Greens pledge pavement parking fix after criticism

Labour members previously said they were 'disappointed' in the Green's lack of plans on the issue

Members of the Green Party have pledged to take action on pavement parking following recent criticism on having “no formal plans” to do so.

Labour members previously said they were “disappointed” the new party leading Bristol City Council was lacking a plan to tackle the issue.

Options to tackle the problem could include designated kerbside parking spaces, or a blanket ban, but this would need a change in law, while bans in specific areas could be costly to set up.

Green councillor Ed Plowden said it will "take some looking at" and needs to be a "holistic, not piecemeal” strategy.

Options include a parking ban in certain areas or a city-wide ban

Greens petitioned last year for a pavement parking ban, before they took control of the council, the Local Democracy Reporting Service has said.

It mentioned Sheffield as an example to follow where traffic regulation orders have banned pavement parking in the city centre.

A workplace parking levy currently exists in Nottingham, where some employers have to pay the council for every member of staff who parks at their place of work - this option has also been mooted.

Emma Edwards said a strategy to tackle the problem would 'take some looking at'

Green councillor Ed Plowden, chair of the transport committee, said he "personally" would like to make it a "parking and kerbside strategy".

"Not least because we might want to throw the workplace parking levy in, and that’s obviously not the kerbside," he said.

"We were promised a parking strategy in 2019 and it was under way at the time, and I think it’s long overdue.”

Mr Plowden said a parking strategy is "long overdue"

Another Green councillor, Emma Edwards, explained a plan would be put in place once its transport committee discusses its strategy.

“As for any suggestion that Bristol Greens are giving up on pavement parking, quite the opposite - we need an ambitious parking and kerbside strategy," Mr Plowden said.

"It needs to be holistic, not piecemeal.”

A transport policy committee set up a working group on 11 July, to explore their options.