Mass transit vision Ambition to get first projects running in five years

THE start of a new ‘mass transit’ system for Bristol could be up and running within four or five years, the West of England metro mayor has said, as she released images of what trams could look like at Bristol Airport and outside St Mary Redcliffe Church.

- Tristan CORK

How a tram could look outside St Mary Redcliffe Church

Metro Mayor Helen Godwin published her ‘transport vision’ report, which covers everything from new cycle lanes to an entirely new tram network, as a guide to how the West of England should start spending the £752 million the Government gave to the region for transport projects last year.

A full mass transit system of the kind enjoyed by other cities and regions in England would end up costing more than that, but Ms Godwin said she is keen to get started and “advance the business case at pace to develop a detailed blueprint for mass transit”.

The Transport Vision announced yesterday morning at Ashton Gate Stadium was short on any kind of detail, however - aside from CGI images of a tram at Bristol Airport and another outside St Mary Redcliffe Church.

And those images in the ‘Transport Vision’ come with a caveat - a caption that reads: “Illustrative imagery only. Actual alignment, stop locations, and other design and planning details subject to development as part of business case progression, including public consultation and other activities”

Instead, the vision repeated what Ms Godwin said after her election as metro mayor in May last year - that Weca would ‘remain open to different modes: tram, light rail, guided bus or metrobus extensions.

But the pledge in the vision is clear - that Weca would “commence delivery of the first projects within 4-5 years” and “deliver a segregated, high-quality and high-frequency mass transit network”.

The mass transit system - whatever it looks like - would stretch far beyond Bristol itself.