News / totterdown
Community fearful for area’s future if road is closed to cars
Residents and business owners in one corner of south Bristol have expressed their anger about proposals to change traffic flow in the area.
Council proposals include the junction of Bellevue Road with Wells Road in Totterdown being closed off to motor traffic in order to improve safety for cyclists and motorbikes, and prevent rat-running.
But the closure – first suggested under Bristol’s previous Labour administration – will leave many people living in the Bellevue Road cul-de-sac forced to drive through the very narrow streets of Totterdown to leave the area, either down Oxford Street onto St John’s Lane, or Windsor Terrace onto St Luke’s Road.
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On St John’s Lane, an extra pedestrian crossing point will be built, just down the hill from the junction with Oxford Street.
At the junction with Wells Road, a new island will be built for cyclists turning right off Wells Road by the former YMCA and onto Bushy Park and the Bayham Road cycle route.
Winton Street will also be made one-way, with vehicles banned from driving downhill.
The strength of feeling is such that a banner has been hung close to the affected area giving passers-by the reference number of the proposals if they want to comment on them.
A Green Party councillor for the area has also said that he has “repeatedly” asked council officers for specific evidence related to the plans “but this has not been forthcoming”.
Residents have erected a sign encouraging others to have their say on the matter – photo: Meadow Wattret
On a recent visit to Bellevue Road, Bristol24/7 found many people with serious concerns about the proposals.
One couple who are residents of the road and the owners of newsagents, Bond News, conveyed their frustrations that closing a regularly used entrance and exit for a busy road will increase congestion, making Bellevue Road constantly traffic-ridden.
They said they have always experienced trouble with parking as there are regular building works and visitors to nearby restaurants and shops.
Given this, they currently struggle unloading goods into their store or parking outside their own home.
Rather than the proposals fixing these problems, they asserted that an inability to park anywhere on the road, alongside the closure of a junction, will worsen them.
Having struggled with their business since the pandemic, they also fear that an inability to park limits who can visit their store, as customers would have to access them purely by walking.
Bellevue Road meets Wells Road, creating a busy junction that the council want blocked off – photo: Meadow Wattret
The potential negative consequences of the proposed changes are perfectly clear to one resident, Valerie Bowes.
Bowes told Bristol24/7: “We’re all feeling so oppressed by these proposals but not everyone has the time or ability to say what they feel so I thought I’d just speak on the behalf of everyone I’ve spoken to in order to get our feelings across.
“To avoid a rat-run can’t a simple scheme be introduced whereby the local residents submit their registration numbers to the council and are then free to come and go as they surely have the right to do as locals?”
“A bit of creative thinking could save millions of pounds and help to keep our lovely community from choking on the pollution from idling cars and lorries.”
She added: “There is no good reason for this meddling and it will cause unimaginable chaos for all the local roads leading up to the St John’s Lane junction, causing additional air pollution and stress for everyone concerned.
“The roads are too narrow, and this would mean no one would have anywhere to reverse as it will cause gridlock in the entire area especially now there’s so much additional traffic using St John’s Lane to avoid the Clean Air routes.”
At Bellevue Road’s the Sundial Kitchen, a staff member claimed that the only form of parking they have to offer is on the road.
They are therefore unnerved by the knowledge that they will reach a smaller scope of customers as a result.
When Bristol24/7 asked customers eating in the restaurant how they felt, a point repeatedly given by the community was reiterated: they could not see the sense behind the suggestions.
Proposals are aimed to reduce rat-running and improve safety for pedestrians – photo: Meadow Wattret
In a statement, Windmill Hill ward councillor Ed Plowden of the Green Party said: “We are of course concerned that buses should not be unnecessarily delayed.
“We have repeatedly asked officers for evidence of bus delays at this junction, but this has not been forthcoming.
“We have recently delivered a letter to affected residents to encourage them to respond to the consultation, and look forward to seeing the TRO consultation report.”
At a meeting in May 2023 when the plans for the area were discussed, former Bristol mayor Marvin Rees said that the council was “very limited” in building the transport network that City Hall bosses would like to see, due to current laws and a lack of government funding.
Rees added that every change to the network “comes with a price”.
Totterdown Residents Environmental & Social Action (TRESA) have submitted questions regarding the plans, and in response the city council asserted that no final decision had been taken as they wished to understand the community’s view first.
At 7.30pm on Tuesday, TRESA will hold a public meeting at Bruhaha on Wells Road about the proposals.
Main photo: Meadow Wattret
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