A driver claims that signage for Bristol’s Clean Air Zone is not good enough after receiving a fine for £120. Alan Green from Piling, entered the Clean Air Zone in late January at the Bower Ashton roundabout after coming from the car park via Clanage Road.
While Alan was aware of the CAZ due to the advertising the council had done, he did express how he didn’t expect it to stretch that far out of the centre. He said: “I did know. To be fair to Bristol, they had advertised it, I did know there was a clean air zone. But I didn't expect it to be out in that area.”
After receiving the fine, Alan took his bike and cycled back to where he went into the zone to ‘have a good look,’ and found that there were no advanced warning signs prior to the zone. In the ‘CAZ Framework’ it states that there needs to be advanced signage at the junction prior to the entry point of the clean air zone, and possibly the one before that.
A spokesperson from Bristol City Council said: "We have always been clear that drivers should use the vehicle checker before travelling to find out if they need to pay a charge for their chosen route. The same is true for people considering purchasing new vehicles, for which support is still available."
Read More: Bristol visitor given CAZ fine totalling £120 says he had 'absolutely no idea' it existed
Armed with this information, Alan decided to appeal his fine as he believed the signage requirements were not met, but his appeal was later rejected with no reason as to why. In his appeal he said: “There are NEITHER 'Advance warning signs' or 'Direction signs' before entering the CAZ! The only sign is actually on the entry point to the CAZ on the slip road, too late to avoid entering!”
Alan, who is also a keen cyclist, is not against the idea of CAZs but feels the implementation of the signage hasn’t worked so well. He said: “I’m not anti clean air zones or anything like that, it's just the implementation that seems to be a bit lacking, and being a new thing. I didn't clock the signs or I'd have paid.”
This isn't the first time someone has claimed the signage isn't up to standard, with many people who have received fines have claimed they never noticed them. With the light green colour they're easy to miss, Alan said: "They're not like a sort of a speed limit sign, like a big nice red thing, they're just signs and I missed them."
A spokesperson from Bristol City Council said: “Bristol’s Clean Air Zone emissions standards will ensure that the city meets the requirement from government to bring air pollution within legal limits in the shortest possible time. Drivers are fully responsible for managing all Clean Air Zone charges for their vehicle(s). Payment plans are available to help people manage Penalty Charge Notice payments if they are facing financial difficulty. Those who think they have received a Clean Air Zone PCN in error or have mitigating circumstances can submit an appeal. Each appeal will be assessed based on its own merit.”.
What's been your experience of Bristol's Clean Air Zone? Email darcey.barrett@reachplc.com
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