Bristol City Council is seeking views on plans to transform the way people travel through the city centre in preparation for new housing, leisure and retail developments, which will see thousands more people calling Broadmead home.

The Bristol City Centre Transport Changes consultation is running until Monday 30 September 2024.

It sets out how the council will pedestrianise The Horsefair and Penn Street in Broadmead, while still allowing access to emergency vehicles, as well as deliveries at quiet times of the day. Bus stops, disabled parking bays and taxi ranks would be moved. The new bus stops would be no more than a five-minute walk from their current locations. There would not be a reduction in the number of disabled spaces and, with upcoming developments such as The Galleries, there would be an increase in provision in the future.

Pedestrianising these streets would mean they could have new landscaping, seating and art space, making more people-friendly environments for communities that will be living, shopping and socialising in the city centre in the future.

To enable the streets to be pedestrianised, proposals include creating a new junction with The Haymarket and removing most of the traffic from Union Street, making it two-way for some buses and cycles.

These changes would allow buses to be re-routed from the pedestrianised areas and make it possible to run the central part of a proposed new rapid transit bus route between the southwest and northeast of Bristol.

Plans would also see buses, that have terminated and stand empty for long periods, moved away from busy shopping and pedestrian areas to Temple Way.

Alongside these proposals for Broadmead are plans to give priority to buses and improve walking, wheeling and cycling journeys in four more areas of the city centre, covering Bedminster Bridges, Redcliffe Roundabout, Temple Way and Bond Street.

Councillor Ed Plowden, Chair of the Transport and Connectivity Committee said: “These plans are transformative and will impact almost everyone who travels to, or through, Bristol city centre.

“Broadmead is changing as shopping patterns evolve. Empty shops and department stores can be used for new housing and associated infrastructure. A vision for Broadmead is set out in the Bristol City Centre Development and Delivery Plan. This consultation focusses on the transport and movement elements that would support this vision and the aspiration for a new rapid transit route.

“As someone who is passionate about making sustainable transport options better and more appealing, I am delighted these proposals include plans to prioritise buses, and a raft of changes including 3.5 kilometres of segregated cycle routes along with wider pavements and better crossings.

“By investing to make bus travel quicker and more reliable, and active travel safer and easier, we can help decarbonise our transport network which would have so many benefits, not least helping people to travel more actively while cutting congestion and pollution on our roads.

“Please do look at the proposals and give us your feedback. We want to make sure we get these far-reaching plans right for the city.”

The Bristol City Centre Transport Changes project is being funded by the government as part of the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement, which is administered by the West of England Combined Authority. This is funding from central government to improve transport infrastructure. It cannot be used for ongoing maintenance of roads or on other council services, such as housing.

Read the plans and fill in the survey.

Drop-in sessions

Ten drop-in sessions will be held for people to find out more about the proposals and see the plans. They will run at the following times:

1. Saturday 17 August from 11am to 3.30pm at Sparks, Broadmead
2. Tuesday 20 August from 5pm to 8pm at John Wesley’s New Rooms, Broadmead
3. Saturday 24 August from 1.30pm to 6pm at Sparks, Broadmead
4. Tuesday 27 August from 3pm to 7pm at John Wesley’s New Rooms, Broadmead
5. Friday 6 September from 1.30pm to 6pm location to be confirmed, Bond Street
6. Saturday 7 September time to be confirmed at ASDA, Bedminster
7. Tuesday 10 September from 1.30pm to 6pm at Leonardo Hotel, 3 Temple Way
8. Thursday 12 September from 10am to 2pm location to be confirmed, Redcliffe
9. Saturday 21 September from 10am to 2.30pm location to be confirmed, Redcliffe
10. Monday 23 September time and location to be confirmed, Bedminster

Check confirmation of the times and locations of the drop-in sessions online.

Press release by Bristol City Council.