they have contributed to increasing short-term car journeys inside the zones.

Don Alexander has used his latest blog to introduce proposals that could see the cost of parking in the city centre quintupling.

“I do struggle to understand why self-styled environmental campaigners and some councillors consistently advocate for the convenience of private car ownership when they insist that they want an RPZ for their areas,” Alexander wrote.

“Worse still, they regularly ignore the housing crisis and try to block planning applications for new homes in the name of parking pressures.

“What is certain is we all need to improve our attitude to our often-crowded spaces, for pedestrians, cyclists, e-scooter users, and motorists.

“Our streets also need space for street trees, sustainable drainage systems, electric vehicle charge points, cycle hangars, and other features.

“Single issue campaigners often struggle to see the bigger picture.”

Cabinet member for transport Don Alexander is a Labour councillor for Avonmouth and Lawrence Weston – photo: Bristol City Council

Alexander did say that in almost a decade of RPZs being in place, the schemes “have had some success in reducing anti-social parking, and we’ve been open-minded about where councillors work with communities to build and demonstrate overwhelming support for the introduction and/or expansion of zones”.

He said that WECA’s Joint Local Transport Plan recognises the need to move away from a “one-size fits all” approach to parking, traffic, and transport issues.

A review of RPZs across Bristol will take place “that aims to bring the RPZs up to date with the change the city’s going through and align with evolving national policy”.

Alexander’s proposals will include removing reductions provided to low emissions vehicles “since parking is about space, not emissions”.

The councillor for Avonmouth and Lawrence Weston ward wants to increase Central Parking Zone (CPZ) permit fees from £50 to £250 “to reflect the premium on space in our city centre”.

The CPZ is not a residents’ parking scheme area. Instead, it is a controlled parking zone (also confusingly called a CPZ) stretching from the Clifton Triangle and Jacob’s Wells Road roundabout in the west to parts of St Paul’s and St Jude’s in the east.

Alexander also wants to double the cost of secondary parking permits from £112 to £224, and raise the cost of third permits from £224 to £560.

Leader of Bristol’s Green group of councillors, Emma Edwards, said that “if the Mayor was for removing on-road parking in residential areas as an alternative to RPZs then he’d have a point”.

“But instead, he’s saying a free-for-all is better, where anyone can park as many cars as they like for free. So who’s really advocating for private car ownership?”

Co-shadow cabinet member for transport, David Wilcox, asked Alexander to back up his statement about RPZs not impacting car use, saying that the cabinet papers “are very evidence lite”.

Main photo: Martin Booth

Read next:

• More segregated cycle lanes coming soon
• ‘Bristolians are sick of cars clogging up streets and pavements’
• Bristol Waste Big Tidy project reaches every ward in the city
• Is Bristol gearing up to become a 15-minute city?

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