Independent businesses along one of Bristol’s most famous streets, which is subject to a £15 million transformation scheme, say the plans “will have a catastrophic effect” on the street. In January, Bristol City Council announced that Park Street could soon have a bus gate at one end and a bus lane at the other, closing the road to through traffic.
It would mean that Park Street, a key route for drivers through the city centre, would not be accessed by ‘The Centre’, due to a bus lane, nor from the top of Park Street, due to a bus gate. Drivers would still be able to use Park Street if using the back streets, around the back of City Hall and the Hippodrome, and leave Park Street via the usual methods.
The changes would see more bus stops, segregated cycleways and wider pavements along the street. There would be designated parking for bikes and e-scooters across the Park Street, Clifton Triangle and College Green areas.
A little dual carriageway from the Clifton Triangle to the bottom of Whiteladies Road outside the Victoria Rooms, would see the road shifted over to the north side. A bus lane will be installed either side of a single lane road for traffic flowing in and out of Whiteladies Road, and a new T-junction will be created for the section of Queens Road that comes from Clifton Village.
However, the scheme has been critically panned by local independent businesses on Park Street and the Clifton Triangle, which say that the scheme would have a “catastrophic effect” on business. The ‘Save Park Street’ group consists of more than 15 independent businesses that are all against the potential developments.
The group came together back in 2021 when a similar scheme was being proposed for Park Street, with opinions divided amongst business owners at the time. Bristol City Council said that changes have been made to the plans since then, including adding more detail to the public spaces and creating more parking and laybys for e-scooters, but the independent businesses have reacted angrily to the plans.
‘Save Park Street’ told Bristol Live: “We thought the idea was shelved in 2021. We are all against the proposed scheme.
“Right now there is a flow of traffic, we believe the changes would create a problem. We are concerned with traffic building up [near the Clifton Triangle] and for the safety of children near the local school [as a result of traffic being pushed onto Anchor Road].
“The biggest children’s hospital will become more polluted, it will have a catastrophic effect. We say that Park Street will die because of this.”
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The businesses, which consist of retailers, coffee shops, takeaways and tailors, claim that there is no problem at the moment on Park Street, but that the scheme would push traffic from the Clifton Triangle back towards Park Row. ‘Save Park Street’ adds that its representatives are seeking to meet with the council and will be starting a petition to scrap the plan.
When announcing the project, Cllr Ed Plowden said: ““We need to make significant changes to our road network if we are to meet Bristol’s environmental targets and respond to the travel needs of a growing population.”
The plans were supported by FirstBus, which said that it would make services more reliable along the transport corridor. But a council traffic chief admitted that “Park Row is already at capacity now”.