Parking

FoBRA’s objectives on parking are:

• To ensure that residents get fair treatment in the allocation of parking spaces.
• To ensure that residents have the ability to park as near their homes as practical.
• To reduce congestion and pollution by discouraging vehicles from driving unnecessarily into the city.
• In sensitive heritage areas, to reduce the amount of on-street parking.
• To maintain the attractiveness of Bath for residents, businesses, shoppers and visitors.

To achieve this, we believe the Park & Rides should be made more attractive, by means of improved operating hours, better security, delivery services for shopping, introduction of season tickets, and appropriate charges for city centre car parks.

The amenity of the central core should be improved by reducing the amount of on-street parking in the commercial core to facilitate more pedestrianisation; redeveloping the minor surface car parks into areas for public enjoyment; and requiring tourist coaches to drop their passengers rather than driving them round the city on sightseeing tours.

Central zone residents should be given a better deal by rationalising the Controlled Parking Zone arrangements to provide comparable arrangements across the city, in particular dedicated residents’ bays and visitors’ permits in the central zone, as in all other zones; and extending single yellow line and CPZ restrictions to 19.00 to give residents a better chance of finding a space after the working day.

We think that the enforcement of parking restrictions should be strengthened, and welcome the recent increase in the number of civil enforcement officers.

New car parking in the centre of Bath should be limited once the new Southgate car park is open.

Car parking should be discouraged in the Royal Victoria Park, except for visitors to the park.