Your say / Centre
‘Bristol’s Centre needs to be a place where people can hang out’
Every time the issue of how to beautify St Augustine’s Parade comes up, there are many people asking for a return to the 1970s – grass and flowerbeds.
However, the number of pedestrians who now use the Centre would turn this pretty garden into a quagmire within hours.
(Back in the supposed 1970s “heyday” of the Centre, this area was basically a traffic island with very little footfall.)
Grass covers the centre of a roundabout in this photo of the Centre from the 1960s – photo: Bristol Archives
My plan is that we should completely steal an idea from our lovely sister city of Bath.
Why not recreate the delightful area around Bath Abbey?
Provide copious amounts of permanent outdoor seating and have areas for licensed buskers to perform.
Turn the area into a fun, creative space where people just want to take a seat and hang out for a bit.
Author Charlie Revelle-Smith says Bristol’s Centre could become like the “delightful area” around Bath Abbey – photo: David Iliff / Wikimedia Commons
This is an opinion piece by author Charlie Revelle-Smith
Main photo: Martin Booth
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