Could pavement parking soon be history in Bristol?

If the city council's plans succeed, the days of pavement parking in Bristol may be numbered.

As car ownership surged in the post-war decades, narrow streets struggled to accommodate the influx of more, and bigger, cars.  Nobody knows if the squeeze on road space entirely explains the frequency with which drivers park on pavements. Drivers have increasingly turned to pavements. But this has come with severe consequences: pavement parking creates obstacles for pedestrians, especially older adults, people with disabilities, and families with young children. It also damages infrastructure not designed to hold cars, leading to trip hazards and the costly repairs and compensation claims that result.

Local authorities spend many thousands annually on repairs. One council reports up to £100,000 per year in damage costs.

Since the Green Party came to power in Bristol, they’ve formed a taskforce to tackle this issue head-on. Councillor Rob Bryher, leading the initiative, acknowledges the plan is “incredibly controversial,” but sees it as essential to reducing car dependency in the city.

The council's vision includes expanded double yellow lines, and a yearly commitment to replace at least one on-street parking spot on each of Bristol’s 1,500 streets with alternatives like bike hangars, planters, or benches. According to Bryher, this approach will “gradually but consistently” reimagine how urban spaces are used.

To support these goals, the council is considering new residents’ parking schemes and a workplace parking levy to fund enforcement and improve public transport.

For drivers citing narrow roads as an excuse for pavement parking, Bryher has a dose of common sense: , “You need to park somewhere else … there are enough spaces for everyone in the city. You might just have to park further away or consider whether you really need a car.”

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What if we took radical action against pavement parking?

Have you ever noticed the one-way spike strips they install at car park exits to stop drivers sneaking in the wrong way? They have a powerful deterrent effect because the spikes are designed to puncture all four of a cars tyres. We thought it would be interesting to propose a similar system for pavements.

Catclaw is designed to be installed along kerbs to protect pedestrians on pavements. When a car or lorry drives over a CatClaw, its weight exposes a spike that quickly punctures the tyre. However, it poses no threat to pedestrians - a person standing on top of the device would not be heavy enough to activate it.

The ethical choice

The ETA was established in 1990 as an ethical provider of green, reliable travel services. Over 30 years on, we continue to offer cycle insurance , breakdown cover  and mobility scooter insurance while putting concern for the environment at the heart of all we do.

The Good Shopping Guide judges us to be the UK's most ethical provider.

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