News / Bristol Parkway
The future of Bristol Parkway could be without cars
When Bristol Parkway was built 50 years ago, it was the first of a new generation of park and ride railway stations.
It subsequently gave its sobriquet to similar stations up and down the UK.
But within a newly published masterplan, somewhere that was built specifically for cars could be in for a future without cars at all.
South Gloucestershire Council’s vision for Bristol Parkway is that it “will become a 21st Century Living Station that will be a valued destination for local people and the renewed gateway to the global businesses located in the north fringe of Bristol”.
“Making successful places requires providing homes and services within an easily accessible reach. In order to do this, an intensification of land use is needed to create compact, vibrant and multifaceted neighbourhoods.”
Plans are for the current car-centric model to be replaced by a 15-minute neighbourhood concept, where daily necessities, such as work, schools, shops, healthcare and parks can be accessed within a 15-minute journey on foot and bike from home.
The masterplan – prepared by Arup and Jacobs on behalf of South Glos – says that Bristol Parkway “has the potential to act as a multi-modal mobility hub, responding to a necessary shift from a car based to a people centric focus towards active travel and public transport”.
A new station is proposed to be at the centre of the scheme, located alongside a new bus interchange.
A new street could also be created, “lined by parks, workplaces, cafes, restaurants (and) community facilities”.
Two “key green spaces” are also proposed: St Michael’s Green to the west and a new park in the centre of the plan.
Consultation on the Bristol Parkway masterplan began on Monday and closes on August 14. For more information and to take part, visit consultations.southglos.gov.uk/Parkway_Station_Masterplan/consultationHome
Main image: South Glos Council
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