‘Much more needs to be done to make walking in Bristol safer’

People who walk in Bristol’s neighbourhoods and city centre probably won’t be surprised to learn that, according to the Highway Code, they are the “most vulnerable” users of the highway.

While mainly seen as a rule-book for drivers of motor vehicles, the Highway Code includes 35 rules for pedestrians and those relating to children are a stark reminder of the constraints imposed on them in our car-dominated streets.

Rule 4 states: “Young children should not be out alone on the pavement or road. When taking children out, keep between them and the traffic and hold their hands firmly. Strap very young children into pushchairs or use reins.”

This is reinforced by reference to the Green Cross Code in Rule 7: “Children should be taught the Code and should not be allowed out alone until they can understand and use it properly.”

But it is not only children who find their movements restricted and their safety compromised in our streets; speeding traffic, noise, fumes, congestion, poorly designed junctions, flooded underpasses, and insufficient crossing points contribute to a pedestrian environment that is often unpleasant and potentially dangerous.

Pavements are part of the highway, and the RNIB’s Who put that there! campaign has highlighted the obstructions faced by blind and partially sighted pedestrians including bins, overgrown shrubs, pavement parking, A-boards, and dockless e-scooters and e-bikes.

The RNIB recommends that dockless e-scooters are not left parked on the pavement – photo: Martin Booth

These obstructions also cause problems for older people, people using wheelchairs and walking aids, and those attempting to push young children in buggies, all of whom may be forced off the pavement and into the road as they attempt to reach their destination.

Sharing space with people using faster moving bicycles and e-scooters also presents difficulties. Guidance for drivers of motor vehicles includes a safe passing distance of at least 1.5 metres when overtaking cyclists on the road; failure to comply runs the risk of being prosecuted for driving without due care and attention, and there are examples of successful prosecutions for such close passes.

But there does not seem to be the same enforcement focus for close passes by cyclists and e-scooter users sharing routes with pedestrians.

The potential for conflict is made worse by poor design. Cyclists in Bristol have spent many years campaigning for good quality segregated cycle routes, but examples of poorly designed shared routes continue to create, rather than alleviate, conflict.

A lorry parked in the shared space area between the two sections of the new Nelson Street cycle path when it opened for just over a week in May 2022 – photo: Martin Booth

To represent the pedestrian perspective, Bristol Walking Alliance was established and campaigns for a walking environment that is welcoming, safe, convenient and inclusive.

There are some positive signs: a patchwork of low-traffic schemes, controlled parking zones, segregated cycling routes, 20mph speed limits, and school streets are appearing across Bristol; a clean air zone has been implemented, and; some new or improved pedestrian crossings have been provided.

But much more needs to be done.

The question, ‘Is it Safe to Walk?’, will be considered from both street design and social justice perspectives at a free event at the Watershed on Tuesday, November 21.

We look forward to a wide-ranging consideration of how to ensure the safety of the ‘most vulnerable’ users of the highway.

This is an opinion piece by Suzanne Audrey, co-founder and executive member of Bristol Walking Alliance. The Is it Safe to Walk event takes place at Watershed on November 21. To register for free tickets, visit www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/is-it-safe-to-walk-tickets-735493710487

Main photo: Martin Booth

Read next:

• The strange beauty of Bristol’s underpasses
• ‘Streets for walking is an equalities issue for pedestrians’
• Is walking a neglected mode of transport in Bristol?

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