Bath could have been patrolled by traffic wardens on electric bicycles, but the council realised that the plan would not work.
Bath & North East Somerset Council’s parking enforcement officers currently use cars and mopeds to patrol the area.
Now the council is planning to expand this team as it aims to make another £50,000 a year from increased enforcement of illegal parking.
But the local authority could save on the cost of the new traffic wardens if they put them on electric bicycles, one Green councillor suggested at a scrutiny panel on 22nd January.
Councillor Saskia Heijltjes (Green, Larkhall) said: “Would the council consider investing in the use of electric pedal cycles — for Bath, of course, not for North East Somerset.
“This is done very effectively by Avon & Somerset Police and has been for years so there is local knowledge. This could save money and time and improve staff satisfaction and health as well.”
Council officers said that the idea had actually already been looked at, but had been found not to work.
The meeting was told: “We utilise a range of options, including cars and mopeds, at the moment.
“They are all linked to technology that reads the number plates as the officer goes around to make sure that we identify vehicles that are in contravention of the regulations, and then they get off their bike to issue the penalty notice in line with the regulations.
“We have considered the use of electric bikes. Unfortunately, we cannot add the technology to the electric bikes at the moment.”
Council officers said that they would continue to look at the idea, but that technology was not the only issue.
They added: “It’s all about time and efficiency. If it takes a long time for people to get to particular areas, they are not spending their time improving the traffic flow and making sure that anybody who is parking illegally is being dealt with.”
Officers told the meeting: “We also recognise there are a lot more restrictions with the growth in residents’ parking zones and the changes and these proposals reflect the need to increase the number of officers on the ground to support the city and North East Somerset.”
Residents’ parking zones cover large parts of Bath. New zones were introduced in Walcot, Snow Hill and Claremont Road and in Oldfield Park and Westmoreland in 2023 — but these quickly led to warnings that problem parking was just being pushed to even further out areas of the city.
Now even more residents’ parking zones could be introduced for the city’s outskirts.
Like the city’s car parks, the cost of a resident’s parking permit currently depends on how polluting your vehicles is under the council’s emissions-based parking charges.
Now the local authority is considering also making the cost depend on the size of your vehicle.
The council said: “The aim of the size-based change is to encourage ownership of smaller, safer vehicles that reduce the risk of serious accidents and cause less obstruction on narrow streets.”
John Wimperis, Local Democracy Reporter
