Your say / Transport
‘Closing Prince Street bridge to cars should be a no-brainer’
Chaos did not descent on Bristol city centre on Tuesday when Prince Street bridge was closed to cars.
In fact, the opposite happened. Pedestrians and cyclists no longer had to share a dangerously narrow space in order to let the occasional car use the other half of the bridge.
This should be the permanent state of affairs. Closing Prince Street bridge to cars should be a no-brainer in order to make it a safe route for those on two feet or two wheels.
is needed now More than ever
But this is unlikely to happen as it will inconvenience car drivers. And perish the thought that they should be made to drive a few hundred yards further in order to cross the Floating Harbour over Redcliffe Bascule Bridge.
Cars are still king in Bristol. Just look at Lewins Mead, where a pop-up cycle lane that had become more dangerous than useful has finally been removed. Or Nelson Street, where a new and ‘improved’ cycle lane was opened but swiftly closed.
This contraflow lane on Nelson Street was dangerously narrow yet it could easily have been wider if the width of the road had been reduced. But of course, drivers must not be inconvenienced.
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Read more: New cycle lane is an ‘unsafe bodge’
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There was a golden opportunity to close Prince Street bridge to cars after it reopened in 2017 following two years of major repairs.
During the time it was being repaired – when pedestrians and cyclists were able to use a temporary crossing – the sky also did not collapse. Bristol city centre did not grind to a halt.
It was a crying shame that the bridge was not reopened as a pedestrian-only crossing, with statistics compiled by Bristol Cycling Campaign showing a hugely significant rise in the number of cyclists and pedestrians using it since 2017:
It seems ludicrous today that a dual carriageway once bisected Queen Square.
But even when proposals were in place to remove it in the late 90s, there were complaints that it would affect local businesses and snarl up traffic. Sound familiar?
Let’s be as bold as we were back then and remove cars from Prince Street bridge, going some way to improving the chaos that is our car-centric city.
Main photo: Martin Booth
Martin Booth is the Editor of Bristol24/7 and can usually be found on a bicycle
Read more: Calls for cars to be banned from the Downs during summer weekends
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