Huge divide in Bristol over lane closure

Public reaction over plans to segregate cars from cyclists on Prince Street Bridge has been as divided as the scheme itself.

Yesterday, the Evening Post reported on proposals to close one lane of the swing bridge to cars and set up traffic lights at either end.

Motorists would wait their turn before crossing the bridge, while cyclists and pedestrians would have exclusive use of the other lane.

The £40,000 scheme is part of Bristol's Cycling City scheme and will be in place by the start of 2009.

Since reporting the news, the Evening Post has had feedback via email, on our website and on the phone from various interested parties.

At the time of writing, 55 per cent of comments on the Evening Post website were against the scheme, with 45 per cent being in favour.

Sustainable transport charity Sustrans came out in support of the lane closure, as did Liberal Democrat transport spokesman Councillor John Rogers.

Although top Tory Councillor, Richard Eddy, criticised the scheme in our paper yesterday, it appears the ruling Labour cabinet will face limited opposition when the plan is up for approval at its meeting on Thursday night.

But the proposals to close of f the lane to cars was also criticised by Tim Davis, director of Queen Square-based property advisers DTZ.

He said: "Without an alternative access route, this bridge restriction is going to cause absolute chaos in the city centre at rush hour.

"In the current economic climate, the last thing the central business district needs is an additional barrier to attracting occupiers to the city centre.

"The council should be looking to make it easier for the companies that contribute to Bristol's wealth to continue in business, not more difficult."

Peter Lipman, policy director at Sustrans, said: "Areas such as Southville which are served by the bridge have Bristol's highest number of walking commuters and the majority of these are using the Prince Street Bridge to get into the city.

"If we want to encourage even more walking and cycling, which benefits health and the environment, we should make those journeys as attractive as possible, and the closing of one side of the bridge to motor traffic is long overdue.

"We therefore welcome this news but recognise this as a compromise between all bridge users.

"We believe that this move will encourage and enable more people to walk and cycle to work without the fear of traffic that comes with crossing such a narrow bridge."

Mr Rogers said: "There will be concerns about whether the traffic flow in this new arrangement is sufficient to deal with peak rush hour traffic.

"But I think anything which improves the walking and cycling experience for people in Bristol is a good thing so I would welcome the proposals."