Building an underground railway will make cycling in Bristol safer

Bristol’s new Clean Air Zone and planned underground will make cycling safer, according to council chiefs.

Responding to thousands of people calling for more bike lanes and safer cycling infrastructure, they said a light rail network and less pollution would improve safety.

Cyclists urged Bristol City Council to install safe bike lanes at a full council meeting after thousands signed a petition forcing a debate. Opposition councillors also backed calls for more segregated lanes.

A cycling strategy for Bristol was promised by the council three years ago but has yet to be published.

Many cycle lanes in the city are disjointed and unconnected, or shared space with pedestrians causing conflict such as the path through the centre.

Cecilia Farren told the meeting on Tuesday that she loves “the freedom and exercise that cycling gives me, but most people think I’m crazy to be cycling at the age of 73 – and it shouldn’t be like this”.

She added: “There’s a lack of protected cycle lanes, no enforcement of 20mph zones, and illegal parking everywhere. Cyclists deserve respect and equality, and not be made to feel like second class road users.

“What plans do you have for making cycling safer for everyone, including grannies like me? I’m the only granny I know who rides a bike around Bristol. I want it to be safer for children and old people.”

Recent controversies involving removing a cycle lane on Cheltenham Road and planning to remove other cycle lanes on Whiteladies Road – before a council U-turn – prompted about 2,000 people to take part in a demonstration, cycling around the city centre and calling for safer cycling infrastructure and more bike lanes.

The petition was then started after the demonstration, and quickly gathered more than 3,500 signatures in support.

Bristol Cycling Campaign chair, Ian Pond, chair of Bristol Cycling, said: “Through the tough times of the Covid lockdowns more Bristolians did choose to cycle, taking advantage of the quieter roads. However, as the traffic volumes increased again and the emergency bike lanes were removed, this has slipped away.

“Cycling is widely accessible, even to some of those with mobility impairment. It has a low entry cost and very low running costs, but it is not adopted by many primarily because of safety concerns. We and our supporters are petitioning you to make it safer and easier.”

As well as a comprehensive city-wide network of bike lanes, campaigners are calling for a proper bike share scheme, on-street cycle hangars, free training, more school streets, wayfinding signposts, and secure cycle parking at transport hubs and destinations.

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Read more: ‘We need to free up space for the whole city’

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According to Don Alexander, cabinet member for transport, the “biggest thing we could ever do” to improve safety for cyclists is to bring in the new Clean Air Zone and reduce air pollution levels.

He added that he found it “very difficult to get anything done quickly” with the highways team at City Hall.

“My experience over the last 18 months of being in this role is that it’s very difficult to get anything done quickly in highways,” said Alexander.

“The Local Walking and Cycling Infrastructure Plan is our guiding strategy and a West of England document.

“We’re handing over most of our strategy work to the region. It’s been effective, bringing in money for Princess Victoria Street, Cotham Hill, Park Row and a Liveable Neighbourhood in east Bristol.

“I want to slightly push back on the suggestion that we haven’t got that much done, I spend a disproportionate amount of my time on cycling.

“If we’re talking about safety for cycling, probably the biggest thing we could ever do is provide people with clean air to breathe when they’re exercising and going across the city. Leading up to the end of 2023 we’ll no longer have illegal levels of pollution, anywhere in the city.”

Seven-year-old Lois cycling to school through the Cumberland Piazza in Hotwells – photo: Martin Booth

David Wilcox, shadow cabinet member for transport, said that the administration’s delivery of segregated cycle lanes is “segregated from reality”.

He said: “Other Labour-led councils like Birmingham, Manchester and Cardiff are streets ahead of us in delivering infrastructure for cyclists.

“These cities have shown strong bold leadership and are prepared to make difficult decisions when needed. We believe Bristol deserves this too.”

Wilcox said that Bristol also “has a problem delivering even the schemes it has budgeted for”.

The Active Travel Tranche 3 Schemes for Upper Maudlin Street, Old Market and Cotham Hill were approved by the cabinet in September 2021, yet only Cotham Hill has been partially completed.

“This council needs to start taking the opportunity to work with Active Travel England seriously or face a needless loss of funding,” Wilcox said.

The removal of the cycle lane on Cheltenham Road has made it easier for cars to park on the newly widened pavement – photo: Martin Booth

Asked why Bristol could not act with similar ambition to other European cities, deputy mayor Craig Cheney said the city needed an underground metro.

Cheney said: “To be able to do something similar to Paris, and many other modern cities, we need an equivalent public transport network which is why we have the ambition for a mass transit system. It will transform transport in Bristol.”

In October, mayor Marvin Rees pledged to spend a further £15m on plans for a new mass transit system, which would include an underground railway network.

But amid long delays and doubts about whether the underground will ever actually be built, Mark Weston, leader of the Conservative group, suggested that money could be better spent on improving walking and cycling infrastructure in Bristol, or even “digging a hole and throwing the money in”.

Weston said that what would make safer cycling more deliverable “is if the council stops squandering money on transport schemes that are never going to happen”.

“That money could make a massive difference if it was actually put into schemes that could make a positive improvement, such as a cycling path, bus improvements, or pedestrian improvements.”

Main photo: Martin Booth

Read next:

• Hundreds of people very politely demand safer cycling
• Bristol needs a ‘comprehensive’ network of protected cycle lanes
• ‘How can removing cycle lanes ever be justified?’
• Council U-turn as Whiteladies Road cycle lanes likely to be retained

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