Mayor will not fund plan to cut cars on Park Street

Plans to cut the number of cars on one of Bristol's most recognisable streets are in doubt, after the West of England metro mayor refused to provide money for the proposal.

Councillors voted in favour of installing a bus gate on Park Street almost a year ago, and had requested funding from the West of England Combined Authority (Weca).

But Labour metro mayor Helen Godwin said she would only pay for the scheme if it was a trial at peak hours, leading the city council to decide to try to fund it itself.

The deputy leader of Bristol City Council, councillor Heather Mack, said her party "would like to understand better Helen Godwin's decision".

The proposal aims to cut the number of people using cars to drive through the city by making buses, cycling and walking more attractive.

Those in favour argue that reducing congestion around College Green would improve bus journey times on a number of routes, as well as having a positive impact on air quality in the area.

Pavements would be widened and a new cycle lane would be created. Drivers would still have access from St George's Road.

The £15m total also includes redevelopment around Queens Road and the Clifton Triangle.

Businesses along Park Street have a mixture of opinions.

Some think that an improved experience for pedestrians could lead to more customers.

Josh Walwyn, shop manager at Nudie Jeans, said it would be "good for the city".

"We're one of the only cities where you can still drive all the way through the city centre", he said.

"It would fit in with a more sustainable outlook."

But Michael Potts, who runs Mrs Potts Chocolate Shop, has campaigned against the proposal.

He describes claims it would lead to increased footfall as "grossly misleading", believing it will create a situation where businesses on Park Street are "out of sight out of mind".

Godwin made clear before she was elected that she had doubts about the plans, citing fears it will make traffic worse in front of the children's hospital, which is already "one of the most polluted streets in the country".

She told Politics West her "instinct" was that the scheme "didn't seem entirely necessary", so she had asked officers to go into "more technical detail".

"We've tried to get to a compromise position," she said.

"We offered the scheme could be paid for if we did it as a trial, and we had the bus gate only operational at peak time... Bristol decided they didn't want to do that."

Mack said the council had "struggled a bit with a lot of back-and-forth", leaving them "not quite sure" what Godwin's objection was.

She added she is confident the scheme will not make air quality worse elsewhere in the city.

Green Party councillors have come up with their own alternative - to fund the redevelopment of Park Street using funding the council generates from Bristol's Clean Air Zone, along with a grant from the government's Joint Air Quality Unit.

But that plan will need to be approved by the Transport Committee, where the Green Party only has four out of nine seats.

The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have consistently voted against the plans, whereas Labour previously abstained.

The three Labour councillors on the committee could have the casting vote when the proposal returns to the committee next month, unless other parties can be persuaded.

The council has already spent money developing the proposal, and had hoped to get started last year.

Despite all the talk of improved relations between councils and the combined authority since Godwin took over, the Park Street project appears to have become a source of tension.

"I don't really have bust-ups," said Godwin, but "we couldn't get to a place where we agreed."

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