Bristol bridge car ban
The plan, which was met with a mixed reaction by people in the city, would see one lane of the swing bridge over Bristol's Floating Harbour permanently closed to cars by the end of the year.
And it could also be used as part of a dedicated fast bus route running through the city centre.
Traffic lights will be set up at either end of the bridge to restrict the flow of cars and buses across the docks.
The current in-bound lane will be closed permanently to cars, leaving it exclusively for the use of cyclists and pedestrians.
Bristol City Council is now drawing up the legal notices which will see the £40,000 scheme up and running by the start of 2009.
The closure order is only an experimental order which could be changed in future, but city council transport leader Mark Bradshaw said he expected it to be permanent, at least until another bridge was built across the Floating Harbour.
Councillor Richard Eddy, leader of the opposition Conservative Party, said last night: "It's a hare-brained proposal which will only further help to clog the city's transport arteries.
"Traffic is already moving at a slower rate than in any other UK city and it seems the city council is determined to bring it to a complete stop."
Mr Bradshaw said: "This is unfinished business. Successive administrations have looked at Prince Street bridge – it's a major route which is becoming increasingly popular but the width of the pavement is extremely narrow and it's not safe.
"We need to maintain this route as a point of road access, at least until there is another way of crossing the harbour."
The plan was first raised in June 2006, as part of a £4 million traffic management plan. It provoked a storm of protest back then, including a 500-strong petition from motorists who wanted to keep it open in both directions.
Plans to close the bridge at the weekends were also put forward in August last year, leading to more protests and strong arguments from both sides.
Figures released by the city council claim that 5,000 pedestrians, 1,300 cyclists and 6,000 motorists use the bridge between 8am and 8pm on an average day.
But in 2006 council traffic studies showed there were about 1,100, pedestrians and just under 800 cars crossing the bridge every day.
The scheme will now be funded from the successful £22.8 million Cycling City bid which aims to double the number of cyclists in Bristol in the next two-and-a-half years. The Cycling City grant is public money with half coming from the Government and the rest from the city council and South Gloucestershire Council. 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.
Mr Bradshaw said alternatives for the bridge had been looked at, such as complete closure to traffic or closing it one-way during rush hour. But he said he was convinced that the measure was the right thing to do.
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