Bristol City Centre Transport Changes consultation launches this week
Bristol City Council is seeking public feedback on proposed initiatives to enhance transportation in the city center, designed to accommodate upcoming housing, leisure, and retail developments that will welcome thousands of new residents to Broadmead.
The Bristol City Centre Transport Changes consultation will remain open until Monday, September 30, 2024.
The proposal outlines plans for the pedestrianisation of The Horsefair and Penn Street in Broadmead while maintaining access for emergency vehicles along with designated delivery times during off-peak hours. In addition, bus stops, disabled parking bays, and taxi ranks will be relocated; however, all new bus stops will be within a five-minute walk of their current positions. Importantly, there will be no reduction in the number of disabled parking spaces; future developments—such as those at The Galleries—are expected to increase available provisions.
Transforming these streets into pedestrian-friendly areas would allow room for enhanced landscaping features, seating arrangements, and public art installations. This initiative aims to create inviting environments conducive to community living as well as shopping and socializing activities in the evolving city center.
To facilitate this pedestrianization effort, we propose constructing a new junction at The Haymarket while significantly reducing traffic flow on Union Street by converting it into two-way access for buses and bicycles only.
These advancements would enable the re-routing of buses away from pedestrian zones while allowing for the implementation of a central segment of a proposed rapid transit bus route connecting southwest to northeast Bristol.
The proposed plans include relocating buses that have finished their routes and remain idle for extended periods from congested shopping and pedestrian areas to Temple Way.
In addition to these changes in Broadmead, there are further proposals aimed at prioritizing bus transit and enhancing walking, wheeling, and cycling experiences in four other key areas of the city centre: Bedminster Bridges, Redcliffe Roundabout, Temple Way, and Bond Street.
Councillor Ed Plowden, Chair of the Transport and Connectivity Committee, stated: “These initiatives are transformative and will influence nearly all individuals who travel to or through Bristol city centre.”
“Broadmead is changing as shopping patterns evolve. Empty shops and department stores can be used for new housing and associated infrastructure. A vision for Broadmead is set out in the Bristol City Centre Development and Delivery Plan. This consultation focusses on the transport and movement elements that would support this vision and the aspiration for a new rapid transit route.
“As someone who is passionate about making sustainable transport options better and more appealing, I am delighted these proposals include plans to prioritise buses, and a raft of changes including 3.5 kilometres of segregated cycle routes along with wider pavements and better crossings.
“By investing to make bus travel quicker and more reliable, and active travel safer and easier, we can help decarbonise our transport network which would have so many benefits, not least helping people to travel more actively while cutting congestion and pollution on our roads.
“Please do look at the proposals and give us your feedback. We want to make sure we get these far-reaching plans right for the city.”
The Bristol City Centre Transport Changes project is being funded by the government as part of the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement, which is administered by the West of England Combined Authority. This is funding from central government to improve transport infrastructure. It cannot be used for ongoing maintenance of roads or on other council services, such as housing.
Read the plans and fill in the survey.
Drop-in sessions
Ten drop-in sessions will be held for people to find out more about the proposals and see the plans. They will run at the following times:
- Saturday 17 August from 11am to 3.30pm at Sparks, Broadmead
- Tuesday 20 August from 5pm to 8pm at New Rooms, Broadmead
- Saturday 24 August from 1.30pm to 6pm at Sparks, Broadmead
- Tuesday 27 August from 3pm to 7pm at New Rooms, Broadmead
- Friday 6 September from 1.30pm to 6pm location to be confirmed, Bond Street
- Saturday 7 September time to be confirmed at ASDA, Bedminster
- Tuesday 10 September from 1.30pm to 6pm at Leonardo Hotel, 3 Temple Way
- Thursday 12 September from 10am to 2pm location to be confirmed, Redcliffe
- Saturday 21 September from 10am to 2.30pm location to be confirmed, Redcliffe
- Monday 23 September time and location to be confirmed, Bedminster
Check confirmation of the times and locations of the drop-in sessions here
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