Bristol Council reclaims Thomas St for Parking!

With the rollout of the Kingsdown RPZ, one of the secret parking places of the city was lost.

Rejoice though!

The residents of Fremantle Square have complained about its loss, and they have had their place returned,


No longer double yellow lines.

No longer (as it was before), a fading Keep Clear sign -still shown on Google Maps.. Now there is a sign proclaiming that any resident can park here on weekdays; anyone evenings and weekends!
  
We do note that this is actually marked on the Bristol Cycling Maps as a recommended cycle route, and fear that without formally closing the road the markings are invalid -hence some tax-dodging troublemaker could get cars ticketed for obstructing the highway.

The minor bit of clearance at the corner may be the get-out clause here,

The front line of the RPZ

Freemantle Square, the council is happily making us pay even more for the right to park near the inner city, and ticketing those who resist!

Fortunately, just down the hill, the zone ends, and on Springfield road, you can double park provided you stay far enough away from the yellow lines as to not infringe them.

Cyclists coming up Ninetree hill should be grateful for this considerate parking by V281MGO

Kingsdown RPZ parking opportunities

Good to see that there are still some parking places hiding away in Kingsdown, like on Fremantle Square.

Although there are double yellow lines on each of the corners with Thomas Street, if you park your car right in the middle of the bollarded route, as BF02FVK has done, you aren't on any. It appears to be legal to park here. Why the bollards? Its a cycling city route, see.

Incidentally, for anyone who thinks that Kingsdown is now upmarket, what with the residents parking, we disagree. The Cotham Porter Stores pub is its very own bit of darkest Somerset, while Thomas Street boasts its very own Banksy. Here it is, framed.

Opposite, on a side of road that will soon apparently get yellow lines, that other sign of city life: someone has broken the window to steal something.

Question is, was it the classic -satnav- or was it one of the new resident permits?

Jan 30: republic day

We are the only mass media outlet in Britain campaigning for Jan 30 to be celebrated as the day Britain became a republic, or at least a Commonwealth. No-one else mentions that on this day, King Charles I of England was executed.

We will celebrate it with some photos of Freemantle Square, site of one of the city's Civil War forts.

First, looking to Purdown in the distance.

Nearby a terrace of houses, their road taken from commuters, bicycles proudly placed up on the veranda's by the smug victors in this campaign to make the city friendly to their abhorrent lifestyle.

Also nearby -and this is most odd- the Union Jack of the "unionist quarter" is now flying the Scottish Flag.

A leftover from Burns Night, perhaps?

Whatever the details, the fact is that Bristol started off on Cromwell's side, the city fell and was occupied by the royalists, who eventually surrendered and tried to escape to Wales. England became a Commonwealth -one of the first states in enlightenment-era Europe to decide that royalty was something we could do without.

There's a probably lesson there, if only we could think of it.

But for now, the next person you greet today, say "Happy Republic Day!". We can start a new tradition.

Kingsdown update

Shocking footage in Kingsdown, where we can see the paint lines for the resident parking zone going up, even though the zone isn't going live until 2011.

We even have video coverage of a drive-by review of Freemantle Square, showing two things

1. They've even yellow-lined the corners
2. The parking area is to narrow for a premium SUV -it's almost as if they want us van drivers to feel unwelcome.

That's OK, we are used to be hated. And we aren't scared of yellow lines on corners. Indeed, this fellow driver has managed to park on two corners at once

This is something to be impressed by.

If the council had not selfishly put bollards up by the double yellow lines , it would have been able to park on the pavements instead.

While admiring our own upload, youtube recommended this related video, which is quite entertaining, by one bristolcyclista, who is getting pretty irate at WR54HRW for turning over them.

Bristolcyclista -if you had not been on a bicycle, you would not have been nearly hit. Therefore, you are the cause of the situation. You may think "but what would she have done if I was in a car", but the answer there is simple: it depends on the car. Everyone gives way to a battered white van or a 1970s volvo.