Saturday 8 October 2011

Secret Colston Street parking -handy for the BRI

"OJ" drops us a note

Dear Bristol Traffic,


I have discovered a great place to park my 4x4 for free, 2 minutes away from the Centre. There's a lovely wide pavement outside the Colston Almshouses on Colston Street, and as N864HWP shows, no traffic warden cares if you park there.


The only drawback is that (see 2nd photo), some of the space has been reserved for road tax dodgers. I could have easily parked my Hummer behind W381XKX, but for the fact that someone had put (unused) bike racks on the pavement there. The thing that's really frustrating me is that I bet cyclists ride onto the pavement to use these racks.
It's good to hear that no traffic warden cares, though we must hope no passers by with mobile phones dial up the Parking Services control room on +44 117 903 8070 and report the golf, as that pavement is possibly covered by the yellow line rules. The bit by the zebra crossing: go for it!

3 comments:

Dru Marland said...

I see that the car driver is promoting Jager Monsters. Mixing a caffeine-enhanced energy drink with your shot of Jagermeister is a prudent way to reduce the risk of falling asleep while driving around Bristol after you've drunk a few shots, and I find it admirable behaviour. As is helping to keep death off the roads by driving on the pavement. Here's another public-spirited Monster drinker doing likewise

http://www.flickr.com/photos/belvedere/6199734715/in/photostream

Someone Else said...

I did have a long winded reply to this article and after several edits for 'common sense's' sake it hardly seemed worth it. So the rant was condensed to the facts...

The parking in Bristol city centre for residents is few and far between. What you have in example of the photos shown is a small loophole that the traffic wardens, police, nor council can object to so long as the vehicles do not restrict access to pushchairs, wheelchairs or mobility scooters. The expanse of pavement used by these vehicles is actually private property ungoverned by the white zig-zag of the adjacent pelican crossing nor the bus-stop that breaks up the double yellow lines down Colston street. Objections by the management of the private property can be made to the authorities and strict measures can be enforced but provided no direct breach of pedestrian access is broken then the vehicles will remain within this loophole.

Several proposals for better parking facilities for residential and public access within Bristol city centre continue to be petitioned and always will be. If there is a space, someone will fill it. Be it with a car, unused bike racks, a mobile pie stall or residents of Turbo Island, it will be used within an inch of any legislation. Welcome to Bristol!

Shawn said...

The council could put up bollards on the part of the pavement that they own. Surely since this is by a zebra crossing it is unsuitable to have vehicle access to this private land here.