‘The council continues to operate a 1960s style, car-first approach to transport’

Just the other week, we were celebrating the news that Bristol will see a slice of £6m to improve cycling and walking infrastructure in the city.

This however came just days after the launch of a short consultation for a project that involves removing two busy cycle lanes connecting Whiteladies Road with the Triangle.

Predictably, these plans have been met with backlash.

My inbox is full of frustrated residents questioning how Bristol can be called a cycling city – Bristol Cycling Campaign have even been calling for the proposals to be pulled entirely.

The cycle lane on both sides of the street could be removed under a flood prevention scheme – photo: Betty Woolerton

Pedestrian groups are also slating the plans, with Bristol Walking Alliance registering their objections. It’s baffling to see the council prepare to remove part of the same cycle path they’re about to spend money upgrading elsewhere along the route.

So how did this failure in joined-up thinking come about?

The plans focus on the single issue of flooding between St Paul’s Road and the Victoria Rooms. During heavy rainfall, it really doesn’t take long till you need to don your waders to get from one end to the other, and you watch as cars and bikes anxiously edge their way through the expanding body of water.

This has been a problem here for years and is more than just current drains being blocked – although this certainly doesn’t help matters – something Greens have raised with the mayor in the past and are still pressing for action.

What could be done so we can provide sustainable drainage on the one hand without taking away sustainable transport on the other?

• Run off is worsened by the properties along here having concreted over their frontages, and the council should be engaging with them and even offering support to restore some of them to the natural states that absorb rainwater. Any long-term solution to urban drainage in the face of increasingly unpredictable weather will need us to work in partnership with private landowners. What else is a One City approach for if not bringing all parties on board when it matters?
• Drainage channels could be added whilst raising the current pavements to make them safer for vulnerable pedestrians by reducing the impact of tree roots.
• Continuous paving could be added to the western pavement so that people walking and wheeling don’t have to step down each time there’s a driveway.
• Porous materials could replace the current asphalt and concrete desert, and drains up and downstream should of course be cleared and well maintained.
• The council could decide to fund the city’s drain clearance properly – currently the council spends five times more per year on drainage at its own properties than it does for gullies and drains across the city.

Sadly, users of this space, experts like walking and cycling groups, and even us as local councillors have been side-lined in putting these plans together – one of the reasons Bristol voted to change how our city is run.

We cannot make the city a safe place to walk and wheel by shutting out the voices affected and bringing forward plans that pitch two sectors against each other.

Bristol Council is supposed to have a ‘transport hierarchy’ which puts policy to support active travel and public transport before private cars.

In reality, the opposite holds true – despite having declared a climate emergency and planning a clean air zone, the council continues to operate a 1960s style car-first approach to transport, as evidenced in this recent decision, and in the expensive redesigning of Temple Meads, streamlined for vehicles with awkward pedestrian and bike access.

It’s unclear whether decisions like these are an institutional bias or the result of intervention by the mayor’s office. But this discredited approach encourages driving and inevitably leads to more cars on the roads – and our streets aren’t getting any wider.

To tackle the climate crisis, reduce air pollution, and just get to work on time, we must support alternative ways of getting around Bristol and reduce the numbers of cars on our streets.

It’s time for a joined up approach to managing the city.

Tom Hathway is a Green Councillor for Clifton Down

Main photo: Betty Woolerton

Read more: Outrage at plans to scrap key cycle lane

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