It could be a scene in a major European city, as people sit drinking lattes at pavement cafes.

Then the number 49 to Emerson's Green via Staple Hill comes roaring by. And all delusions of a continental lifestyle are blown away in a cloud of diesel fumes.

Welcome to Bristol city centre. A great place to shop, to visit the cinema and to have a meal. Especially for those who always remember their Green Cross Code.

In a way, perhaps it's appropriate that shoppers in Broadmead have to watch out for oncoming vehicles as they saunter from Marks & Spencer to Debenhams.

After all, Bristol is notorious for being dominated by the car. So why would anyone expect to walk directly from Cabot Circus to Harvey Nichols, instead of spending ages on the pavement in Penn Street waiting for traffic to pass?

But then again, why would any motorist want to crawl along Penn Street in second gear, hoping someone will not emerge from the pedestrianised streets of Cabot Circus and fail to realise a busy road is just steps away?

One thing is clear, whether you're a pedestrian or a motorist. The present road system at Cabot Circus and Broadmead isn't working.

This week's news that preliminary discussions are being held into pedestrianising Penn Street, The Horsefair and Union Street brings to mind the joke about an Irishman who, when asked for directions, advises: "If I were going there, I wouldn't start from here."

Unfortunately, the current situation has to be the starting point, since Bristol City Council's health and safety officers and traffic officials seem to have been rather relaxed about the inevitable chaotic merger between shoppers and traffic where Cabot Circus and Broadmead meet at Penn Street.

There haven't yet been any fatalities there yet, thankfully, but that doesn't mean there never will be.

The sad fact is there are people who have gone into central Bristol to go shopping who have never returned home after being involved in a road accident.

Since 2006, there have been two fatal accidents involving female pedestrians and buses on Union Street, and there have been other accidents with less serious consequences in the area over the years.

The cause of the accident in the road at Old Market roundabout on Wednesday – in which a man died and a woman was seriously injured in a collision with a bus – is presently the subject of an investigation. However, it has already provided tragic evidence of what can happen when pedestrians and vehicles are both using a busy road at the same time, and someone makes a mistake or takes a risk.

I must admit I've never got particularly excited about what the radio and billboard adverts for The Mall at Cribbs Causeway gushingly describe as "the joy of 7,000 free parking spaces". I'm one of those Bristol residents for whom one of those free spaces comes with the joyless experience of paying extra for petrol to drive out to South Gloucestershire, while increasing the mileage on my car.

However, at least when I'm there I don't need to worry about Child A or Child B lurching unexpectedly into the road just as a bus comes along The Horsefair.

True, I suppose I could maintain a constant white-knuckled grip upon their shoulders (there wouldn't be much point telling them not to step into the road, since they wouldn't hear me above the cacophony of slowly moving vehicles). But I can think of more relaxing ways of going shopping. Besides, poor judgment on roads is not confined to children.

So is the proposed traffic ban the answer?

Complete pedestrianisation would mean there would be no need to be on alert for cars – and you could sit at a pavement cafe without shouting above the roar of engines, or getting a sprinkling of dirt and fumes to go with the chocolate on top of your cappuccino.

But while a traffic-free oasis would be idyllic, people with mobility problems might understandably complain about their shopping trip being marred by having to walk further than before.

So if vehicles are to be banned, I hope discussions about improving traffic management around Broadmead could look at the possibility of an airport-style drop-off and pick-up area for cars, or maybe just for vehicles with disabled badges.

Personally, I'd love to see a land train similar to the one at Weston-super-Mare making its way through a pedestrianised Horsefair and Penn Street.

Not only would it make life easier for shoppers with mobility problems – and those of us who detest trudging around with aching feet – but it would be a great treat for children.

Or how about introducing rickshaws like those around China Town in London? It would be a great way of getting around the centre of Bristol when your feet are sore and your fingers have gone numb from carrying bags of shopping.

Whatever happens to improve roads around Broadmead, let's hope something is done before another family discovers that a loved one who went shopping there will not be coming home.