Tag Archives: Ashley Easton Lawrence Hill NP

Bristol Cycling Campaign response to the Bristol & Bath Railway Path concept designs

Thursday, 09 January 2020 16:29
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Bristol Cycling Campaign response to Bristol & Bath Railway Path concept designs

Update: 23 January 2019

Sustrans is holding a drop-in session ‘to explore the latest designs and to help us balance the different ideas as we develop the details together’ for the railway path. Details for the session are:

Monday 24 February
5:00pm-8:00pm
Easton Community Centre, Kilburn Street, Easton, Bristol BS5 6AW (next to the BBRP)

Bristol Cycling Campaign response

The Bristol & Bath Railway Path is an important asset for local cycling. Increasing use of the Railway Path (by cyclists and pedestrians) has led to calls for a reduction in conflict between pedestrians and cyclists. Sustrans is using Department for Transport funding for ‘a community-led re-design to improve the quality of the existing Bristol and Bath railway path’.

The work is to be undertaken at the Bristol end of the Railway Path between Clay Bottom and Trinity Street.

Bristol Cycling Campaign has significant concerns over some of the proposals contained in the concept designs created by Sustrans. We have submitted a comprehensive document to Sustrans which provides our feedback on the proposals.

We regard the east Bristol section of the Railway Path as the most important cycling infrastructure in the City and welcome steps to improve the Railway Path for all users. Bristol Cycling Campaign believes the route should be widened throughout the busy section of the park to facilitate the separation of cycles and pedestrians. However the concept designs created to date do not propose this.

We are objecting to a series of proposed obstacles that will hinder, rather than help, cycling on the Railway Path, and we regret that many opportunities to improve the Railway Path were not included in the proposals, such as reinstating the footbridge next to Whitehall Primary connecting Johnsons Rd and Bruce Rd.

We are hopeful that our concerns about the proposals for the Railway Path are taken into consideration rather than the proposed anti-cycling measures implemented.

You can read about the Sustrans Concept Designs and our response in the PDFs:

sustrans-bbrp-concept-designs-december2019

BCyC-Response-to-Sustrans-BBRP-Proposals-06012020

A Modest Proposal #8: Jamaica St cycleway

Tuesday, 22 October 2019 18:43
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Every cyclist in Bristol will have their own strategy for coping with the James Barton roundabout, one of the worst in Bristol and the subject of our Modest Proposal #5: The Bear Pit / St James Barton Roundabout. Particularly as the Gloucester Road is one of the busiest cycling routes in the city, with its own  Modest Proposal #6; Eight to Eighty cycling on Gloucester Road.

Most of us make use of Jamaica Street, but it can’t be called pleasant. It also boast some of the oldest and most idiosycratic ‘cycling facilities’ in Bristol.

How about this ‘Modest Proposal’ for a two way cycleway linking Stokes Croft with the bus station and on into Broadmead:

  • A ‘Toucan’ crossing of the four lanes of traffic at Marlborough Street
  • Two way cycleway on the whole length of Jamaica Street
  • No Entry – Except Cycles beyond Kings Square, so northbound motor vehicles only
  • No Entry – Except Cycles into Jamaica Street from Stokes Croft.

Quick. Cheap. Popular. What are the chances?

Plan of Jamaica St cycleway Modest Proposal

Workshops on changes to the Railway Path – have your say!

Monday, 14 October 2019 19:17
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Sustrans have funding to improve the Bristol end of the Railway Path between Trinity Road and Clay Bottom. The £1.2m project is being called the One Path: BS5 project and “aims to encourage positive behaviour and tackle issues such as conflict between path users”. It is funded by the Department for Transport and will be delivered by Sustrans in partnership with Bristol City Council.

Hooray!

But hold on there. There’s a line of thought that what’s needed are speed bumps, bollards, and chicanes. What do you think needs to be done?

There are four events coming up to find out what the local community and path users think about the path. We would like lots of BCyC supporters to have your say, so please get stuck in. There’s also an email list and facebook group.

  • Thursday 17 October, 5:00 – 7:00 pm at Hannah Moore’s School, St. Philips
  • Friday 18 October, 3:30 – 6:30 pm at Easton Community Centre
  • Monday 21 October, 3:30 – 7:00 pm at Rose Green Centre

There will also be a community inception meeting on Friday 18 October, 7:00 pm at Easton Community Centre

There appears to be under representation of the cycling users voice because engaging with bike riders on the path, who are often heading to work etc, reluctant to stop, is more difficult than pedestrians.

We want segregation of people on bikes and on foot, but that will mean a determined effort to secure sufficient width. That is better for both categories of user in accordance with the policies of both walking and cycling advocacy groups. Following discussion on our members’ Space for Cycling forum, we concluded that we do NOT want bollards, chicanes etc or anything which will reduce cycling leading to more motoring etc and discriminates against the disabled including disabled cyclists.

Sustrans say the project will be guided by the community’s vision:

“We are committed to a Bristol and Bath Railway Path that is a safe space: a park, path and place for all users, by foot or by wheel, enabling healthy lifestyles in a green and biodiverse corridor linking the two Cities and communities across the West of England Combined Authority.”

“We will work with all of the communities who use the Bristol and Bath Railway Path to redesign and reshape it so that its value to people, wildlife, its localities and the region as a whole is enhanced and protected for generations to come.”

“To help guide the project, and ensure a healthy balance between the interests and needs of all users, we will be setting up a stakeholder group. During the workshops, we will be inviting attendees to put their name forward to be part of the project stakeholder group. Please consider this carefully in advance of the meeting, and let us know if you feel this is something you would be happy to do.”

Easton Safer Streets – ask councillors to support

Thursday, 09 November 2017 16:46
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Update:  The proposal has been scaled back to just a single street. Everyone loses.

There is a key decision point on Friday 10th Nov for Easton Safer Streets. Please show your support using the button below. This is Bristol’s first attempt to make a big difference to the vitality of an area by a joined up approach to through traffic (rat-running), rather than a piecemeal street by street approach. Of all the projects in the Cycling Ambition Fund package this is the one with the greatest potential to benefit whole communities, and offers a model for other areas. It continued after local councillors backed down on rat run measures in Windmill Hill Deterring through traffic in Windmill Hill.

There has been a very extensive and detailed ‘co-design’ process involving hundreds of people and dozens of events and meetings, lead by Sustrans. The final design proposals are being considered on Friday 10 November 2017 by the six councillors of the Easton, Eastville and Lawrence Hill wards to decide whether to move on the next stage of formal consultation.

As with all such proposals there is a vigorous lobby against change. We are encouraging everyone who lives in the area, or is affected by the changes, or who would like safer streets in their area, to contact the key six councillors to show their support. We’ve made it easy for you with this button which will open an email with all the info ready for you to add any comments.

Email the Councillors [add your name and comment]

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A Modest Proposal #6; Eight to Eighty cycling on Gloucester Road

Thursday, 01 December 2016 13:59
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Did you know that Gloucester Road was one of Bristol’s busiest cycle routes (Building on success – lessons from Gloucester Road)? What’s more, the number of people cycling has doubled in the last ten years whereas motor vehicle numbers have dropped by a fifth. These facts can be seen from Department for Transport Traffic Counts.

So what does this tell us? Bristol’s Cycling City money has been well spent? Not quite. Significant Cycling City money was not spent on Gloucester Road infrastructure as the end of project report makes clear. In fact people on bikes are using this route despite, not because of, its facilities for them.

As anyone who has cycled into, or out of, the City on Gloucester Road knows the only “cycling infrastructure” is, essentially, paint and bus lanes. And bus lanes are for both a human on a bike (100 kilos) and a double decker (15 tons) – hardly fair or equal!

Gloucester Road is popular because it goes where people on bikes want to go; travelling, often commuting, in and out of the City Centre from the

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