City Centre layout changes – northern section images

The city centre layout debate has attracted much interest – take a look at the background information from the previous post if you’ve not already done so.
View from Quay Street

View from Quay Street

The new visualisations show how a new people orientated, rather than traffic dominated, environment, could be created.  The concept demonstrates the opportunity to create a series of linked public spaces, set within an attractive new green setting – more trees, and planting that would provide softening at ground level.   It demonstrates that the Cenotaph, could sit within its own identifiable space without moving from its current location, whilst enjoying greater public access, through being at a point between new pedestrian crossing points.

The images also show the benefits to pedestrians, bus users, and cyclists, in having an environment that is more special to them, through being of a more human scale and, less interrupted by vehicular movement.  Improvement of the quality of experience for the bus traveller is seen as crucial to attracting greater use of public transport, and having a high quality environment where people access buses is felt particularly important.  It is also recognised that, in further enhancing the City’s most central of public spaces, it will become more attractive still to local people and visitors alike.’

Click here to download a pdf of high quality early visualisations of the City Centre Northern Section

Visualisation from Quay Street towards Colston Tower

Visualisation from Quay Street towards Colston Tower

City centre promenade - north section

City centre promenade - north section

Aerial visualisation of the Cenotaph

Aerial visualisation of the Cenotaph

Remember – these are early visualisations and as with the rest of the City Centre layout debate, no decisions have been made.   We’re trying something new with this debate of sharing early ideas and images with you in order to hear your ideas and develop a joint approach.

This discussion has now closed. Thank you for the useful comments and information you have provided. These will be used to inform the Major Scheme Business Case submission to the DfT we are currently preparing as part of the North Fringe to Hengrove Package which is due to be submitted in late March 2010.

This is not the end of our engagement process with the public and other stakeholders. As the project progresses, there will be many more opportunities to have your say on Bristol City Centre. Developing and regenerating Bristol City Centre, especially the Centre, can be an emotive issue and we need to make sure this is done in a considered manner. We look forward to engaging with you about this in the future.

City Centre re-modelling – let’s open the debate

Draft plans have been drawn up looking at how Bristol city centre might incorporate a bus rapid transit system in the future.

Cllr Jon Rogers - Cabinet Member for Transport and Sustainability

Cllr Jon Rogers - Cabinet Member for Transport and Sustainability

Cllr Jon Rogers, Cabinet Member for Transport and Sustainable Development, comments: “By 2015 our bus rapid transit system must connect in the centre and work in harmony with the Greater Bristol Bus Network arrivals and departures. When it does, we’d like passengers to alight in a smart, sustainable space, with clean air and a calm atmosphere.

“2015 is a long way off, but we need to open the debate on what could work and what plans could mean for pedestrians, cyclists, public transport users and motorists.

“We’re many miles from a formal plan, and even further from a decision. But this is your city and we know that many Bristol people will have strong views, so we have sketched out a very rough plan, which we call Draft A to kick-start a debate.

“It has been drawn up so we can all start thinking about this now, make the necessary changes before presenting more formal proposals and hopefully come up with a final plan which does the job it needs to do, but with some consensus that it is a good plan.

“When the centre was first laid out in 2000, the council already knew it needed to incorporate future changes for new modes of public transport. So there would not be a huge re-modelling job, just a reworking of the current design with traffic movements realigned and public transport interchanges further developed.”

City Centre plan A for traffic flow

City centre draft A

Cllr Rogers said the aim was to achieve:

  • A route through the centre for the bus rapid transit network incorporating plans for an interchange
  • a safer and more accessible space for pedestrians
  • a way to keep cyclists safer
  • a better environment
  • a peaceful, respectful and well-landscaped Cenotaph monument
  • a way to manage taxi traffic and party-goers

Cllr Rogers added: “We will have to revisit the issue of motor traffic and its impact in this space. But by 2015, Bristol will be a very different place.

“Public transport including bus rapid transit and the Greater Bristol Bus Network will provide a far greater percentage of journeys to the Centre. And cyclists will have doubled in number.”

Please have a look at the pdf of Draft A before commenting below.

Visualisation towards Colston Hall and Colston Tower

Visualisation towards Colston Hall and Colston Tower

Draft A plans include the following ideas:

  • general traffic would be reduced to one lane in each direction down the Hippodrome side.
  • the whole of the east side would be designed for public transport.
  • the western end of Baldwin Street would be closed to general traffic.
  • two-way traffic using Baldwin Street would reroute down Marsh Street.
  • Colston Street could be closed at the bottom to all but buses and a shared space considered in front of the Colston Hall.

Work is now underway to better understand what impact this could have on existing traffic patterns and existing public transport services and whether it is feasible. Also it will look at what other schemes may be possible or necessary to mitigate what is proposed.

Please have a look at the pdf of Draft A before commenting below.

Visualisation of view from Colston Hall

Visualisation of view from Colston Hall

New visualisations added for northern section of city centre

This discussion has now closed. Thank you for the useful comments and information you have provided. These will be used to inform the Major Scheme Business Case submission to the DfT we are currently preparing as part of the North Fringe to Hengrove Package which is due to be submitted in late March 2010.

This is not the end of our engagement process with the public and other stakeholders. As the project progresses, there will be many more opportunities to have your say on Bristol City Centre. Developing and regenerating Bristol City Centre, especially the Centre, can be an emotive issue and we need to make sure this is done in a considered manner. We look forward to engaging with you about this in the future.