People living in East Bristol say they have been left in limbo after the council stopped the implementation of the controversial Liveable Neighbourhood, leaving gridlock, congestion and rising frustration on both sides.
Those opposed to the traffic calming, planters blocking the ends of roads and bus gates that were installed from Barton Hill to St George over the winter said they have been even more furious by council chiefs, who earlier this week said that the opposition to the scheme would ‘filter away’, once the residents begin to feel the benefits from it.
But for many living in Barton Hill, Redfield, Netham Park, St George and beyond, so far the Liveable Neighbourhood has created nothing more than traffic chaos, and they feel the ‘carrot and stick’ approach to trying to persuade people to leave their cars at home and walk, cycle or take public transport, has been all about the stick with little carrot.
On the WhatsApp chats, Facebook groups and other message boards, photographs of long queues of traffic are shared, along with updates on roads that have been closed, might close or are just closing because of regular roadworks, and reports of how journeys that used to take ten or 15 minutes around their community are now taking half an hour or more.
The fundamental principle of the controversial East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood appears to be to create a series of separate areas off the main A420 spine road that connects Bristol city centre with Kingswood, so motorised traffic is funnelled onto that main road.
While few who are proposing and defending the EBLN will say it out loud, but the whole point is to make it so difficult and bothersome to drive around the area that people choose not to, and opt to walk or cycle instead. At the same time, though, Redfield and the A420 is still a key commuter artery for drivers heading to and from work or school from further out in the east of Bristol or beyond, into the city centre.
And until Bristol gets any kind of mass rapid transit system with a park and ride scheme, to offer a realistic alternative to the car, they will also be sitting in the traffic jam that has long been Church Road.
“Now the implementation has begun it is clear from the vast amount of evidence being collected on the Stop the EBLN Facebook group that many of the concerns people had before were completely justified,” said Helen Hughes, a cyclist and driver from Staple Hill, who is one of organisers of ‘Keep Bristol Moving’, a lobby group set up to represent drivers.
The council has tried and had to pause installing blocks to a couple of the key roads and routes that run parallel with Church Road – most notably on the corner of Marsh Lane in Barton Hill – simply because the local residents came out en masse to physically stand in the way.
The half-finished limbo is frustrating those who want to see it all installed, because until it is, no one will know whether the whole thing will work anyway.
Dotted around Barton Hill and towards Netham Lock are the large digital signs the council normally employ to warn drivers of things like the balloon fiesta or festivals on the Downs. But in Barton Hill the light-up signs say things like ‘busgate not operational’ to contradict the more permanent signs warning them that a busgate has been installed ahead – it’s just not up and running yet.
And the thing that has riled up many in the community more than the spectre of the planters has been the reaction of councillors and council chiefs to the objections and direct action.
“A healthy community and wise leaders need to be able to give and accept feedback,” she said. “This is essential for any living system that wishes to thrive and not cycle into entropy. Bristol City Council ’s paternalistic approach and complete refusal to accept and respond to the feedback of the hundreds of complaints, objections, concerns and criticisms of this scheme shows an utter disregard for what it means to thrive and therefore for the well-being – the health and happiness – of the people who live and work in this city,” she added.
“One has to wonder what is making this obstinate stance on behalf of the council worth it,” she added.
Barton Hill is one of the most ethnically diverse of all areas in Bristol, and Helen Hughes said the irony is that the council has succeeded to bring people from all races and backgrounds together, far more effectively than previous initiatives specifically designed to do just that.
“At least it has achieved one thing,” Helen said. “East Bristol’s residents are indeed starting to get to know one another better. Not because they can finally cross their streets to meet their neighbours on the other side without being run down on the way, or sit down with them on the street to have a coffee. But because so many have come together in solidarity and outrage at what the council is doing to them,” she added.