‘Walking and cycling improvements have again been ignored in favour of cars’

It is very difficult to argue against the need to implement a clean air zone in Bristol.

Much of our city – including the area of BS1 where I live with my family – has illegal levels of air pollution. Removing as many of the polluting vehicles from the roads as possible will undoubtedly save lives.

I am concerned, however, that when the clean air zone begins in late October, not enough will have been done to provide alternative methods of transport for those people most affected by the scheme.

When the CAZ is in place, it cannot unfairly discriminate against low income groups across the city.

This is exactly the reason why the Full Business Case – Clean Air Fund Report due to be presented to Bristol City Council’s cabinet on Thursday, identified numerous “mitigation measures” to lessen the impact of the CAZ.

Cyclists currently have to cycle into oncoming traffic while travelling along Nelson Street towards the centre – photo: Martin Booth

Ten specific areas of the city were shortlisted to receive infrastructure improvements, all of which were marked “good” at both improving air quality and for the likelihood of them being funded by central government.

These are the walking and cycling schemes that were shortlisted:

• Easton Way, completion from Stapleton Road junction to junction 3 of the M32
• Old Market connections completing the Temple Way slip
• Bedminster Bridges walking/cycling improvements
• Extension of footways on Upper Maudlin Street by the BRI
• Hotwell Road shared cycleway and path
• Midland Road (bottom of Bristol & Bath Railway Path)
• Newfoundland Road light segregation
• Redcliff Hill filling in subway, and walking and cycle improvements
• Nelson Street segregated contraflow
• Dovercourt Road cycleway

Dovercourt Road in Horfield is part of the Concorde Way cycle route, connecting Filton and Stoke Gifford to the city centre  – photo: Martin Booth

In Horfield, the Dovercourt Road cycleway is part of Concorde Way. I use it regularly when cycling to Lockleaze Sports Centre and the stretch along Dovercourt Road is one of the missing links that currently let down so much of Bristol’s cycling provision (see also cycle lanes abruptly finishing at main roads or blocked by a tree).

In the report going to cabinet on Thursday, it says that improvements to the Dovercourt Road cycleway “will help encourage walking and cycling from the north-east of the CAZ including a very low-income area”, namely Lockleaze.

The report adds “this will help achieve modal shift to sustainable modes, improve health and improve safety”.

Other infrastructure improvements suggested in the report include the reconfiguration of pedestrian crossings, which hopefully would give priority to pedestrians over cars; the introduction of more bus priority schemes; building more cycle stands; and an expansion of the Portway park & ride site.

But despite all of these citywide schemes shortlisted for improvements, the only infrastructure scheme set to receive funding is £500,000 for new and updated signage and mapping as part of the Bristol Legible City initiative.

The Bristol Legible City initiative was conceived by Bristol City Council in 1996 “to deliver an information and wayfinding strategy that matched its ambition to be a leading cultural and commercial destination” – photo: Martin Booth

Unfortunately, it appears that improving walking and cycling provision has once again been ignored in favour of keeping people in their cars, despite the results of a citywide consultation.

In the recent consultation asking how people would change their methods of travel, the three most common options were switching from driving to walking (53%), using a bus instead of driving (52%) and switching to cycling (50%).

Only 23 per cent of the 2,708 respondents said they would replace their non-compliant vehicle with a compliant one.

But out of the £33m of funding set to be approved by the cabinet:

• £19.6m is being suggested for loans and grants to assist business to upgrade or replace cars
• £3.3m for local bus companies to retrofit their fleet
• £1.5m for commuters and residents on low incomes to replace or upgrade their vehicles
• £2m to help with cargo freight bikes for business-to-business deliveries

It is out of this funding that £500,000 is set to go towards improving signage. The rest, £6m, is going to promotion of the above mitigating measures. In the report, promotion is described as “leaflets / publicity etc… to ensure people know (about the measures) and they are used effectively”.

Just think what a difference £6.5m could make to improve walking and cycling in the city centre, Bedminster, Horfield, Hotwells, Old Market, Redcliffe and St Paul’s.

In a highly unscientific survey on Sunday afternoon, I stood close to the Legible City signpost on Cathedral Walk in the Harbourside. In the ten minutes I was watching (before the below time-lapse video was taken), not one single person stopped to properly consult it, with only a few cursory glances as dozens of people on foot and on two wheels passed by.

Cycling and walking must both be seen as the most accessible forms of transport for those affected by the CAZ to access the city centre.

A spokesperson for Bristol Cycling Campaign told me: “Instead of locking in car dependency by replacing vehicles, the council should be filling in the gaps in the city’s cycle network with high quality, safe and convenient infrastructure.

“The routes initially proposed alongside the CAZ would have been an excellent step, and we are very disappointed to see they were de-scoped in favour of ‘soft’ measures and funding of new motor vehicles, despite being rated highly in the council’s own assessment.”

Once non-compliant vehicles begin to be charged for entering Bristol’s clean air zone, I hope that the money raised can be spent on the suggested walking and cycling infrastructure improvements across the city, on better sustainable travel, and to improve public transport including reduced bus fares. Not on helping people stay in their cars.

The Redcliff Hill underpass has been earmarked for removal for many years – photo: Martin Booth

Martin Booth is the Editor of Bristol24/7. Main photo: Martin Booth

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