Residents parking

I've decided to support residents parking - with a couple of provisos, and even decided to resurrect my blog to post why. I should point out that I am an occasional car user (walks at the weekend, mainly), and tend to walk or cycle around the city.

I moved to Bristol in 1990, and quickly spotted the facts that it was a. full of cars and b. had a shit public transport system. Here we are 23 years later and Bristol is still a. full of cars and b. still has a shit public transport system. That's been a generation.

It seems to me that there are two basic solutions to the traffic problems we have in Bristol. Either we bumble along, as we do now, following business as usual - which might well mean another generation of Bristol being full of cars and having a shit public transport system - or, we do something about it.

As a card-carrying member of the Green Party, I want to see a city where journeys by car are the exception, not the norm, and journeys by sustainable methods of transport are the norm, not the exception.

This means doing a number of things. Promoting local shops and local jobs, promoting cycling and walking and having a decent public transport system are among them (although personally, some of these massive engineering projects such as BRT2, seem to me to be a huge waste of money).

But controlling parking has to be part of the solution. I say this for two reasons

1. Commuters

We know that loads of commuters pile into the city every day. We need to do something to get them to travel by some other means, or, indeed work closer to where they live (or vice versa)

2. Residents

Look at these graphs showing levels of car ownership, and you will see that levels of ownership are growing pretty much inexorably. It is open to debate that they'd stop at a car per adult. But there is certainly little doubt that numbers of cars on our streets are just going to carry on rising. In the 23 years I have lived here, that reflects my experience.

Depending on where you live, you either have a big problem now, a small problem now - or will have one soon. Maybe not everywhere, but certainly in lots of the areas of Bristol, especially more centrally.

Or to put it another way, our streets are of a finite size, and we are filling them up, if we have not done so already. We need to recognise this and do something about it. To me this means setting a limit to the number of cars you have in an area (which means having some sort of control)

The opportunity

Our streets, of course, are basically sterile car parks. 'Business as usual' means keeping them as sterile car parks. But I'd rather we did something a little more adventurous.

I came across - when Bristol was a cycling city - a proposal for street pods. A combination of a seat, a planter and some cycle parking (I think). (I believe they were mobile). But lets use the opportunity of residents parking to make our streets a place to live, a place to play, a place to contemplate.

Lets also massively expand city car clubs - give people an alternative to car ownership.

How its been done aka 'if I ruled the world'

I would probably maximise use of the local rail network first, end free supermarket parking second, set up a locally owned public bus service third, and turn over road space to public transport fourth. I might pay for res p out of council tax, or keep charges low.

Of course, I don't rule the world - and I don't have the power for most of these.

The caveats

I believe George has already said he will be flexible over implementation, but I'd specifically like to see those people and businesses who NEED our support to be helped rather than penalised. This means those who are genuinely unable to pay the costs, those who are genuinely unable to get about in other ways, and those small businesses  especially local high streets - who we need to support.

Subject to getting these right, I will support the widespread extension of residents parking.

And I'll aim to submit a statement to the council meeting saying what I've said here (but possibly substituting something for the word 'shit'.....)