‘My cycle to work was no longer the Russian roulette of getting ‘doored’ on the cycle lane’

Tuesday morning was cold, rainy and grey – yet when I arrived at work after my cycle commute across town I had a grin from ear to ear. My mood was positively over the moon and I remained unusually buoyant all throughout the day.

How could this have been? The answer was simple – there were hardly any cars on the road and for once, the city felt safe, peaceful and truly welcoming.

It’s the Easter holidays and this has led to a dramatic drop in traffic. Not only is there no school-run, but parents and savvy workers have taken advantage of the shortened week to have longer holidays with less annual leave. I’m sure this happens every year but this is the first year in our new offices on the floating harbour and so the first year I have to commute not just into town but across it too.

It’s shocking to think that school-runs and office commuters are made by cars across town and through the city centre makes up for so much traffic. Stokes Croft wasn’t the normal morning hustle and stand-offs and the B4052, the main road that goes past the hospital, was no longer the Russian roulette between competing cars trying to catch the lights and the ever present peril of getting ‘doored’ on the only tiny segregated bit of cycle lane going up the hill.

There were just no cars – well, on reflection it felt like there was about 70 per cent fewer cars – and this is amazing.

The commute was free from the usual stress of second guessing people changing lanes, overtaking or cutting far too close for comfort. I was left to enjoy the act of cycling rather than constantly being on edge and this emerged physically as a child-like grin of pure joy on my face.

I can completely understand why we started designing our cities for cars, they were a miracle invention. They gave us freedom, speed and independence, but it’s not the 1960s anymore. We’ve grown and we’ve learnt more but have yet to grow with this knowledge. Bristol is shamefully behind many of our English and European companions in this respect.

We understand now the dangers of air pollution, of the climate emergency that we are facing and these two tonne metal boxes prove a real danger to everyone, both in them competing for space on the roads and walking on the pavements.

The answers are simple, we all know them. We need to start designing our road space for more than cars, we need to prioritise walking and cycling including safe, continuous cycle lanes whilst keeping open options for those with mobility issues of course.

As the mayor for the environment told us when we were part of a three-city delegation to be shown how five cities in the Netherlands prioritise cycling (I was standing in for Mark Bradshaw at the time): “You just need to take cars off the roads. Make it as hard to drive in a city so it is always the last option.” Some may argue Bristol has been doing this for years, but until we see some real physical changes to our roads, feeling safe whilst cycling is a long way off. Real action is needed.

At this point I know half of you have left calling me a sanctimonious little prick because our cars are a valuable part of who we are, and they cost a lot too! We’re very invested in them, but imagine if we held ourselves and others around us is as high a regard. What a brilliant place this would be.

It was wonderful to actually enjoy the city I live in again, to start the day with joy rather than fear and it reflected on my entire day. I’d like to think of myself as fairly easygoing and a good work colleague but on Tuesday I excelled myself. I was a super version of myself, finishing almost twice as many project as intended and interacted with my colleagues in a far more inclusive and positive manner. There was more laughter too. If only we could all experience this every day, all of us reaching our potential just because we start our days free from fear and stress.

Now that’s a city I want to live in!

Gus Hoyt

Gus Hoyt is an environmental campaigner focussing on ‘Good Food’ and Clean Oceans. He’s currently project managing Refill Britain with City to Sea and Geovation and was previously a Green Party councillor for Ashley ward.

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