Bristol: Cycling City

[whole diary]

[Lee]

The first physical signs of Bristol's recently-won status as a cycling city could start with a new cyclepath from beyond Whitchurch into the city centre (link below.)
http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/City-facing-challenge-spend-cycle-cash-2011-deadline/article-372888-detail/article.html

Plans are being put forward to create the route with part of the ^22.8 million being spent on making Bristol the country's first Cycling Demonstration City.

The money ^ half from the Government and the rest from the city council ^ must all be spent by March 2011.

And, apart from initiatives to get more people riding bikes, as well as educating children in cycling safety, the city itself will see a number of changes.

The first of these will be a new path from Whitchurch, which may start over the council boundary in Bath and North East Somerset.

Some of the existing path along the old railway will be used but in-depth details will not be known until shortly before a city council cabinet meeting later this month.

[bemmy]

So, if they can manage to complete Sustran's original plan for a proper cycle path out to Whitchurch, another tiny segment of Bristol's population will be within reach of a real cycle path. This will be great for them but I don't see how two cyclepaths makes a showpiece cycling city.

However the emphasis on cycling proficiency is most welcome, if there were less teenagers riding round like idiots thinking they're immortal, life would be easier for everyone, including other cyclists.

The fact they have to spend the money by March 2011 is a big concern for everyone who knows how long it takes the Council to do anything. For example, the "tramways centre" was to be rebuilt in Soviet Bloc style for the Millennium..... I think they finished it around 2005. 

[Lee]

Cars should be banned from the city centre, says the councillor championing Bristol's new drive to encourage cycling (link below.)
http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/Let-s-make-Bristol-city-centre-bike/article-386400-detail/article.html

[Chris from Nailsea]

Cars are to be re-routed through Bristol City Centre under plans to boost the number of cyclists.  The council wants to double the number of people cycling in the city every day, from 20,000 to 40,000, by 2011.

New traffic lights on Prince Street bridge would allow only alternative one-way access for cars, improving safety for cyclists and pedestrians.  The proposals, which are part of the Cycling City scheme, will be discussed at a meeting next week.

A council spokesman said Prince Street bridge had "a slim pavement on one side only and poses a danger for cyclists, pedestrians and motorists".  Councillor Mark Bradshaw (Lab) said: "The city council is prepared to take some tough decisions, such as tackling safety concerns on Prince Street Bridge, to improve access for those who have made the welcome choice to travel more by walking, cycling or public transport.  The Cycling City proposal will see the introduction of more space for cyclists and pedestrians on the same side as the existing footpath, with traffic lights providing alternative one-way working for motorists - carefully managed to keep traffic moving smoothly during peak hours."

The proposals will be considered by the city council's cabinet when it meets on Thursday, 30 October.

For full details, see http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bristol/7688466.stm

[Lee]

Further article link.
http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/Bristol-bridge-car-ban/article-424229-detail/article.html

The bridge has also been earmarked for the city's first rapid transit bus route from Ashton Vale to the city centre, due to be complete by 2013.

[greenbristolblog]

There's more to the Prince Street Bridge plan than meets the eye. See here for speculation - http://greenbristolblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/bridge-too-narrow.html

[grahame]

There's more to the Prince Street Bridge plan than meets the eye. See here for speculation - http://greenbristolblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/bridge-too-narrow.html

Hi Chris ... welcome to the forum (and congratulations on being our 400th member!).

I've had a look at your blog and some of the articles too ... and I know the bridge. I note your comments about pushing cyclists and pedestrians on to the same side, and also concerning the possible banning of cars, and thoughts about buses too.

Has anyone considered keeping one side for pedestrians, the other side for cyclists and buses - with traffic light controls to stop the cyclists whenever a bus needs to cross?

[greenbristolblog]

Hi Grahame, do I get a prize? Or should I have waited till I was number 500?

I have thought about what you suggest - bikes and buses on one side with light controls. If the buses weren't too frequent I wouldn't have thought it unreasonable to ask cyclists to wait occasionally, or walk across on the pedestrian side instead, but of course in practice we would cycle across the pedestrian side! Maybe that wouldn't matter if it was just when buses used our 'normal' side and if cyclists were aware that they were intruding into the pedestrian realm and riding 'deferentially'.

I'd certainly rather 'share' the route with the odd BRT^▸ (Bus Rapid Transit) bus, even a long bendy bus, than a constant stream of cars, so it could be workable with a bit of give and take. At least with buses rather than trams one doesn't have tramlines to contend with, although it might be that the plan is to use Kerb Guidance on the bridge. The plans for BRT to Ashton Vale should become public very soon if they're going to get the submission for TIF^▸ (Transport Innovation Fund) funding in on time so watch this space, as they say.

[Lee]

....and if you want to know more about the various Greater Bristol BRT^▸ (Bus Rapid Transit) plans, click on the links below.
http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=1608.msg10568#msg10568

http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=743.msg2759#msg2759

[grahame]

Hi Grahame, do I get a prize? Or should I have waited till I was number 500?

Alas - the coffers don't really allow for any prize other than a "congratulations" as we're not funded - but it's great to have you - and a wide variety of folks - thinking and discussing here.

I don't know when we'll get to that "500" - on one hand, I would like to see us grow to and through that number, and on the other hand we're something of a site that people sign up to when they're frustated with the Train Operator, and I would like the local TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) to make it very hard for us to grow by putting right the remaining issues that drive people here.  A thought - this site wouldn't even exist if First Great Western had continued to run an appropriate TransWilts service ... with the December 2006 changes on this line being to a service like the one at http://www.savethetrain.org.uk/tp.html - which is the based ont he draft that FGW^▸ (First Great Western) themselves proposed as an option for this coming December. All it would have taken is the rescheduling of a single train (not extra to current stock level, nor withdrawl of anything else that wasn't duplicating a preceeding / following service by more than a few minutes)

Enough of that, though, Chris ... as a cyclist, what are you wider Bristol views on trams / local trains / bus?

[Chris from Nailsea]

Bristol is joining European cities such as Paris and Barcelona with a 24-hour bike hire service.  From tomorrow, a trial scheme with 10 bikes ^ part-financed with the money that Bristol has received as the UK^▸ (United Kingdom)'s first Cycling City ^ will begin at Parkway station and the University of West of England's Frenchay, St Matthias and Glenside campuses.

Anyone over the age of 12 will be able to rent bikes for any length of time from secure bike racks that in the next few weeks will be installed at more locations across the city, including Temple Meads, Wine Street and the BRI^» (Bristol Temple Meads - next trains).  Members of the scheme, run by Hourbike, which already runs a similar scheme in Dublin, will each receive a smart card and a pin number.  When the pin number is typed into a pad on any of the eight-bike stands, a bike is automatically released, ready to be ridden away.

Bikes can be returned to any Hourbike stand, not just from the location that the bike was rented.  The rental period then ends and credit is deducted from the member's account.

For full details, see http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/Bristol-s-bike-hire-scheme-ready-roll/article-440274-detail/article.html

[Chris from Nailsea]

A tourist couple say they will never return to Bristol ^ because they feel menaced by cyclists in the city centre.  Disabled pensioner Eric Drummond, aged 68, and his wife Alison have been visiting Bristol from their home in Scotland every year since the 1960s.  They say they love coming to the city for holidays and to see friends, staying at the caravan park in Baltic Wharf.

But this year's visit will be their last, say the couple, who live in Edinburgh, because of the number of near-misses they encountered with cyclists.  They claim some were riding at speeds of up to 20mph on the pavement and they were also angered by a number of cyclists performing stunts on various pedestrianised areas around the Harbourside.

They took pictures of the stunt cyclists and sent them to the leader of Bristol City Council.  It is illegal to cycle on the pavement and former magistrate and police authority chairman Mr Drummond wants officers to have a zero-tolerance policy to enforcing the law.  He believes it is only a matter of time before a pedestrian is run down and killed by a cyclist.

The city council says that in the last three years 11 pedestrians have been involved in accidents with cyclists ^ but that over the same period 749 cyclists were hit by cars.

For full details, see http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/Ban-Bristol-s-dangerous-cyclists/article-433888-detail/article.html

[Chris from Nailsea]

The first visible manifestation of Bristol's Cycling City status has arrived in the north of the city at Parkway station and the University of West of England's Frenchay, St Matthias and Glenside campuses.

The Hourbike scheme ^ a 24-hour bike hire system ^ is in its trial phase but by the end of this year, its eight-bike stands will become a familiar site throughout Bristol.

There will soon be Hourbike locations at Temple Meads, Temple Quay, Anchor Square, the BRI^» (Bristol Temple Meads - next trains), Marlborough Street, Thunderbolt Square (the corner of Queen Square and Marsh Street), the centre and Wine Street, as well as its three current locations.

Anyone over the age of 12 can register for the scheme, which aims to provide an alternative to car or taxi journeys, especially in the city centre.

For full details, see http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/Testing-Bristol-s-new-bike-rent-scheme/article-456586-detail/article.html

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Bristol Cycling City scheme misses target

A project aimed at doubling the number of regular cyclists in Bristol has failed to reach its targets.

Bristol was awarded ^22m in 2008 and named Cycling City to encourage residents to ride bicycles.

Statistics obtained by the BBC show that, according to the city council, bike use has only risen by a third at the end of the three-year programme.

Project manager Ed Plowden said bike use had risen more quickly than other areas because of the project. "In London it took them about nine years to double cycling," said Mr Plowden. "At the moment - 1% of all journeys are being done by bike and they've got a target to get to 5% by 2026. Bristol is already at 5% and that's partly due to the growth during Cycling City."

In 2008, there were 25,000 bike users in Bristol while there are now around 33,000, the council figures show.

About two-thirds of the ^22m was spent on cycling infrastructure, such as 13 miles of off-road cycle tracks including the Festival Way to Ashton Court, the Frome Greenway and a link in St Werburghs.

The remaining third went towards "softer" schemes geared towards changing people's attitudes to cycling such as training in schools and workplaces.

This balance between "hard" and "soft" projects has been called into question by some.

Martin McDonnell, secretary of the pressure group Bristol Cycling Campaign, said: "I think there could be a lot more publicity. If you come into Bristol how do you know that it's a Cycling City? There aren't big banners up anywhere. There are certain routes which aren't complete and they start somewhere not very sensible. They've also been doing things like putting bollards in the middle of the cycleway which can be dangerous."

The leader of the opposition Conservative group on Bristol City Council, Geoff Gollop, said the new cycle routes were to the detriment of motorists. He said: "The Cycling City initiative brought in match-funding which has delivered new cycling routes but these have largely been achieved at the expense of the majority of road users - by reducing road space or capacity. Whilst we recognise the merits of promoting cycling as a leisure activity for the individual - delivering personal health benefits and helping to improve the environment for all - this form of travel is unlikely in the near future to be a major means of commuting. We do not believe the ^22m project can be said to have been successful even in its own terms."

[JayMac]

^22 million was never going to be enough. It's extremely expensive to flatten hills. 

Bristol is a very hilly city - one of the major reason why there are not more cycling commuters in Bristol.