Your say / East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood
‘Anti-liveable neighbourhood protesters do not represent the whole community’
On Thursday, a handful of protesters blocked works from taking place on Avonvale Road, where I live, to move one of the East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood bus gates. As a result, my road is now back open to through-traffic for the time being.
The changes were organised by Bristol City Council in direct response to residents’ feedback – the plan was to move the bus gates to allow more and easier vehicle access routes to Barton Hill.
It feels like the protestors are acting in bad faith or out of spite. They won’t even let changes that residents here have called for happen.
The bus gates are what allow the new bus route and increased bus services that are part of the EBLN scheme to run smoothly on Avonvale Road. They also keep families, dog-walkers and cyclists safe from traffic.
I saw this when the initial bus gate installation was delayed at the start of the trial. This was a weird limbo period, when the scheme had technically started but not on our road.
All of the other infrastructure, such as planters and bollards, were in place but the bus gates were not switched on.
During this time, I saw traffic jams throughout the day on Avonvale Road, as commuter and through-traffic met the more regular buses.
Traffic would back up really quickly, people would honk their horns and refuse to give way to one another. I saw one van driver get out and verbally abuse a bus driver, after a minor scrape to both vehicles.
Drivers seem to get more aggressive when there is more traffic – speeding between areas where they’ve had to slow down.
I don’t want to see a return to this situation. It felt unsafe cycling and even crossing the road to get to the local park.
I rarely saw the buses get stuck when the bus gates were operational, and usually only for a moment while a driver reversed slightly, as they had just stopped a bit too close to parked cars or the traffic islands.
Now just a few protesters will cause issues and delays to many more people’s bus journeys, and danger to pedestrians and cyclists, until the bus gates can be reinstalled.
I know of many neighbours who support the EBLN scheme; the protesters do not represent the whole community.
The EBLN scheme has reduced the traffic levels on residential roads in the area. I’ve seen it and this is backed up by data published in the EBLN monitoring report.
Cycling and walking have both increased, and traffic has barely been impacted on the main roads around our neighbourhood.
I’ve seen more people cycling on our road, including kids going to school or hanging out on weekends.
We’ve actually found driving is now easier in the EBLN area, and particularly on Avonvale Road, as we don’t get stuck in commuting or cut-through traffic.
Bristol City Council has had the temerity to install new cycle stands at the junction of Avonvale Road and Marsh Lane – photo: Martin Booth
The EBLN scheme has been transformational for my mental health; I feel so safe cycling around and I can sleep through the night.
Previously we would wake up to noisy, and horn-honking, commuting traffic in the morning or be woken up after midnight by people speeding past.
Our bedroom overheats in the summer. Before the scheme, opening the windows in the evening was a choice between motor noise and fumes, or a less sweaty sleep.
I used to feel stressed in the morning and evening with the sound of constant traffic, people beeping horns and shouting at each other.
I’ve now realised how much this impacted my mood and ability to concentrate during the day. I feel like a fog has been lifted from me.
I’ve not had any bad experiences cycling since the scheme started. Before the EBLN, however, aggressive drivers were a weekly occurrence. Most often this would happen on Avonvale Road and Marsh Lane, where the protested bus gates are.
One driver literally ran me off the road, forcing me to jump off my bike and onto the pavement. He had pulled out on me from a side road, and got angry when I waved at him to let him know I was there.
Others have beeped and revved at me while I’ve signalled and slowed to turn onto a side road. We used to be incredibly cautious around corners, as drivers would often pull out without looking.
The scheme has made it safe for families and dog walkers to cross Avonvale Road and Marsh Lane to access the park and play spaces.
Before, I found it stressful to cross as the traffic was either heavy or high speed. Even on weekends this was true, as vans would cut through the area and speed to weekend jobs.
Netham Park is the main green space for the area, including Barton Hill, identified as having among the worst access to green spaces nationally.
My partner and I want to stay in this area long-term and raise children here. If the bus gate isn’t reinstated, we will be looking to move to another part of Bristol, as I would not feel safe having children here, and I could not live with a return to the stress and the danger caused by rat-running drivers.
This is an opinion piece by Peter Brooks who lives in the EBLN area, and works as a researcher on social and environmental issues
Main photo: Martin Booth
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