News / Transport
Pavement parking racks installed for hire e-scooters
Coral coloured e-scooters are now as much a part of Bristol’s streetscape as tags, overflowing bins and those mysterious metal vents.
Loved by some and loathed by others, the Western of England Combined Authority’s hire scheme is still in its trial period with various teething issues still in need of being ironed out.
A major problem is parking provision, with the scooters needing to be left on designated zones on pavements to finish the journey in the Voi app.
is needed now More than ever
One future solution could be to install e-scooter parking zones in place of car parking spaces on roads.
In Filton, Patchway, Bradley Stoke and Stoke Gifford the installation of both parking racks and painted bays hopes to reduce the problem of e-scooter clutter.
A painted e-scooter parking area on Gloucester Road North near Elm Park in Filton – photo: Martin Booth
The Parking Implementation Review published by Voi for South Glos Council says that the Sweden-based company will install the parking racks at the busiest hubs across the council area at their own expense.
WECA, South Glos Council and Voi promise to monitor the usage of these parking locations “in order to understand the impact on user behaviour and e-scooter clutter”.
This will potentially lead to further installations of parking infrastructure within the existing trial area in South Glos.
Our unitary authority neighbour to the north has now stolen a march on Bristol City Council.
Lockleaze councillor David Wilcox tweeted a photo of an e-scooter parking rack in Bradley Stoke.
He said: “It seems that South Glos already has @voitechnology parking docks. They need to be taking up parking bays on the road not the pavement. But it’s a start.”
The Green Party’s group leader in Bristol, Paula O’Rourke, replied that she has recently been out scooting in her Clifton ward “trying to find sites where parking bays are less pressurised. We were also looking for sites which would be good for commuters. This is what is needed if they are to deliver modal change.”
Main photo: Daniel Durrans
Read more: ‘It is cars parking on pavements that we should worry about, not e-scooters’
Listen to the latest Bristol24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast:
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
