New model city plans spark fierce debate
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New model city: How the proposed remodelling of the city centre could look, viewed towards Colston Hall
By Susie Weldon
Radical proposals to re-model Bristol’s city centre have sparked a vigorous debate, with some welcoming the pedestrian-and-bus-friendly plans and others furious at the ban on cars from key roads.
The council has launched a six-week consultation over its draft plans which are aimed at making room in the city centre for the proposed bus rapid transport system — the ‘bendy buses’ — in 2015.
The controversial plans would see traffic reduced to just one lane in each direction on the Hippodrome side of the city centre and banned completely from the east side, apart from public transport.
In addition, general traffic would no longer be able to cross the centre from Baldwin Street to Park Street, and Colston Street would be blocked off to traffic apart from buses.
New way: The view from Colston Hall towards the city centre
Other proposals include:
- Allowing only public transport on Broad Quay;
- Closing the western side of Baldwin Street to general traffic;
- Re-routing two-way traffic using Baldwin Street down Marsh Street.
Cllr Jon Rogers, Cabinet Member for Transport and Sustainable Development, said traffic had to be re-routed to enable the bus rapid transport (BRT) system to link up with the existing bus networks. “We’d like passengers to alight in a smart, sustainable space, with clean air and a calm atmosphere,” he said.
The BRT scheme would create a bendy bus route from Bristol’s northern fringe to Hengrove, including a park-and-ride site off the M32. The council has until March to bid for funding from the Department for Transport.
Mr Rogers said the council had started consulting now because it knew Bristol people would have very strong views.
“2015 is a long way off, but we need to open the debate on what could work and what plans could mean for pedestrians, cyclists, public transport users and motorists,” he said.
Comments to the council’s Ask Bristol website have been largely positive but some motorists have accused Bristol of being anti-car.
Labour parliamentary candidate for Bristol West Paul Smith said the plans were “driven by the desire for headlines” by Jon Rogers and senior officers “who want grandiose multimillion pound schemes on their CVs rather than sorting out local needs”.
Others have voiced concerns that the plans could effectively divide Bristol in two.
Green Bristol blogger Chris Hutt supports the plans but says they will inevitably have knock-on effects for other parts of the road network.
He warned that journeys by car, van or lorry between the Clifton area and the south of the city could become “very constrained”, adding: “There will be almost no practical means of passing between those areas between the Cumberland Basin to the west and Newfoundland Circus (Cabot Circus) to the east.”
New plan: How the proposed changes to the road system in Bristol could look
I have not lived in Bristol for quite a few years but go back regularly. However every time I go back I'm disappointed to find how it is increasingly difficult to get around the Centre and the Docks area and how much of the Docks area has been effectively 'privatised'. This looks like just another scheme for keeping visitors away and as Chris Hutt says “There will be almost no practical means of passing between those areas between the Cumberland Basin to the west and Newfoundland Circus (Cabot Circus) to the east.”____
Apologies – missed your link.
“Labour parliamentary candidate for Bristol West Paul Smith said the plans were ‘driven by the desire for headlines’ by Jon Rogers and senior officers ‘who want grandiose multimillion pound schemes on their CVs rather than sorting out local needs’.”
Good soundbite Paul, but what do you think (i.e. not what you think about what others think)?
Here is the link to my comments in more detail
http://bristolwestpaul.wordpress.com/2010/01/02/road-to-nowhere/
Just to clarify the context of the quote above, I was referring specifically to car, van and lorry traffic when saying movements will be very constrained. From the point of view of people travelling on foot, bike or bus there would be greater freedom of movement in that there would be less conflict with general motor traffic.
It’s a question of whether we want to change the priorities in favour of walk-bike-bus at the expense of other traffic and in particular the car. I’m in favour of that but we need to manage the knock-on effects more pro-actively if the Park Row – St Jame’s Barton – Temple Circus corridor isn’t going to get jammed up.