Bristol Township, PA Parking Rules: Preferential Parking Districts (2026)

Article V of Chapter 191 of the Bristol Township Code (§§ 191-31 to 191-44) sets up residential parking districts in Bristol Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Only the Township Council can create one. The process starts either on Council's own initiative or when residents of the area submit a petition. A district cannot be placed in a nonresidential zone under the Township Zoning Ordinance, so the area must be zoned residential.

The impact test in § 191-32 is numeric. During the proposed restricted hours, nonresident vehicles, parked legally or illegally, must equal 30% or more of the legal on-street capacity of the street. The Traffic Safety Director of the Bristol Township Police Department runs the survey inside the restricted hours, and a legal space is counted as 22 linear feet. Holidays proposed for exemption are left out of the count.

Before Council acts, the Managing Director compiles the data and the proposed ordinance and hearings must be advertised. Council then holds a public hearing and takes final action within 65 days after it. Each district's days, hours and exemptions are fixed by the ordinance that creates it, and the streets are listed in Schedule XX (§ 191-84).

Inside a district, nobody may park beyond the allowed time unless the vehicle displays a valid permit for that district. Permit holders still follow every other parking rule in force. A permit goes to a vehicle of a resident who lives in a structure approved for residential occupancy and who owns or rents it, or who shows another exclusive right of occupancy. One representative of each dwelling unit who applies also receives two short-term visitor's passes.

Applications go to the Department of Licenses, Zoning and Inspections on its form. The applicant gives name, address, operator's permit number and issue date, the vehicle owner's details, and the make, model, color, state of registration and license number of the vehicle. A permit is refused for any vehicle with an unpaid Township parking citation. The annual fee is set by Council resolution and is payable with the application, and the term is set when the district is created. After the midpoint of the term the fee drops to 1/2, and no fee is refundable. Renewal requires presenting the visitor's passes.

The permit sticker goes on a driver's side window and visitor's passes sit on the dash. A permit is void once the user moves out of the district, and the resident must remove the sticker and return the passes. A bona fide long-term visitor can get a temporary permit valid for fourteen days, with any fee set by Council resolution.