Bristol City Council has announced that it is switching off traffic signals at two busy road junctions in an experiment to see whether they can operate safely and more effectively for pedestrians and cyclists as well as motorists.

This is an opportunity to test the idea of shared space through junction evaluation trials.

Two sites have been carefully selected from an initial list of seven due to each having low vehicle speeds with high visibility which particularly limits the risk to people on foot.

Union Street / Broadmead (the first pilot site)

Broad Quay / Prince St / Marsh  St (the second pilot site)

The roads will be closely monitored by CCTV throughout the trial which is programmed to commence in early March 2010. Each site will be monitored and assessed over a week involving a number of pedestrian, cyclist and vehicle surveys together with a qualitative assessment of pedestrian crossing movement.

The approaches to the site will be signed with advance warning signs, the signal heads will be switched off and bagged up. The junction will again be monitored during the following week where before and after comparisons will be made and a trial assessment report produced.

The report will include an assessment of the impact on traffic flows including the effect on bus, cycle and pedestrian
movements before and during the trial.

Local transport consultants Colin Buchanan have extensive experience carrying out similar trials in London and North Somerset and have been commissioned to monitor and report on the before-and-after conditions.

Councillor Jon Rogers, Bristol City Council’s Executive Member for Transport and Sustainability said “We have a rare opportunity to test the concept of shared space in a busy urban UK setting. I hope we will see a positive effect on road user behaviour”.

If you have any feedback, you can add it to this site if you want to take part in the public conversation or download the leaflet and respond privately if you prefer.

Response from the council

Thank you for your comment.  As the pilot has now finished, we have closed this discussion.  Our Traffic Signals Manager, John Laite responds:

The Traffic Signal Evaluation Trail is now in assessment stage.  The two sets of traffic signals that were switched off as part of the trial have been returned to full operation.  Four weeks of video from three CCTV camera together with responses from pedestrian interviews are being assessed at present.  The results will be included in a final study report to be published by Bristol City Council.  The report will include a thorough review of the various issues involved in the trial, it will present analysis of the data which has been collected together with the findings from the consultants, Colin Buchanan.  The report will conclude with recommendations for t he future operation of the trial sites.