Significant concerns raised by First about Bristol city centre transformation
First West of England has raised “significant concerns” over elements of the proposed city centre transformation and Broadmead pedestrianisation. The planned scheme would see the city centre of Bristol change drastically as the city prepares for 5,000 more people to live in Broadmead.
The Horsefair and Penn Street would be pedestrianised and Union Street transformed into a two-way bus gate. A new junction would also be created linking Union Street to the Haymarket.
A planned three and a half kilometres of segregated cycle paths would be created as bus stops are moved and buses diverted onto Fairfax Street. The plans are aimed at removing traffic from the city centre and making it easier for those dependent on cars, including disabled people, to drive around Bristol.
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The plans have come with controversy as one Labour councillor claimed it would “create a no-go zone for disabled people”. The comments came after Cllr Ed Plowden said that after the pedestrianisation “if you’re thinking of driving into Bristol by car, don’t bother”. In addition, cyclists are concerned about safety in the proposed vision.
The bus network would also see a number of changes as new infrastructure is utilised on Temple Way and Bond Street However, the planned removal of a right turn out of the Bristol Bus Station heading onto Rupert Street has been met with strong objections by First West of England.
Currently buses leaving the bus station are able to use a funnel road from Lower Maudlin Street, which sits in between Lewins Mead and Bridewell Street, to turn right onto Rupert Street. The removal of the filter road would be necessary as cycle lanes are installed along the Haymarket.
First said: “We strongly object to the DDP [Development and Delivery Plan] plan to remove the right turn/filter out of Bristol Bus and Coach Station as we believe it presents a significant detriment to customers and presents a commercial risk to marginal services. This small but important element of bus priority allows many interurban services to move through the city centre inner core quickly and efficiently, without adding unnecessary time and mileage to operators and passenger journeys by going around the “Bearpit”/St James Barton roundabout.”
First said by removing the junction and rerouting buses around the St James Barton roundabout, every bus journey would take at least three minutes longer, representing 925 hours of wasted passenger time every week. It would also result in an additional 82.6 hours a week of driver wages and additional mileage-related costs totalling over £100,000.
In a real-world test, First alleged that buses using the roundabout would make it unsafe for other vehicles as the bus encroaches on other lanes. Whilst moving buses away from the bus station was an idea that was explored, it was decided that there is no capacity to move more buses away from the bus interchange.
First welcomed the planned changes to Union Street and the expansion of the network using ‘bus mass transit’ corridors but the company retains concerns over the closure of Union Street to non-mass transit services. It said: “[We] feel that complete closure to Union Street to non-mass transit services would not maximise the investment and benefits for Bristolians, both for existing bus users but also for those that we need to tempt out of cars in order to drive modal shift.
“We therefore welcome the decision to allow services 1 and 2 to share the new Union Street corridor with any mass-transit service with the proposed new routings, however we feel that with uncertainty around the planned M32 Park & Ride taking place and what that means for any mass transit route, further consideration needs to be given – and opportunities left open – for further refinement.”
It added that it still had concerns over bus stop capacity as more buses use Broad Quay and the Centre bus stops. Issues of overcrowding, illegal parking and loading, and bus congestion could become worse as more buses are rerouted, meaning there would be no capacity, and further concerns over buses stopping on Baldwin Street and capacity issues at St Augustine’s Parade, causing the company some concern.
First said that it does support the aims of Bristol City Council to regenerate Broadmead and has worked with the council to create the proposals. It “welcomes many aspects of the development plan, particularly the proposed bus priority measures around Bedminster and Bond Street, which promise to improve journey times and reliability.”
Cllr Plowden, the chair of the Transport and Connectivity Committee, told Bristol Live earlier in September: "I think this will make it a much better place to be for everyone. Obviously change is difficult, there will be more people living in the area and hopefully working in the area and we want to recognise that Broadmead is changing and will be much more residential alongside the other uses, so we want to make it a great place to live and work.
"We’re putting together a whole package of measures to make sustainable transport, whether that is buses, cycling or walking, the natural option. It will be a lot easier to cycle and walk.
"It may not work for everyone but we are thinking, in particular, about the needs of disabled people and people who really are dependent on their cars. From my point of view I hope that by freeing up the road space and getting as many people as we can to use other methods of transport that are more efficient for the city, that will free up space for those that are car dependent.”
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