New cycle lane is an ‘unsafe bodge’

A new cycle lane and footpath has been closed just over a week after it opened.

The route connecting Nelson Street to Quay Street came in for immediate criticism, with work appearing unfinished and a shared section for cyclists and pedestrians also acting as a layby.

Bristol Cycling Campaign called the new cycle lane “an unsafe bodge” but Bristol’s cabinet member for transport, Don Alexander, said that “the aim is to produce the best possible scheme with the space available”.

Signs say the footpath and cycle lane are closed ‘pending BCC inspection’

The cycle lane and footpath runs from Nelson Street to Quay Street

Before it was closed, the new cycle lane was a contraflow route heading from The Lanes towards St John on the Wall church, with a footpath next to it.

But both are now fenced off at either end with signs saying ‘Footpath closed pending BCC inspection’.

Bristol24/7 contacted Bristol City Council for the first time on May 28 and again on Saturday after the path was closed, but has yet to receive a comment.

Bristol Cycling Campaign’s infrastructure lead, Toby Wells, told Bristol24/7 that the new lane highlights the issue with councils relying on property developers to design and build cycle lanes.

Wells said that each developer has their own style, “resulting in a lack of consistency across the city and of course lanes which start and end abruptly at the boundaries of the development”.

This is what appears to have happened at either end of the cycle lane on Nelson Street and Quay Street.

The new Nelson Street cycle lane begins on Nelson Street next to The Lanes

The cycle lane ends abruptly close to the historic gateway of St John on the Wall church on Quay Street

“The Nelson Street lane is marginally safer than what was there before – the on-road painted line contraflow against buses – but has several obvious design flaws which will lead to conflict, mostly with people walking,” said Wells.

“The start and end points were meant to join up with lanes built by the council, but they haven’t built them yet so what you see is an unsafe bodge. We have no idea when/if they plan to finish the job.

“The gap half way along is a loading bay for the hotel, in theory only for use at off peak times but will likely be abused. So cyclists will come face to face with a parked van/truck and no clear way around it.

“The tactile paving at the start/end of the route is the wrong type, which may seem like a minor detail, but that paving is there to help blind or visually impaired people know where they are. With the wrong type, they can’t properly ‘read’ the footpath and find their way.

“Lastly, the build quality is very poor, and in some places it is already failing, with raised edges of blocks likely to catch bike wheels and trip up people walking. When it inevitably gets driven on by delivery vans it will get rapidly worse if it hasn’t been built properly.”

Wells’ predictions came true just a few days later, with a lorry picking up laundry from Clayton Hotel parked in the layby on the shared space section of the path soon before 6.30pm on Sunday, May 29.

A lorry parked in the shared space area between the two sections of the new cycle path

Like many new cycle lanes, this one was built by developers to a scheme approved by Bristol City Council.

It was built by Artisan Real Estate during the construction of Everards Printworks in what was formerly offices for NatWest and is now a hotel and flats, with Clayton Hotel’s main entrance on Broad Street.

Artisan Real Estate regional commercial manager Steve Fletcher told Bristol24/7 that the contraflow cycle lane along Nelson Street “seeks to provide a safe, designated route for cyclists within a highly constrained urban context”.

The current arrangement and layout were part of Cycle Ambition Fund proposals developed by Bristol City Council’s City Design Group, but is only the middle section of what should be a continuous connection from Union Street to the end of Quay Street.

The city council is responsible for linking both ends but this has yet to be done, meaning that the new cycle lane and footpath end abruptly.

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Read more: ‘Are Bristol’s streets safe enough for cycling?’

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Fletcher added: “The original proposal always included an unsegregated section which was required to overcome an existing constraint in the form of a set of steps which provided access to Tower Lane.

“This gap in the cycle lane was retained (albeit relocated) in the finished scheme to accommodate a layby. The layby is required to service adjacent buildings whilst minimising the need for large vehicle movements along Broad Street and within the Old City Conservation Area generally.

“This layby is to be used out-of-hours only so that cyclists can continue unimpeded during peak flows.

“In respect of safety, it should be noted that the proposal has previously been consulted on by BCC and the design remains subject to ongoing safety audits as part of the highways’ approval process.

“If there are any particular issues or concerns these should be directed to BCC who would welcome user feedback to help improve the current and future condition.”

Work is continuing to create new steps to connect Quay Street to Tower Lane

Co-shadow cabinet member for transport, David Wilcox, told Bristol24/7 that the new cycle lane is “totally unfit for purpose”.

He said: “Either a pedestrian or a cyclist will be hurt on Nelson Street very soon, simply because the council could not design and argue for a safe, practical and compliant scheme.”

So what would Wilcox have done if he had been in charge?

• Build it to LTN1/20 standard which means that conflict is not designed in by the scheme: the cycleway should be continuous and obvious, two metres wide and vehicles must give way to pedestrians and cycles.
• Remove all the sign poles from the route.
• Vehicles other than buses and court vehicles should be banned from using both Nelson Street and Quay Street.
• Make safe provisions for cyclists going west as well east. Enforce the double yellow lines along both sides of the road. Delivery times are already before 10.30 am in this area.
• Be part of a coherent network.
• Consult with cycling, walking and disability groups to ensure it is safe and usable for everyone – not just the hotel.

Metal barriers make the narrow pavement next to the cycle lane even more narrow, but Artisan Real Estate told Bristol24/7 that the railings will be replaced with bollards “commensurate to the door swing”

This is what Nelson Street looked like in 2019 – photo: Google

All photos & video: Martin Booth

Read more: Outrage at plans to scrap ‘key’ cycle lane

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