'Bristol needs congestion charge'
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Mike Henry, transport expert at King Sturge
A leading businessman says Bristol should follow the example of Manchester and back city centre congestion charging.
Mike Henry, transport expert at property consultant King Sturge, believes more needs to be done – besides new bus routes and park and rides – to keep Bristol moving.
He urged city transport bosses to watch on Manchester over the next fortnight as its people vote on whether to introduce congestion charging.
And he said a similarly radical measure could be needed to keep cars away from the middle of Bristol.
The West of England Partnership, of all four councils in the city area, is planning to introduce congestion charging in about 2014.
The charges would be part of a wider programme hoped to contain growth and ease pressure on the city, one of the UK's fastest-growing urban areas.
Mark Bradshaw, Bristol City Council's executive member for transport, said theories that apply to Manchester would not always work here.
But he welcomed Mr Henry's contribution and said the views of the business community would play an important role in the future of transport in Bristol.
Mr Henry said: "In two weeks' time Manchester residents will register their votes on whether that city should introduce a London-style congestion charge for motorists.
"This is a crucial issue for Bristol, which has also declared the aim of having a congestion charge and has secured Government funding for researching the idea.
"There is no longer any scope for Bristol to adopt a 'do nothing' option.
"Car-ownership is rising relentlessly and Bristol's public transport solutions will not be transformed by a policy of showcase bus routes and park and ride extensions.
"The key lesson for Bristol from Manchester's initiative is the need for clarity and transparency – including confirmation of what and when the charges will be."
Mr Henry said Manchester will charge a maximum of £2 for drivers in the city at peak times, and that Bristol should be able to address issues of detail from Manchester's vote – such as exemptions.
"Manchester voters are worried, for example, about the administration of exemption for people with NHS medical appointments," he said.
"No-one wants to volunteer for congestion-charges, but they have now been proved to work in London and they offer the only practical option to contain inexorable growth of traffic congestion and the otherwise-impossible funding of major public transport improvements.
"Painful though it will be, it can enable Bristol to tackle its very real traffic and transport problems – and claim a place on the international radar."
Mr Bradshaw said: "We welcome contributions to the ongoing debate about transforming Bristol's transport infrastructure and in managing congestion.
"What happens in Greater Manchester is for the people of Manchester and the wider conurbation.
"Each city has different challenges, and while we can and do learn from each other, we will be careful to design proposals for Bristol.
"At the moment we are consulting on a range of proposals which will help offer real choice to the people of Bristol and the city region – I do hope that the business community will be equally vocal in letting us know where they stand."
For more on transport issues read Bristol Evening Post transport correspondant Rupert Janisch's Bristol travel blog.











53 Comments
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by Jozef, Colo Heights NSW Australia
Saturday, November 29 2008, 3:49AM
“Thanks for the feedback.
Yes I have placed a lot of comments about the solution I offer. There is a plain and simple reason for this but before I get into it let me state that I realise that my infrastructure will not work in every situation, but that will depend on how long commuters want to put up with a traffic system that doesn¿t work. There are many roads in town centres that are too narrow and would not benefit from my designs. But having said that there are many roads that will and in particular the major ones that feed off and into the minor ones.
You see I have approached this from the viewpoint that a road should run like a river, it never stops but infinitely adjusts to circumstances. Yes I know that rivers flood but this is compensated in a roadway by the fact that we can adjust the flow speed of vehicles. Not fixed speed limits. When I started driving there weren¿t top speed limits and I noticed the slowing and extended time taken to do trips when they were introduced.
Let me give you background, I lived and worked in England for half my life before moving to Australia and I¿m pushing 61 next month.
Apart from the last 5 years in Trowbridge I lived most of it in Basingstoke, now there¿s a town that has taken some changes. But traffic flow hasn¿t improved.
I have bicycled, motorcycled and driven around England both for work and pleasure. Hitched across and around Europe alone at 21 and yes I got into Italy. Did Paris then and did it again a few years ago. In those days there were just as many jams and gridlock in the major cities as there are today. Done a fair bit over here in major cities as well as Singapore and Hong Kong.
The reasons then are the same as today it¿s just that today there are more vehicles so the ripple effect affects more people.
Take a look at today¿s intersection designs and I can show that every one will slow traffic flow, traffic lights just stop it.
The Turnabout will slow you as you enter it, that¿s deliberate, but because you take turns you never stop.
With the upgraded Turnabout the flow rate of vehicles is faster.
With a high speed T you don¿t even have to slow down and because it is in single lane format it can fit dimensionally into many existing roads intersections. It¿s not shown.
The High Speed crossroad has also has no speed restraint and along with the T they have no top speed limit for vehicles using them.
The spaghetti one commented on is an exercise to prove the concept.
Through traffic on the freeway never slows or stops
Exiting left and right you never slow or stop.
This can be duplicated, another level to allow entering right turn traffic too the freeway to do the same, but rather than make it look more complicated it has been left out.
Left turns are still available to join the freeway.
It leaves one problem how to cross the freeway. This is where the Turnabout comes in as it is expected that it would serve local traffic only. It also allows all right turns.
This means that if speed limits are removed drivers adjust infinitely just like a river.
There are only a few places in cities around the globe where this could possibly be considered but it may remove the charm that these locations have. After all how many places have eight roads converging in a built up area. The most that I have found, Paris where if I am not mistaken there are 13 roads joining but having been through it myself I think you need to be a Parisian to do it. Well maybe you need to spend time there before you attempt it.
That leaves the reason why I place comments.
There are two ways to get things done. Have an IN with the decision makers, government. That¿s called sucking up.
Or have public opinion force government to make decisions.
Have you ever tried to get a response from politicians that know nothing and pass the buck to departments that defend their way of work even though it doesn¿t work?
My correspondence is very thin on the rep”
by Pete, Bristol
Friday, November 28 2008, 5:13PM
“Another point to note on this topic......
The recent opening of Cabot Circus was announced along the lines of 'helping to promote Bristol as the capital of the South West, bringing in visitors from miles around to save them travelling to London for their shopping'.
Great story at the time perhaps, but not exactly a fantastic idea for those of us who actually live in Bristol and thanks to the opening of this new 'tourist attraction' as it was called, our city's already horrendously overcrowded road system is made worse tenfold!
As others have mentioned, i'm quite sure that the congestion charge would soon put off both locals and visitors from afar, thus condemning Cabot Circus, to the benefit once again of Cribbs Causeway!
Also, how far and wide is this congestion charge to spread? Speaking as someone who tries - in vain at times - to use public transport, I seem to spend more time stuck on the out of centre roads, namely Fishponds Road, Muller Road, Southmead Road, Gloucester Road, and many many others as i'm sure all Bristolians will have experienced for themselves.
Once again, this problem is down to lack of any form of efficient and SAFE public transport. Not all of us can get on bikes, so there needs to be an alternative.
It just seems such a shame that with all the money spent on Cabot Circus and the complete re-structuring of the road system in that area, that virtually NO attempt was made to incorporate any public transit system. It's ok to say this was yet another missed opportunity, but how many more like that are going to pass us by?!
Oh, and Mr Henry, I do hope that you are able to get in around the city centre every day more successfully than the rest of us trying to get to our places of work - whether in the centre of Bristol or anywhere else in the region. If so, then you must know something the rest of us don't!”
by Richard, Bristol
Friday, November 28 2008, 9:23AM
“Sorry for the bad spelling. Should check before submitting.”
by Richard, Bristol
Friday, November 28 2008, 9:20AM
“Hi Jozef,
Thank I'd imagine your model will work very well in macros terms but in Bristol right now we need to think in micros strategies as there's four other council boundaries crossing transparently with Bristol and between them the councils produce lots of paperwork for each other and hense it takes years to get past each phase.
As a quick remedy I think major road ways should have a reversible traffic display system so all existing raods are turned in to one way systems. For example between 07.00 - 09.30 Gloucester Road, Wells Road, Kingswood Road, Fishponds Road etc all flow in to central Bristol whilst smaller roads flow out normally (which are pretty much dead anyway) and a reverse effect between 15.00 - 19.00. It will cause issues for a lot of people in the short term but after a few months Bristol will move five times quaicker and we will have a cicular model with very little expense. It's all about restructuring excisting raods for the better good and with this traffic lights can be taken out of a lot of road ways.
For people living in these areas they will simply join the flow one way until the first opportunities to turn left or right, then they'll flow to their destination.
Food for thought.”
by James S, Bristol
Friday, November 28 2008, 8:37AM
“Jozef,
I admire your determination to spread the word of your Liquid Flow Traffic system..
It seems the first few pages of a google search show that you've placed comments like this on a massive amount of traffic congestion news stories on websites around the world.
The trouble with liquid flow systems, or indeed the vast majority of attempts by architects and engineers to work as social engineers, is that the big random factor always causes problems: people.
I'd recomend a few days driving in Sicily or much of mainland italy - traffic flows very freely without the massive junctions that you show as needed for the liquid flow solution.
After taking a look at your proposed intersections (love the bottom right one on the interchange models, very spaggetti junction) I wonder how you'd propose getting them built in any city without needing the city in question to be utterly leveled and rebuilt as a concrete and asphalt multilevel monument to the motorcar?”