Bristol, CT Parking Rules: Preferential Parking Districts (2026)

Bristol Code of Ordinances Sec. 14-52 lets residents of the City of Bristol, Connecticut turn any street into a Restricted Residential Parking Zone (RRPZ), reserving on-street spaces for the block's own residents. A petition to the board of police commissioners needs signatures from motor vehicle registrants representing at least sixty-five percent of the eligible RRPZ addresses on both sides of the street, and the police chief's office receives it as the board's agent. Within ten days of a qualifying petition, the board must schedule a public hearing within thirty-five days, and Sec.

14-53 requires the board to decide within another thirty-five days, setting the zone's specific hours, seasonal restrictions, number of resident permits, and any temporary visitor permits. That decision goes to the parking authority for final approval, which is granted automatically unless the authority posts a special meeting to disapprove within twenty days. Approved zones run through the following September 30 and can be renewed for one-year terms by majority vote of the board. Sec. 14-54 puts the police department in charge of administering permits: an applicant's vehicle must be registered to an RRPZ address, owe no delinquent motor vehicle taxes or outstanding parking tickets, and the applicant must sign the application under penalty of false statement; the parking authority sets and periodically adjusts the permit fee.

Once a zone is in force, Sec. 14-55 makes parking there in violation of the posted restrictions a twenty-five-dollar offense, and the police department may suspend an RRPZ's restrictions temporarily for special events or public-safety reasons by covering the signage.