Residents' Parking Zones - Could they come to Brislington?

 

Not something here in Brislington yet, but the people of Cotham & Kingsdown got one of these last week to warn them about the Residents' Parking Zone that comes into effect in January 2011. The first permit will cost £30 per annum; the second will cost £80 per annum. In exceptional cases where a third permit is issued, it will cost £200 per annum. Businesses will have to pay £100 for one vehicle only!

Kingsdown is starting - Will it come to Brislington?

Newbridge Road Ice

 

Saturday Night at the Movies is wasn't here, just another Bristol road that needed closing due to the icy conditions. Arlington Road, notorious to locals, is the place to steer clear of. In this case, someone could not and managed to hit the wall of this house in Newbridge Road. It was not until after Midnight that the Council put a sign at the top of the road warning about the ice!

 

Not a result of the ice in this road, but the owner could have done a lot better for a Christmas present than all this damage! Further up the road, before the ice was eventually cleared, one owner of a brand new Astra had to face the prospect of multiple collisions with their parked car.

Icy roads in St. Anne's

 

Icy roads, especially after snow and freezing temperatures to follow, mean some people leave sense at home and drive the car down a steep hill. Here's the usual result at the bottom end of Newbridge Road!

A4 Nightmare

 

Here's the future for Brislington in 2011

Tempting Fate in St. Anne's

 

A popular spot to get a parking ticket nowadays, and that's for just parking on the double yellow lines. The original plan in the 1980's was to block off the bottom of Arlington Road, but the local residents opposed it due to the winter difficulties in ice & snow.

Sandy Park Road Clear - On a Saturday?

 

Yes - Unbelievably, a Saturday afternoon and these parking places empty!

Duck!

 

Whitby Road, with the low bridge has provided many locals with some entertainment, especially when a lorry gets stuck here. In the days of CB Radio, it was a common thing for people to give lorry drivers travel directions, forgetting this low bridge.

Well, you had your chance...

 

Here's the former Hollybush Inn site on the main A4 Bath Road in Brislington. As you can see from this picture, the road could have been widened. Instead, the council allowed the new block of flats to be built to the original pub building line.

Highworth Road, St. Anne's

 

Highworth Road has followed the roads off Sandy Park in becoming a parking problem area. No rear access/garages, multi-occupancy and several cars per household. Even in the case where there is off-street parking, some residents get blocked in their driveway on a regular basis.

Sunnydene, Brislington

 

The William Sutton estate in Brislington was re-built over the last few years and a majority of the houses and flats now have off-street parking. Many residents are elderly and don't necessarily have a car, but there are extreme cases where cars have taken over the pavements as the driveway is full. At least this road is fairly clear for the time being!

The Hollybush Inn

 

The Hollybush Inn at Brislington stood at the junction of Bristol Hill and Kenneth Road from 1905 until it was demolished in 2007. In that this was the major bottle-neck on the A4 into Bristol, why did the Council allow the flats now built on the site to be erected to the same building line?

Bloomfield Road

 

An odd shot this. Plenty of room to park and the last house in the road before the school has not yet been converted into several flats. The hairdressers beyond the school is also shown and is also now flats nowadays. In short, two properties in one picture with multi-occupancy and not a lot of on-site parking, if any!

Arlington Road - Alternative Parking Styles

 

Not sure how to park? Try this method and attract a fixed penalty ticket!

St. Anne's - Arlington Road

 

Not the film, just another nightmare of a road for parking your car. To add to the misery, several house owners have given up their front gardens for a parking space. In reality, the parking spaces don't get used all the time.

Here's where the future could catch up with the people with front garden driveways; in Kingsdown, the new Residents' Parking Zone is being finalised and the driveway owners there have ended up with double yellow lines across their driveway & dropped kerb. If a RPZ were implemented here - Nightmare!

The rules in Kingsdown are basically as follows: 

The first permit costs £30 per annum; the second costs £80 per annum. In exceptional cases where a third permit is issued, it will cost £200 per annum. Each household is eligible for 50 free visitors’ permits and can purchase up to 50 additional permits per annum at a cost of £1 per permit.

Welcome to Brislington

 

Here's the A4 Bath Road that leads to the former Somerset village of Brislington. No longer a Village in its own right, Brislington is now a part of Bristol. The road here looks fairly clear, but as we will see later, traffic in the area, and more especially parking, is a major problem.