Bristol City Council is set to begin on a £1.4 million project to improve Bristol Bridge and other locations nearby for people who walk, cycle or e-scooter. The project has been brought forward because the traffic lights need replacing, and work will begin next Monday, June 12.
The project will see much more priority given to cyclists, and a new set of crossing points from Castle Park to Baldwin Street. The council said the work is needed because since the bus gate was introduced back in 2020, the number of vehicles crossing the bridge has dropped, so all the different traffic lanes are no longer needed.
As well as the work on Bristol Bridge and Baldwin Street, there will be a new cycle lane heading down towards Victoria Street, and a new connection linking the Old Market with the other end of Castle Park. The plans had something of a bumpy ride when they were first unveiled, and were initially criticised by some.
Read next: Victoria Street to get new segregated cycle lane as part of major changes
Green Party councillor David Wilcox described the plans as 'suboptimal' and said they could create problems because cyclists would be crossing moving traffic. The project will see the removal of the traffic signals at the junction of Bristol Bridge, High Street and Baldwin Street, installing a parallel crossing for pedestrians and cyclists linking Castle Park to Baldwin Street, and a new zebra crossing across Baldwin Street.
A new two-way segregated cycle way will be installed on the west side of Bristol Bridge, with the hope that it will one day link up with proposals for a segregated cycle way running all the way down Victoria Street towards Temple Meads. There will also be a new bus shelter on Baldwin Street, and other improvements to Baldwin Street and Castle Park either side of the busy crossing point.
Work will begin on June 12, and the council said the project will finish in October - and that will mean four months of disruption to buses, cyclists, motorists and pedestrians in the area. There will be temporary crossings installed, and the bridge itself will remain open, apart from some overnight closures towards the end of the project.
At the east end of Castle Park, the segregated cycle path across Old Market roundabout will be linked up properly with the cycle way across Castle Park at Tower Hill.
A second project getting underway this month will see the council installing pedestrian crossings, changing pavements and junctions and resurfacing the area around Cotham Hill, which was pedestrianised back in 2021. That trial was deemed a success, but the road still looks like a regular road, so now the council is returning to alter it to be a pedestrianised street.
That scheme will cost £645,000, which is being funded by Active Travel England.
“With all these schemes, and more on the way, it shows we are continuing to invest in our streets to make sure people can embrace more sustainable ways to move around the city, which will not only help reduce congestion, but will help to cut pollution and meet our climate pledge,” said Cllr Don Alexander, the council’s transport and roads chief.
Read next:
- Two new Bristol cycle lanes planned for key routes into city centre
- Redesign of Baldwin Street and Bristol Bridge junction slammed as ‘suboptimal’
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