News / Transport
Major city centre improvement plans include pedestrianising Horsefair
Pedestrians and cyclists will be given much more space, buses will be rerouted, and taxis banned from certain roads under major plans for new bus lanes and cycle paths in Bristol city centre.
New bus lanes will ensure passengers spend less time stuck in congestion, making services more reliable.
Transport bosses at Bristol City Council are expecting their plans, which will go out for public consultation in August, to be controversial.
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Councillors on the transport policy committee were updated about the city centre proposals by Adam Crowther, head of city transport, who called the city centre proposals “transformative for the whole walking, cycling and bus network”.
Crowther said: “You’ll pretty much end up with a fully segregated cycle network that goes all the way around the city centre and north, south, east and west, two or three different routes.
“It’s a really comprehensive upgrade to what we’ve been building to date.
“It also delivers a large amount of bus priority throughout the city centre, fully completing the anti-clockwise loop and other routes getting full bus priority.
“If I take a scheme forward that nobody’s complaining about, I probably haven’t done my job properly because someone will always be losing something in a transport scheme.
“You’re always taking some space that’s committed to something, and using it for something else.
“There’s a limit to the amount of space and there’s always going to be challenges.”
Cars and taxis will be banned from going down Union Street, while a new cycle lane will be built for people cycling uphill towards Castle Park- photo: Martin Booth
Five separate business cases are being worked up for the city centre.
These include building new segregated cycle routes and bus lanes along Temple Way, Bond Street and Newfoundland Circus; and improving the Bedminster Bridges roundabout for buses, cyclists and pedestrians.
General traffic will be banned from using Redcliffe Street, with a new bus gate installed on Redcliffe roundabout. Cars instead will be diverted up Phippen Street and St Thomas Street.
Cars and taxis will also be banned from going down Union Street, while a new cycle lane will be built for people cycling uphill.
The work will be paid for from a government grant called the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement.
The projects form part of a wider vision for the city centre, known as the Development & Delivery Plan.
This also includes pedestrianising the Horsefair and banning buses and taxis, as well as opening up the lanes and internal courtyards between streets in the Broadmead area, providing more connections north to south.
The traffic lights near Bedminster Bridges are sometimes less than reliable – photo: Martin Booth
The cycle lane along Temple Gate, which runs past the Holiday Inn near Temple Meads, is also planned to be improved, but under a separate project.
Currently the lane stops abruptly, with an inconveniently placed rack of bike stands, followed by outdoor seating outside a restaurant and a narrow pavement.
This building is expected to be demolished and replaced soon, as part of the Temple Quarter regeneration project. The replacement will be built further back from the road, creating more space for a proper bike lane to connect up to the existing one and the Clarence Road lane.
Similar plans nearby include new segregated cycle lanes along Temple Way, between the Old Market roundabout and the junction with the Friary and Victoria Street by the Ovo building.
Another plan is for a signalised crossing across Temple Way, connecting cyclists on Avon Street through the BT building and onto Cheese Lane, before coming out by Castle Park.
Cycling is due to be made safer on Temple Way – photo: Mia Vines Booth
After the meeting, Green councillor Ed Plowden, chair of the transport committee, said: “I am really excited about these far-reaching plans and look forward to having a city that ultimately works better for everyone.
“Improving these major transport routes for public transport and active travel means we will have realistic options for people who want to travel sustainably, as we look to remove as much carbon from our transport network as we can.
“This summer we’ll be asking people who live, work, visit and travel through Bristol city centre to give us their views on proposals that will transform the area.
“From making Broadmead more welcoming and attractive, to preparing the way for the central element of a future rapid transit route, the plans would change how most people travel through the city centre, and I am looking forward to launching the consultation in the coming weeks.”
A typical cycle lane in Bristol, but it could finally be fixed as part of ambitious new plans – photo: Martin Booth
Main photo: Martin Booth
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