News / Transport
Pedestrianisation proposals ‘would create no-go zone for disabled’
A Labour councillor has slammed the chair of the transport committee at City Hall for saying drivers should not bother driving into the city centre if ambitious pedestrianisation plans are given the go-ahead.
Kelvin Blake was responding to Ed Plowden’s comments during a walkabout of the city centre with Bristol24/7.
Looking ahead at the proposals for the area around Broadmead if they come to fruition, Plowden said: “If you’re thinking of driving into Bristol by car, don’t bother.”
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In response, Blake, who represents Hillfields, called Plowden’s comments “genuinely shocking”.
Disability activist Blake has worked in both the public and private sectors, and is a trustee for organisations including Second Step and the Robins Foundation.
The experienced Labour fixer also acted as the election agent to former mayor Marvin Rees and current Bristol East MP, Kerry McCarthy.
Blake said: “It’s genuinely shocking to read Ed Plowden, the Green Party chair of the transport committee, say: ‘If you’re thinking of driving into Bristol by car, don’t bother,’ once the pedestrianisation plans are in place.
“They (the Greens) need to get out of their central Bristol bubble and speak to people in our outer areas.
“Huge areas of our city are cut off from reliable public transport – it’s not currently an option for many, especially disabled people.
“As things stand, these proposals would create a no-go zone for disabled people, spanning the whole of Cabot Circus and Broadmead.”
Kelvin Blake spent most of his career at BT, moving up the ranks to become a programme director of its IT transformation programmes – photo: Labour Party
Blake has criticised the removal of existing disabled parking bays and replacing them with new ones on the slope of Castle Street and at a car park with a broken lift.
He also said that the plans “are also problematic for disabled people who are fortunate enough to be able to access public transport”.
He said: “Buses from east Bristol would terminate on Rupert Street, rather than by the fountains. To access the harbour and Wapping Wharf, this would put an extra quarter mile on their journey.
“On top of that, businesses are already struggling in this economic climate.
“Having a council leader tell people ‘don’t bother” coming to them by a particular mode of transport won’t fill them with confidence.
“Work won’t start on these plans until at least 2027. The Green Party council leadership have plenty of time to work with disabled people to get these plans right. I hope they do.”
A consultation on the plans ends at the end of September. For more information and to take part, visit www.ask.bristol.gov.uk/bristol-city-centre-transport-changes-consultation-2024
The Horsefair and Penn Street would be pedestrianised as part of the plans, with access for emergency vehicles, and deliveries for businesses allowed at set times when the streets are less busy – photo: Martin Booth
Main photo: Martin Booth
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