News / Bristol Underground
‘A successful city depends on achieving big aspirations’
Marvin Rees says improvements to transport and infrastructure are vital to bridging social and economic disparity in Bristol.
Drawing comparisons with New York, the mayor has set out his case for an underground rail network and mass transit system – expected to cost between £2.5 and £4.5billion – by arguing that the city’s success depends on achieving big aspirations.
In his blog, Rees refers to an article in the New York Times which points out the economic benefits the subway system brought to the US city and how it connected poor neighbourhoods with the means to generate wealth.
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Could Bristol have an underground rail network within 10 years?
“New York built a subway led by the imagination of then mayor, William Gaynor, who set in motion the primary phase of its construction,” writes Rees.
“At that time, a public-works project of this scale had never before been undertaken in the United States, and even now, more than a century later, it grows the city’s success.
“Before the subway, it was by no means a foregone conclusion that New York would become ‘the greatest city on earth’, but it did and the early pioneers, the politicians, the business leaders and the engineers fully recognised the case for mobility: physical mobility, economic mobility, social mobility.”
The mayor first publicly revealed his plan to build an underground rail system in September 2017, when he told Bristol24/7 that the lack of a mass transport system is one of the things holding the city back.
His vision was slammed as “madness” by critics, but Rees has continued to pursue the idea with clearly serious intent.
A pre-feasibility study will be published early this year, complete with designs of the three-link network, connecting Bristol Airport, Bradley Stoke and Emersons Green to the city centre. It is believed the system could be delivered within 10 years.
Making his case for the ambitious project, Rees writes that bridging the gap between rich and poor, and generating inclusive growth, lies in improved infrastructure that connects people with business and opportunities.
He continues: “New Yorkers and Bristolians know services and support for the poorer and the vulnerable is important and must be sustainable, but transport and infrastructure builds a successful city.
“For all the changes in transportation technology and the rise of the car, bike lanes, our growing use of taxi apps and plans for driver-less vehicles, to grow the city inclusively, we fundamentally need a mass transit system.
“I intend to work towards that aim, opening the urban rail network and building a mass transit system. A successful city depends on achieving big aspirations.”
Main image by Zac Crawley at Candour Creative.
Read more: Could Bristol have an underground system within 10 years?
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