Clifton Downs van dwellers could be turfed out as Bristol City Council plans to introduce parking charges

Van dwellers could be turfed out of the Downs if Bristol City Council plans to introduce car parking charges across the beauty spot are approved. Proposals to be discussed by the transport and connectivity policy committee on Thursday, December 5, include pay and display that ‘could cover some or all of the Downs’.

The plans are in an early stage but there are two main options that councillors will consider. The first is parking charges mirroring the adjacent residents’ parking schemes (RPSs) where drivers are charged £2.50 an hour weekdays from 9am to 5pm, although council officers suggest this should be extended to also include weekends if this is introduced on the Downs because parking is not free at other leisure locations, such as parks and the SS Great Britain.

The other is to follow what has happened at parks where motorists pay £1 for one hour, £2 for two hours and £3 for five hours from 9am to 6pm every day. However, officers say there is a ‘risk that people would seek out free spaces in the adjacent RPS or the residential streets to the north of the Downs, increasing parking pressures in those areas’.

The committee will consider a raft of other parking measures. These include withdrawing RPS 30-minute free tickets from pay and display machines and making them available only on the RingGo app or online to stop motorists ‘heavily abusing’ what are supposed to be short stays by taking multiple tickets.

The number of traffic wardens would be increased from 52 to 70, with a possible £5,000 rise in salary to address a recruitment crisis. Free business permits for zero emissions vehicles would be scrapped.

Changes are proposed to new charges for district car parks after the committee previously refused to introduce them, with officers suggesting the first hour free and then £1.50 for two hours, £3 for three hours and £4.50 for four hours, alongside reserved bays for health centres at £5 per permit. And the proposal to remove third permits in RPSs would also be scrapped.

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A report to the committee said: “Recognising the need to maximise the use of kerb space (given increasing demands for car clubs, cycle hangars, scooter parking and electric vehicle charging) officers have identified a number of new proposals that will further improve air quality and make more efficient use of on- and off-street, public car parking spaces, whilst considering how the management of these spaces can help driver behaviour change towards sustainable modes of travel. There are concerns that parking on the Downs is abused (particularly the five-hour limited waiting bays) resulting in limited turnover of spaces.

“There are also problems with van dwellers parking all day around the Downs. Enforcement of the restrictions is challenging given the resources required to cover the whole area and the nature of the restrictions which gives a very limited window of opportunity in which to operate.

“The limited waiting restrictions apply Monday to Friday only, providing no turnover of spaces on busy weekends. In addition, the five-hour limit was agreed due to the proximity to the Zoo and to reflect their desire for restrictions to accommodate Zoo visitors.

“With the closure of the Zoo, it would be appropriate to review the existing restrictions. As a minimum, reducing the permitted length of stay to three or four hours and introducing a no-return same day policy would enable officers to enforce the restrictions more effectively.

“However the introduction of modest parking charges would deter regular use by commuters, would encourage modal shift to sustainable transport and would encourage turnover of spaces for leisure users. In cases where weekend parking is free, we would recommend that visitors should still obtain a (free) pay and display ticket or RingGo session to cover their stay which will enable our civil enforcement officers to continue to effectively enforce against vehicles without a ticket or which have overstayed.”

The report said it would take two years to introduce the changes because of officers’ current workload and that set-up costs were likely to be about £250,000, with this being recouped only after another two or three years. It said: “Introduction of parking charges on the Downs may lead to calls for new Resident Parking Schemes to the north and east of the Downs; the resource and funding for which is out of scope of this proposal.”