Bristol boosts active travel with £2.3m of funding

Bristol City Council is working on five new projects following the approval of £2.3m from the Department for Transport’s Active Travel Fund.

The projects will boost walking, cycling and wheeling across the city.

Active travel initiatives

Members of the Transport and Connectivity Committee have approved accepting the funding – secured by the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority – and given the go-ahead for the council to begin work on a series of active travel initiatives.

The projects include:

• Removing motor traffic from Prince Street Bridge, transforming it into a pedestrian and cycling-only bridge
• Developing plans to improve walking, wheeling and cycling routes on or around Bath Bridges to link Bath Road (A4) to Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone
• Installing around 20 cycle hangars to provide residents with secure cycle parking close to home
• Expanding the Bristol School Streets programme to create safer, traffic-free zones outside school gates during drop-off and pick-up times
• Rolling out programmes to encourage people to switch to sustainable travel, including free bike loans, training and maintenance.

“We’re working to make it easier, safer and more pleasant to walk, wheel and cycle in Bristol,” said councillor Ed Plowden, chair of the Transport and Connectivity Committee. “With more people travelling sustainably, we can cut congestion, improve health and wellbeing, and support the city’s journey toward becoming carbon neutral.

“Getting the basics right now by improving our walking and cycling infrastructure, and fixing our roads and bridges, will lay the foundations for a better transport system overall for our part of the world”

“These are exciting projects, including the transformation of Prince Street Bridge, which already sees 24,000 daily walking and cycling trips compared to just 1,707 motor vehicle trips. Reallocating space to support active travel will create a safer and more welcoming route to destinations like M Shed, the SS Great Britain and Wapping Wharf from the north, and to the city centre from the south.

“We are also developing plans to enhance walking, wheeling and cycling connections between Bath Road and Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone. The A4 Bath Bridges project could include new infrastructure, such as a new pedestrian and cycle bridge or bridges between the Three Lamps junction and Cattle Market Road. The existing shared path sees over 4,000 daily users, which is expected to increase significantly by making the route less intimidating to walk, wheel or cycle. We would need to identify funding opportunities to bring designs forward, supporting the city’s commitment to sustainable transport and inclusive growth.”

The Department for Transport awarded the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority £4,621,264 from tranches five and six of the Active Travel Fund. The Mayoral Combined Authority added a further £160,000 from its Investment Fund, bringing the total to £4,781,264 for active travel projects across the region. Of that, Bristol has been allocated £2,286,807.