Liveable neighbourhood Island plan slammed as 'utterly mad'

SHOPKEEPERS and people running businesses in the close-knit community on Totterdown's 'Island' have called for changes to be made to Bristol City Council's proposed South Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood, as the public consultation on the contentious plans draws to a close.

- Tristan CORK

The final ‘drop-in event’ of a long series of consultations took place this week and saw council officers once again spread out their maps across the tables in the Harbour, the church and community building in the heart of Totterdown. This time, the intricacies of traffic flow and parking on the narrow Victorian streets of the Pylle Hill area of Totterdown - famous for its coloured houses overlooking the city - was the subject of scrutiny.

And, just as they had in Bedminster, Windmill Hill, Ashton Vale and Southville before, there were many questions, points made and lots of earnest agreement from the council officers charged with the task of trying to explain what is proposed.

Much of the consternation in Totterdown is around a plan to install a bus gate just under the railway bridge on St Luke’s Road. It’s currently a shortcut between Totterdown, Windmill Hill and Victoria Park and the main road along the New Cut River Avon, but stopping everyone driving a vehicle - except the one sporadic bus that currently goes that way - from that junction would force everyone else driving onto the already busy St John’s Lane and the main A37 Wells Road.

And then there's the plans for the little island of streets bounded by Oxford Street, planned and built a generation before a motor car was even conceived. The current main way into the Pylle Hill area of Totterdown is via Oxford Street, past the Tesco and its handy car park. Under the SBLN plans, that would suddenly be a one-way street, leaving just the other two entrances to this tightly-packed area open for drivers, at the bottom of Windsor Terrace and at Bellevue Road, off the Three Lamps junction.

Over on Oxford Street, the traders, shopkeepers, pub landlords and cafe owners are not happy.

“Whoever put together this map with these one way streets obviously doesn’t live here,’ said Gio Pace, who has run Totterdown's famous Banana Boat store for more than 30 years.