News / Transport
Strong support for liveable neighbourhood trial ahead of decision that could make it permanent
Almost 500 comments have been submitted for the public forum of a council meeting on Thursday that could see councillors make the East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood permanent.
It has been one of the most polarising issues in Bristol of recent years but the statements submitted ahead of the transport & connectivity policy committee are dominated with support for the scheme.
Here is a selection or you can read all the comments here:
is needed now More than ever
In favour of the EBLN
“The EBLN needs to stay, the positives of the scheme are very strong and will pay dividends over time from a happier, healthier and more cohesive community once the ‘scars’ of the botched implementation and consultation heal.”
“I’d very much like to support the decision to keep the changes on Beaufort Road and the surrounding area, which have transformed life here over the last few years. The idea that this narrow road, which is now used by so many people walking and cycling (including kids cycling themselves to school), used to carry nearly 4,000 vehicles a day is crazy… It’s the permanent changes that will really secure what we’ve built here. The idea that we might lose all of this is heartbreaking. Please vote to keep what we have gained.”
“As a resident of Barton Hill I implore you to… implement the scheme which a majority of the councillors in this chamber got elected saying they would implement. Then and only then can we begin to heal the divisions in this community.”
“I really like the changes brought around by the liveable neighbourhood. Noise is reduced, walking and cycling are much better. It’s much safer for children and has calmed traffic considerably. Please keep the scheme in place. It’s a huge improvement for those of us living in the scheme who would hate to return to the days of dangerous rat running.”
“I cannot stress enough the scale of the improvement to the immediate area. (Beaufort Road) is genuinely now a nice area to walk, run and cycle down. The minor detour I must now do when driving in and out is such a minor issue for me. I really, really hope we get to keep it. I do not have enough experience in the rest of the areas of EBLN, but the area all up by me around Seneca (Street) I think is absolutely fantastic.”
“While I acknowledge that there are some shortcomings to the system for me this has made living in East Bristol so much nicer. Opponents often act like it was a traffic utopia in the area but the reality on Beaufort Road was road rage, accidents, speeding cars and pollution. Seeing a stream of people and children walking, scootering and cycling down the pavements is a joy.”
“The changes as part of the East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood have significantly improved the way I interact with my local area. I regularly walk and cycle around the Barton Hill, Redfield, St George, Whitehall and Easton areas and these changes have made getting around and through the first three much more enjoyable.”
“Some residents have been concerned about the effect of the scheme on disabled people. My niece is disabled and I think the scheme is a positive thing for her. She will never be able to drive. But safer, quieter residential roads mean she can have more independence. She might be able to go to the corner shop on her own one day, or to the park, whereas with busy roads that would not be possible. Blanket statements about the EBLN discriminating against elderly or disabled people are not correct and not helpful. All streets remain accessible by car, if that is how people choose or need to travel.”
“Since the EBLN has been installed, I have enjoyed walking and cycling to and from the centre of town. Now that we have a safer alternative to walking and cycling, it would be mortifying to have that removed. The area is much more pleasant to live in. The streets are quiet, there are no frustrated motorists using the street as a rat run. There is some inconvenience to the restrictions when using a car but I have found that I have changed my habits around this. I plan different routes and different times and types of transport. The benefits far outweigh the negatives. I would be heartbroken if this scheme was to be removed.”
“Perhaps the biggest change has been the stronger sense of community. With fewer cars passing through, neighbours are spending more time outside, stopping to chat, and children can enjoy the area more safely. There is a real feeling that our street has become a place for people rather than just a route for traffic. The scheme has significantly improved our quality of life, and I believe these benefits should be protected for current and future residents. I urge the council to make the East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood permanent.”
“Most of the so called negative effects largely stem from the fact that only temporary changes could be made. For example, the Church Road/Chalks Road junction issues (and delays around Blackswarth Road) would be alleviated by making it 4 way. More accurate road signs around Barton Hill and more publicised exemptions for disabled people and their carers would go a long way, but please don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.”
“Please support the full implementation of the EBLN business case, despite what the media may want to report, there are a significant amount of supporters of the scheme in the area. As a business owner, a resident of the EBLN and even a motor vehicle owner, I fully support this scheme. Please follow the evidence and implement it in full.”
A bus gate on Marsh Lane in Barton Hill has been removed during the trial but one still remains on Avondale Road – photo: Martin Booth
Against the scheme
“The idea of creating a more liveable neighbourhood is one that many people support. The problem is not the ambition but the implementation. The current scheme feels poorly thought through, poorly delivered, and increasingly disconnected from the experiences of the people who actually live here.”
“Why has the council ignored the community? The community are against the EBLN, as it’s not liveable.”
“The ‘Liveable Neighbourhood’ brand is now synonymous with hardship and exclusion in East Bristol. The negative impacts on the many have far outweighed the marginal benefits for the few. You cannot ‘fix’ a scheme that is built on a foundation of legal breaches and physical hazards. When you look at how our community has been treated from the start, including a 3am installation by stealth, the only justice for our community is not to reward this with permanence… A trial that creates social injustice and discrimination, and relies on such vague data for justification, is not a success. East Bristol cannot live with this failed experiment.”
“Having lived in the St George area long before and now during the implementation of the EBLN I call for it to be removed effective from 9th July. Before its start, we did have a little too much traffic on Beaufort Road but traffic flowed and across the main road leading down onto church road from Cloud Hills Road and Summerhill Road. Now we 30 minute traffic delays morning and evening, cars making dangerous dives into junctions where children are walking and emergency vehicles unable to access certain parts. I ask, if the benefit of some enjoying walking down Beaufort Road without cars (though with speeding E bikes) really worth the traffic it has caused when there are two parks to walk in so close.”
“The EBLN and SBLN are failures. To try and hide this, data has been manipulated… and skewed to make the projects successful and popular with residents. We all know this is not true. We all know that, if implemented, other problems will arise. You know this. There is a saying, ‘If you’re in a hole, stop digging’. This should have happened months ago. However, if you admit these schemes have failed and do not proceed, BCC will be fined a lot of money. However, unless they halt the EBLN and SBLN the costs will spiral. ‘A stitch in time saves nine’. Please see sense and do the decent, logical thing. Stop the EBLN and SBLN.”
“It is entirely wrong that a scheme pitched as an ‘improvement’ leaves residents contemplating uprooting their lives just to have basic, safe access to their own doorsteps. But this is the reality. To make the EBLN permanent today is to send a definitive, undeniable message to the people of Bristol: that this council does not care about its vulnerable residents. It will prove that the local authority is willing to operate without critical legal safeguards, that the lives, independence, and well-being of disabled citizens mean absolutely nothing to Bristol City Council. We urge you to uphold the law, respect the evidence, and vote down this cruel, legally flawed permanence order.”
“I do not want the EBLN as it stands, to become permanent. I have on many occasions been unable to get home due to Beaconsfield Road being blocked. It is the only way in to my house… I can’t walk in Beaufort Road as I feel it’s not safe anymore in the dark . I no longer shop at St Philips or attempt to go to that side of Bristol due to the long wait in queues at Blackswarth Road… With a permanent queue on Church Road it is very difficult sometimes to get out. It’s worse coming home, traffic at a standstill only to find the one way in is blocked and I can’t get home. It has added so much time and stress plus extra petrol that I have had to stop taking them. The same story with my disabled cousin. I feel like a prisoner in my own home.”
“The scheme has ruined what was a very nice neighbourhood and Beaufort Road is now not the attractive road that it once was. Several businesses in Redfield have closed and I fear more will follow. All you have succeeded to do is move the traffic onto other roads. In fact getting around Bristol is now a complete nightmare as you are forcing all the traffic onto less and less roads, with the knock on problems this causes for ordinary working people. This statement will I hope make you make the correct decision but I am not holding my breath as I feel the outcome of the meeting has already been made and you are just going to tick another box.”
“I have not noticed any improvement to air quality or time to travel through Bristol, only the opposite… The only benefit is for a very few people in Beaufort Road that don’t need to drive or travel outside of the area, and that is not a benefit if it only benefits a few people when thousands have seen no benefits and many people commute made worse.”
Main photo: Martin Booth
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