What the people of Bath think needs to be done to solve parking chaos

The historic streets of Bath were never designed to cope with the number of cars the city sees each day.

From concerns about buses and emergency service vehicles being trapped to residents’ frustration at having to park so far away from their homes – parking is a constant gripe.

The problem isn’t just in the very centre of the city – it reaches far out into residential streets.

Recently Bath Live captured the ‘chaos’ in Southlands on an average day, after residents described a ‘daily nightmare’ of ‘dangerous parking.’

Parking partially on the footpath seen every day in Southlands (Image: Artur Lesniak)

Nearly everyone agrees parking is a big problem, but solutions are hard to come by.

So Bath Live asked residents to brainstorm what ought to be done. Here is what they said.

No parking no permission

A number of Bathonians have expressed frustration that new multi-storey accommodation is still going up without in-built parking, particularly student housing. They are calling for planning applications to require sufficient parking provision.

Lee Griffin said: “In this day and age, all new buildings should be built with ground level parking and accommodation above, as should the RUH new buildings.”

A stuck bus in Southall blamed on hospital staff parking

Ken Taylor added: “Every household should have a parking space included with it. Multi-occupancy properties should have parking for each resident.

For some the answer is simple: “If they don’t provide it, they don’t get the licence for it,” Mr Taylor said.

More hospital parking

Insufficient staff parking at Royal United Hospital – and the charges some try to avoid – have been identified as a contributing factor in residential street overcrowding.

A multi-level car park for the hospital keeps cropping up as an answer, but reportedly in the past such plans were met with resident objections.

One of the cars being towed out of the way after buses were trapped for over an hour

Overwhelming public opinion appears to be that hospital staff should not have to pay for parking on site.

Others look to better public transport options, suggesting specific RUH shuttles and a 24-hour park and ride going directly to the hospital.

One said: “At the very least couldn't the hospital strike a deal with the park & rides in Bath so staff could park there and travel free of charge on the bus to work?”

Ban student cars

A controversial measure is the banning of university student cars in the city.

Eric Allen said: “Stop students from bringing their cars with them; they have buses to take them around.

“There are probably about 10,000 extra student cars in Bath taking up most the spaces of permanent residences.”

Parking on the footpath on May 7 (Image: Artur Lesniak)

Improve school drop offs

Others raised school drop offs as an area of improvement which could soften peak parking chaos times.

“Some drive by bays for schools where you can stop to pick up your child and staggering school start/finish times,” Beth Pearce suggested.

“Or proper school buses like they have in the USA.”

Extend permits

Some believe that extending permit only areas is in the best interest of residents and that their right to park should be protected.

Lorraine Evans, from Southlands, said: “I would welcome residential parking permits if it meant we had a space outside our house for once!

“I don’t see any other option.”

Encourage more cycling and walking

Others think we should be trying to reduce on-street parking full stop.

Jubal Pallavi said: “As a resident I don't like people parking on streets, it makes obstacles to walk around.

“We need proper parking lot areas.

“The city centre is for people walking and exploring the city’s beauty. Parking cars in public places looks over crowded.”

Mrs Pallavi is among those who believe we should be focussing on encouraging more use of public transport to address both Bath’s parking chaos and climate change.

This includes more bus services and cheaper fares.

Mrs Pallavi said: “Car driving should be used only if it is mandatory like health issues, heavy load or emergency work. Not for everything. People should use the bus frequently.”

More park and rides

On the topic of public transport, some believe Bath needs park and rides in more locations, with longer opening hours.

Chris Styles suggested learning from other cities.

He said: “I haven't been to Nottingham for a few years but I seem to remember many park and rides (11?) and very little parking in town.

“The cost of the bus fare was per car load, i.e. no matter if there was 1 or 5 in a car the cost was the same. Perhaps Bath could consider such a system?

“It would also help if park and rides were available after 8.30pm.

Crack down on offenders

While many people get frustrated with the heavy presence of parking attendants in the city centre, others say rules should be more strictly enforced in suburban streets.

“Cars parking on pavements should be fined and towed away,” one suggested.

Hyper local delivery service

Some residents are trying to find more creative answers to Bath’s parking congestion.

Paul Harrison, from SD Solutions, is suggesting a hyper local delivery network that delivers from Bath’s independents to residents, to keep more cars out of the very centre of Bath.

“Bath city centre is very very condensed,” Mr Harrison explained.

“What you can’t do is increase places to park in the very centre of Bath.”

Mr Harrison hopes that such a courier service would encourage local shoppers to leave their cars at home.

“Walking back up Lansdown Hill with loads of bags is a nightmare.

“But you could have a shop where people drop bags off? We could have an app that people use like Uber and Deliveroo?”

He suggests that people coming in on public transport could find what they want in store and have it delivered to their house that afternoon – offering the best of both the high street experience and online convenience.

“Look at the success of services like Deliveroo. If you can do it for food why can’t you do it for other things?” he said.

Would you be interested in such a hyper local courier service? Have you got another creative solution not mentioned here? Contact elise.britten@reachplc.com

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