Wednesday 12 November 2008

The secret parking of the Evening Post

We've been seeing pics of cars parking by the Evening Post building, so it was time to swing by and take a look if a paper that views bicycles on pavement as the greatest crime of the city had been doing a bit of pavement parking.

Yes, the cars T622MNB and W618RDD again. These seem to be the official parking spots for these vehicles.

Round the corner, some building work vehicles.

If the land is the proerty of Bristol news and Media, and they are allowed to park there, then yes, driving across pavements to get there is legitimate. Which is an interesting thought: of course it is legal to drive across pavements for access, so is it legal for bikes?

Returning to the Evening Post, the big question here is: can the vehicles park here? The builders, probably. But the other two, the two we always see- they're in front of the fire exit. Which is normally meant to be kept clear to allow the people to get out safely. Are there any Evening Post staff who worry about fire safety in the building? Does the Health and Safety Executive have any opinions on the matter?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Are you suggesting builders can park where they like? I know they *do* park anywhere they want, but are they doing so legally? Is there some exception for builders I'm unaware of?

SteveL said...

1. Yes builders can park where they like

2. They can also double park where they like, provided they are driving some kind of flatbed truck

3. If the land there belongs to the EP, and there are no specific parking bans, then it's legal to drive over the pavement to get there.

Unlike the other cars, they aren't blocking the fire exit.

Rick said...

Whether you own the property or not, you can only cross the pavement to park if you have a properly authorised haulage-way i.e. a dropped curb for the purpose and a suitable strengthened piece of pavement.

Now, does this apply to bikes as well. Probably, but only if you are riding it. If you get off and push you can cross the pavement anywhere.

SteveL said...

@Rick: thanks for that clarification. Next time I will go into their reception and say I've just phoned the parking services department.