News and Events
20th January 2010
COUNCIL REFERENDUM ON PILOT ZONES
If you are a resident of one of the pilots zones, you will shortly receive a ballot paper from the Council giving you a chance to vote for or against the current pilot scheme (you may already have it).
Details of the scheme can be found on http://www.bristol.gov.uk/respark/
The closing date for responding is
Friday, 5 February
Your opinion is very important.
What will happen if we vote for the scheme?
For the price of half a tank of fuel per year (for a first car) we will have a residents parking scheme. This will mean that:
- Commuters, shoppers and residents from outside the zone won’t be able to park here all day.
- We, the residents, although not guaranteed a space, will stand a much greater chance of being able to park close to our homes.
- Permits for the limited amount of space we have in our high-density area will be distributed fairly.
- Traffic levels at all times will fall in Clifton Wood.
- Emergency and Service Vehicles will find it easier to gain access.
- Our visitors will be able to park within easy reach.
- This is a pilot scheme -- we will have an opportunity to work with the council to make improvements to the current scheme as we find out what works and what doesn't.
We recommend that you agree to the Council's proposals before the closing date of Friday 5th February
What will happen if we vote against the scheme?
Things are not going to stay the same.
There are a number of buildings either in planning or in construction which have limited or no parking, 10 - 15 minutes walk from our area. There are at least 3000 jobs being created and over 100 student accommodation units.
| Building | Location | Approximate no of occupants | Status |
| GVA Grimley Building | Clifton Triangle | 100 | Finished |
| Student accommodation | Jacobs Wells Road | 68 | In Planning |
| Watermark | Deanery Road | 200 | Under Construction |
| Environment Agency | Deanery Road | 700 | Under Construction |
| Student accommodation | Hotwell Road | 60 | In Planning |
| Cubex development | Anchor Road | 200 | In Planning |
| Hargreaves Lansdown | Harbourside | 1000 | Under Construction (almost finished) |
| Soil Association | Harbourside | 50 | In Planning |
| Harbourside office and flats (remaining) | Harbourside | 700 | In Planning |
Without the protection of an RPZ our neighbourhood is the nearest free parking
We know, because we see it now, that many people working in these new businesses, and students in the new accommodation, will use the nearest streets as free all day parking
Things are going to get much worse if we do not implement the Residents Parking Zone
CONTACT: Stephen Perry – 0117 904 0287 and 07960 525191
Email: info@yestorpz.info
View the current proposal on the Council website...
26th October 2009
AN END TO PARKING CHAOS BECKONS
We welcome the fresh City Council Resident Parking Scheme proposals. The design now offers the residents of Clifton Wood priority and an end to the daily nightmare of struggling to find parking places in our own streets.
The Council politicians and officials have listened to our pleas for realism and as a result a generous number of parking bays have been allocated to residents and their visitors. These will mean that we can park in our own street and our visiting friends and family close by. The introduction of carefully placed additional double yellow lines, that are specified by the Council (link to map below), will allow emergency and utility vehicles easier access to our zone.
We hope when more details are published on such matters as tradesmen’s passes and visitor parking that full account will be taken of the best practices already introduced in Bath, Oxford and Reading.
At the end of next month we will be “celebrating” twelve months since the Cabinet approved in principle the trial of two RPZ pilots. We urge that the Council now move rapidly towards the implementation of the schemes. We like what we see but don’t want progress at a snail’s pace. Every other city in the country has RPZs, why not Bristol?
CONTACT: Stephen Perry – 0117 904 0287 and 07960 525191
Email: info@yestorpz.info
20 of July 2009
UWE DETAILED SURVEY OF PARKING IN THE PROPOSED CLIFTON WOOD RPZ
Stephen Perry comments...
We were asked by UWE's department of Architecture and Planning if we would support two students and a project based on the proposed RPZs in Bristol. As a result Peter Walters produced this excellent report.
I agree with most but not all of his recommendations.
In particular I do not support the recommendations on Pay and Display and
Eligibility for Car permits. (I favour Limited Waiting bays over Pay and Display
and think to be eligible for two car passes something more than proof of residence
should be a qualification.)
But this report is an excellent follow up to the 1992 Clifton Traffic and
Parking Study produced by the then Bristol Polytechnic and I urge you to take
a look at it - not only for its street by street analysis of parking patterns
but also at its comparison of Best Practice in other cities and towns in the
UK.
Download executive summary (25 kB PDF)
Download
complete report
(5 MB protected Word document -- some figures would not
convert to PDF)
21st April 2009
HOW THEY DO RESIDENTS PARKING IN BATH
Stephen Perry and Adrian Longstaffe spent a very instructive afternoon in Bath finding out how a city with 10 years experience of residents parking zones operates. In order to get a balanced picture, we spoke with Dorothy Miley, the parking manager for the Bath and North East Somerset Council and with Rebecca Derry-Evans, a long-time Lansdown resident who has been closely involved with residents parking schemes since their inception in Bath.
We were extremely impressed with the level of professionalism and experience demonstrated by the council operation which is well supported by residents associations in Bath. The level of complaints are reported as low and the attitude of the residents seems to be positive. In fact the need for residents parking has been driven by residents and is seen as a considerable blessing, improving the quality of life for residents -- "it was like a breath of fresh air".
Both of our interviewees were completely astonished at the vehemence and impact of the "NO" campaign in Bristol -- not only has there been no such campaign in Bath but a solid majority of residents are in favour -- and always have been.
Low environmental impact
We liked the discreet notices -- attached to walls, railings or other street
furniture and the absence of pay-and-display meters.
"Limited waiting" not "pay-and-display"
In Bath (outside the central zone where of course they do have pay-and-display),
the policy is to provide "limited waiting" spaces which give free
parking for (usually) 2 hours. This means less street furniture, less investment
by the council, less servicing and less maintenance. It also of course means
less income for the Council but Bath and North East Somerset seem to be happy
with this. All in all, a much better environment.
We were particularly impressed with the following key points:
- They did an initial survey of each zone so that numbers of spaces could be calculated.
- They held residents workshops to agree on ways of operation.
- They favour " limited time" (usually 2 hours) free parking instead of pay-and-display (except in the city centre).
- They issue electronic visitor permits allowing use by the hour as well as by the day (1000 hours per year).
- They have limited street marking with discreet notices attached to pre-existing street furniture.
- They have no marking of parking bays in groups of streets with restricted entry points.
- There is an ongoing consultation with residents and residents associations with adjustments as necessary.
- They have a flexible designation of bays (limited waiting vs residents or dual use) to accommodate difficult areas.
7th April 2009
COUNCIL SURVEY CAN HELP GIVE US THE PARKING SCHEME WE WANT
We welcome the Council’s decision to survey households in our proposed Residents Parking Zone in Clifton Wood. The questions in the forms being delivered to our properties this week appear to be designed to make sure the officials gain a good understanding of the needs of our streets.
If the final scheme is well designed it will make life easier not only for local residents but for the emergency services and tradesmen working in our area.
We will be issuing a leaflet to all households urging everyone to complete the survey forms by the deadline date of 8th May. It is in everyone’s interest to do so. We want a parking scheme but not just any parking scheme. It must be well conceived if it is to earn support when there is a yes/no vote in the summer. We are now being given the opportunity to tailor the scheme to our needs.
Opponents to the introduction of the RPZs have argued in the past that the consultation by the Council has been flawed. The steps now being taken are setting that argument to rest once and for all.
CONTACT: Stephen Perry
Tel. 0117 904 0287 and 07960 525191
Website: http://www.yestorpz.info
Email: info@yestorpz.info
27th March 2009
NO CAMPAIGN NONSENSE.
Mystery Opponents of Residents Parking Zones get their facts wrong
This week a bright yellow and anonymous anti-parking scheme leaflet was distributed in Clifton. The style was akin to the “Keep Parking Free” campaign but did not disclose their identity, as has always been their practice in the past. Some residents have mistakenly thought the leaflet emanated from the Liberal Democrats – which it does not. The document makes a number of false claims.
1) “Driveways will
be "protected" by double yellow lines.” NOT TRUE.
The current proposal is that residents will be able to choose whether they
have double yellow lines or not on their driveway entrance
2) “1-in-10 parking
spaces will be converted to pay and display.” NOT TRUE.
No decision has been made yet on how many there will be and where they will
be located.
3) “There is absolutely
no provision for goods delivery vehicles.” NOT TRUE.
While the initial proposal for residents didn't contain any reference to this
subject, there will be provision for goods delivery vehicles. It is absurd
to suggest there won't be.
4) “There will be a massive increase in modern street furniture and road markings.” NOT TRUE. The spots to be given new double yellow lines have not yet been specified. Of course, there will have to be some additional double yellow lines and some signs indicating that a residents parking scheme is in operation. But it is ridiculous to suggest there will be a “massive” increase.
The leaflet contains a rather strange reference to Woolworth’s demise being caused by RPZs. All the more puzzling as the pilot areas in Bristol don’t have any shops.
All of these unfounded claims are aimed at alarming and frightening people living in Clifton.
The local authority's survey of residents in the pilot areas is to take place in April. This is so their needs can be identified. The scheme design will not be finalised until the responses have been analysed.
The yellow leaflet was not only posted through letterboxes but attached to cars parked in the area during the day, presumably in an attempt to get commuters who park in our area to lobby the Council in opposition to the proposed pilot RPZs.
This has happened in a week when the NO campaign acquired an unlikely supporter - the former Countdown celebrity, Carol Vorderman. Large numbers of people have subsequently complained that her intervention was unwelcome being from someone who lives well outside the areas concerned.
CONTACT: Stephen Perry
– 0117 904 0287 and 07960 525191
Email: info@yestorpz.info
27 February 2009
SUPPORT FROM JOHN ROGERS THE NEWLY APPOINTED HEAD OF TRANSPORT
Following an article in the Evening Post (Thursday, February 26, 2009) which seemed to imply that the Lib Dems might veto the RPZ pilots, we received the following supportive reply from Jon Rogers, the newly appointed head of transport for the Council.
Hi Stephen |
31st of January 2009
THE NEXT STAGE OF THE CONSULTATION
Following the very large indication of support from the Brandon Hill/Clifton Wood area at the meeting on the 5th (see below), we now want to start to canvass your views on the details of how the scheme should be implemented. What are your hopes? What are your fears? We will be distributing leaflets on the weekend of the 31st of January/1st February so that we can represent your views to the Council. We will create a summary of your views over the next few weeks and submit them to the council together with copies of your letters and e-mails.
Of course the council will be making its own consultations but we want to make a start.
Go to the "What Do You Think?" page to see a copy of the leaflet and some of the matters on which we would like your views.
5th January 2009
CONSERVATIVES' ATTEMPT TO DELAY RESIDENTS PILOT SCHEMES DEFEATED
The Yes to RPZ Campaign is delighted that the Call-In Committee tonight (Monday) rejected the demands by the Conservative Group to refer the Residents Parking Scheme plans to a full Council meeting. It also decided not to refer the issue back to Cabinet.
As a result, the detailed consultations with residents in the pilot areas can now begin and we welcome that. We are happy that Cllr Mark Bradshaw agreed that after six months progress will be reported back to Cabinet and again after two years. We will fully participate in the street by street consultations in our areas.
We are confident that pilot Resident Parking Zones will be established as early as the end of this year.
There were an astonishing 88 statements of support for RPZs submitted to the committee – out of 121 in all. Of those who were not in full support, several were from Lib Dem Councillors questioning procedure. Very few of the antis’ statements emanated from within the two zones designated for pilots.
We are certain that this demonstration of a strong desire by local residents that there should be no further delays in implementation of the pilots was crucial in the winning the necessary support from the two Lib Dem members, who held the balance of power.
We ask that the Keep Parking Free campaigners who live outside our area now desist from further interference in the consultation process within our zones. Those who live close by and are likely to be affected will be fully consulted.
We are also deeply grateful for the enormous amount of hard work, commitment and support that has helped us achieve this. This is only the beginning -- we will need to keep our intention and focus over at least the next 12 months, so thank you in advance for your support.
In return we undertake to make sure you are kept abreast of developments, especially in view of the street by street consultations promised.
Stephen Perry
