Bristol could implement new parking rates by car size with heavier and more polluting cars paying more

Drivers in the South West could soon face parking charges determined by the size of their car, if the proposed policy is approved.

Bristol City Council is studying a new parking “strategy” which will rely on “weight, emissions and size-based pricing”.

This follows the examples of Lambeth and Bath councils, which have introduced similar parking schemes that penalize drivers of larger, more polluting cars.

Bristol City Council is in the “early stages” of planning a change to regulations that would see cars such as SUVs pay more for parking.

A committee report said: ‘The project will include outlining our strategy for managing on-street, off-street and resident parking, including pricing strategy, demand management and variations in price categories , for example, weight, emissions and size-based pricing. ‘

This proposal for a higher charge for drivers of large cars like SUVs comes hand in hand with a task force’s exploration of green expansion on sidewalks.

A City Council committee will study “a gradual reallocation of space (on sidewalks) towards sustainable modes of transport and alternative uses, for example, tree planting, SUD (sustainable drainage systems), bicycle hangars and seating.”

A committee report said: “The project will include outlining our strategy for managing on-street, off-street and resident parking, including pricing strategy, demand management and variations in price categories “for example, weight, emissions, and size-based pricing.”

Bristol councilors had also previously mentioned a possible ban on pavement parking, something Scotland recently introduced and which Wales and England are considering.

Councilors previously mentioned a possible ban on sidewalk parking, which could be implemented in certain parts of the city.

Said to be “heavily influenced” by Lambeth, whose Kerbside strategy has “ambitious plans to transform 25 per cent of its pavement space into places for people, and not just cars”, Bristol is planning to convert a quarter of the space on the streets in places. for trees, benches and bicycle storage.

Following Lambeth’s example, part of the drive for size-based parking is to also consider “a gradual reallocation of (pavement) space to sustainable transport modes and alternative uses, e.g. tree planting, SUDs sustainable drainage), bicycle hangars and seating. ‘

Lambeth, like other London boroughs, bases the cost of a resident’s parking permit on the vehicles’ carbon emissions.

Bath already has an emissions-based parking system, which requires owners of larger, more polluting cars to pay more.

On October 24, councilors on the transport policy committee will vote on establishing a task and finalization group to explore options, and then the task force will have a one-hour private online meeting each month, and is expected to The project took a year to develop.

The public will then be consulted on any proposed changes to parking rules, before the transport committee makes a final decision.

Bath parking charged for emissions.

As This is Money reported in September 2023, Bath now has ULEZ-style rules, under which owners of diesel cars and some high-emission petrol models are charged more to use council car parks in the center of the city. city.

It was introduced by Bath and North East Somerset Council (BANES) to encourage a “shift towards cleaner, more sustainable travel in the city”.

When it was introduced last year, it was estimated that 66 per cent of car park users would pay additional parking charges, approximately a 47 per cent increase from £1.70 per hour to £2.50.

The new rates for gasoline, hybrid and electric models starting September 8 were proposed last September and are now in effect

Drivers of diesel vehicles are charged differently: the cost of parking in the eighth place is now more expensive

Only petrol drivers and models with emissions below 131 g/km CO2 did not experience any price increase, which is also the case for electric vehicles.

For example, a petrol car with CO2 emissions of 131 to 150g/km saw costs rise from £1.70 to £1.80 for an hour of parking.

However, a diesel model that falls into the same emissions range will have to pay an extra 50p – £2.30.

Individual charges will be calculated automatically by pay and display machines when drivers enter their license plate number.

Drivers will need to check their vehicles’ emissions on the Government website to determine whether they need to pay or not.

Cars PROHIBITED in municipal parking lots for being too long

As cars grow but parking spaces do not increase accordingly, drivers face the problem of cars being too big for the spaces.

Five councils currently have length restrictions on vehicles using their parking spaces, with most setting a limit of 5 metres, which is shorter than a Range Rover and a Mercedes-Benz S-Class.

These five councils are: Wokingham, South Hams, Broadland and South Norfolk, and West Devon.

A Freedom of Information request from Autocar found that more than nine in ten councils have no intention of expanding their parking spaces to accommodate today’s much larger vehicles, which are said to grow by 1cm every two years .

And avoiding cars longer than five meters is surprisingly difficult, with seven of the 10 best-selling car brands in the UK last year producing at least one car exceeding this length.

Cars including the Audi A8 and Kia’s EV9 electric SUV overcome this restriction, as do the latest Range Rover and the Tesla Model S and Model X electric vehicles.