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Car parking
停车场
Four wheel fever
四轮热
Even with a mayor, Bristol may not get a coherent transport policy
即便市长出马，布里斯托尔也不见得能出台一个合理的交通政策
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CLIFTON, in Bristol, is an unlikely hotbed of political activism. Behind high streets filled with independent cafés, posh delis and expensive flower shops sit grand Regency houses. Yet three times this year residents and businessmen have marched through the streets of Bristol—first carrying a coffin and then, twice, with a tank—to protest against plans by the mayor, George Ferguson, to roll out stricter parking regulations. Their discontent hints at the powerful sense of entitlement felt by Britain's car owners. It also highlights the limits of devolved government.
布里斯托尔的克里夫顿不太像是政治激进主义的温床。在满大街独立咖啡馆的后面，精致的食品店、高档的花店坐落在华丽的摄政风格房屋里。然而这已是今年第三次居民和商人们在布里斯托尔街上游行了——第一次带了一个棺材，第二次带了一辆坦克，他们反对George Ferguson市长推出更严格的停车规章计划。他们的不满暗示了英国车主们强烈的权利意识。这也显示出了地方政府的不足。
Bristol is one of the most congested cities in Britain. Traffic during the evening rush hour moves more slowly than anywhere except Belfast, Edinburgh and London. Fashion and official prodding have put more bicycles on the roads: bike traffic has grown by 25% since 2003. But car use has not dropped. Getting around in the city can be unbearable, concedes Mr Ferguson: “If we're just one great bloody traffic jam we're not going to be an economically thriving city.”
布里斯托是英国最拥堵的城市之一。除了贝尔法斯特、爱丁堡和伦敦外，这里晚间高峰期的交通比任何地方都缓慢。时尚和官员督促使得道路上出现了更多的自行车：自2003年以来自行车交通上涨了25%。但汽车使用率却没有降下来。在城市间穿行可以说令人无法忍受，Ferguson承认说：“若我们是这样拥堵的一个城市，那么要变身成经济发达之城是不可能的了。“
Bristol was the only city to vote for a mayor in a series of plebiscites held in 2012; nine others rejected them. And Bristolians plumped for a man who promised to do something about traffic. Mr Ferguson's first pledge was “getting Bristol moving”. He has abolished Sunday parking charges. But the mayor is also in the process of introducing tighter parking restrictions beyond the city centre, often in places where parking is currently free, along with 15 resident parking zones. Locals will pay 48 (81) for the first permit to park near their homes.
布里斯托尔是2012年举行的一系列公民投票中唯一一个投票选举市长的城市；其他的九个城市都反对。布里斯托尔居民选举了一个承诺要解决交通问题的人。Ferguson的第一个保证是要“让布里斯托尔动起来”。他废除了星期天停车收费制度。但这位市长同时也计划在市中心外的区域加强停车限制，这些区域通常目前是免费的，还包括15个居民停车场。市民将为获得在家附近停车的第一许可而支付48英镑（81美元）。
Under current plans, businesses will only be allocated a handful of parking permits. Employees who do not get them will have to find other ways of getting to work in a city with a less than wonderful bus network. This irks business owners. “Potentially 45 minutes will be added to a long commute,” complains Jonathan Marchant, who works at an accountancy firm in Clifton. Other companies are threatening to move out of the city.
在现有计划下，商家们将仅分得少数停车许可。没有停车许可的职员将只能在这个公交系统不尽完善的城市寻找其他通勤的办法。这令公司老板们不胜心烦。在克里夫顿一家会计公司工作的Jonathan Marchant 抱怨道：“这将可能给通勤时间加上45分钟。”其他的一些公司威胁要搬离城市。
Mr Ferguson has much less sway over public transport than the mayor of London does, which makes it harder to lubricate unpopular changes. When Ken Livingstone, the former boss of London, introduced a controversial congestion charge to the city in 2003 he was also able to promise to lay on more buses and pump a successful transport system with cash. All Mr Ferguson can really do is negotiate with the privatised bus operator to bring down fares and extend routes slightly. For big projects he depends on largesse from Westminster even more than London mayors do. And cash to spend on big projects is tight these days in any case.
相较于伦敦市长，Ferguson在公共交通的问题上显得有心无力，这也使得这个政策很难缓和那些不得人心的变化。当伦敦前任市长Ken Livingstone于2003年开始收取饱受争议的拥堵费时，他有能力许诺开通更多的公共巴士并投入资金构建一个成功的交通系统。而Ferguson能做的只是与私有巴士运营商协商降价并稍微延长路线。在大项目上，他仰仗于来自威斯敏斯特的慷慨，这一点甚至超过了伦敦市长。而近些时无论在任何方面大项目的资金都很紧张。
Worse, Mr Ferguson's reach does not extend far. Around two-thirds of metropolitan Bristol is under his control; the other third is run by another council, South Gloucestershire. This makes co-ordinating transport policy tricky, and increases the likelihood that politicians will squabble. Even if the mayor succeeds, the metropolis might not benefit much. In Clifton, a suspension bridge links Bristol with North Somerset. “Everybody and his daughter will park there and walk across,” predicts one resident. Rather than solving a city's traffic problem, Mr Ferguson might just end up pushing it elsewhere.
雪上加霜的是，Ferguson的权力范围并不广。布里斯托尔约三分之二的辖区在他的控制之下，另外的三分之一由南格洛斯特郡议会管理。这使得共同协商交通政策变得棘手了，并增加了政客们发生争吵的可能性。即便是市长成功了，这座城市也许也不会从中受益很多。在克里夫顿，一座吊桥连接了布里斯托尔和北萨默赛特郡。一位市民预测：“每个人，包括Ferguson本人的女儿都会将车停在那儿，然后走过来。”与其说解决了城市的交通问题，不如说Ferguson只是将这个问题推向了别处。译者：王颖 校对：张娣
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