Is Bristol still open ?
Discussion
Is anyone still commuting into Bristol ? My wife and I having been working at home since March and have only ventured into the centre once since then. I have to say, with the road closures, new cycle lanes etc, I don't particularly relish the thought of returning to the daily commute either !
A friend who had a coffee stand in Queen Square has finally given up and relocated to a new location out of town, as the footfall is just not returning to anything like it was. Most of the companies in the block we are based in have no plans to return for the forseeable future too. I hear the traffic reports on the radio saying it is busy, but I do wonder if that is due to the lack of access into the city now, particularly from the south.
On the plus side, I did hear that the diesel ban appears to be off due to the drop in emissions !
A friend who had a coffee stand in Queen Square has finally given up and relocated to a new location out of town, as the footfall is just not returning to anything like it was. Most of the companies in the block we are based in have no plans to return for the forseeable future too. I hear the traffic reports on the radio saying it is busy, but I do wonder if that is due to the lack of access into the city now, particularly from the south.
On the plus side, I did hear that the diesel ban appears to be off due to the drop in emissions !
There have been only minor increases in case numbers in Bristol and the surrounding areas (which is promising given that Bristol has a very high population density for such a small area). The biggest increases have been in all the student areas like Frenchay, which is basically what has happened elsewhere.
I tend to regard Bristol as Britain's model city, it is a good example of how great we could be if we all got on, and there is real civic pride.
I tend to regard Bristol as Britain's model city, it is a good example of how great we could be if we all got on, and there is real civic pride.
Scrump said:
I still drive in to the centre each day.
Many offices still closed.
Traffic levels much reduced.
Commuter car parks empty.
Many roads closed or reduced in capacity to make room for cycle lanes, this results in tailbacks on those roads even with the reduced traffic.
That's what I found on my only trip into the centre since March. I forgot Baldwin Street was closed so ended up on a huge detour. The NCP I usually use was practically empty in the middle of the day too. I still hear on the radio every rush hour that Coronation Road is still busy though !Many offices still closed.
Traffic levels much reduced.
Commuter car parks empty.
Many roads closed or reduced in capacity to make room for cycle lanes, this results in tailbacks on those roads even with the reduced traffic.
Scrump said:
Coronation road is always busy, maybe more so as people avoid the centre with Bristol bridge closed.
Its a combination if things....Cumberland road being shut one-way mainly, combined with all the traffic diverting South because of the Baldwin St/Bristol Bridge fiascoThe council haven't thought this through (as usual) or there is a bigger plan afoot that they aren't letting on about yet
warch said:
IIRC Bristol city centre one way system was changed before lockdown, I went there with my wife in February and ended up have to drive up Park Lane, Clifton, Durdham Downs to get back out again.
Some of it was, but the constant roadworks don't help. It's as if they don't want people driving there 
jules_s said:
Its a combination if things....Cumberland road being shut one-way mainly, combined with all the traffic diverting South because of the Baldwin St/Bristol Bridge fiasco
The council haven't thought this through (as usual) or there is a bigger plan afoot that they aren't letting on about yet
I get the impression that they are moving the emission hot spots away from the centre to avoid / postpone the diesel ban. The council haven't thought this through (as usual) or there is a bigger plan afoot that they aren't letting on about yet
warch said:
IIRC Bristol city centre one way system was changed before lockdown, I went there with my wife in February and ended up have to drive up Park Lane, Clifton, Durdham Downs to get back out again.
It was, and in addition they have since further reduced car lanes across the city by introducing additional cycle lanes.Scrump said:
warch said:
IIRC Bristol city centre one way system was changed before lockdown, I went there with my wife in February and ended up have to drive up Park Lane, Clifton, Durdham Downs to get back out again.
It was, and in addition they have since further reduced car lanes across the city by introducing additional cycle lanes.What Bristol City Council have done is incompetent at best. For example, what should be a straight-forward round trip to Stokes croft from Hotwells means (for me) driving inbound through the Centre, but returning via Cotham Hill, Tyndalls Park, Clifton Village and Goldney Hill. I won't be making that trip again (there are other places to buy paint) and I assume many other people will be making the same decision. There's certainly no incentive for me to keep my business in here once my lease runs out. I'm sure BCC will ultimately achieve their clean air targets, by creating a dormitory city of bedsits and bars.
Scrump said:
warch said:
IIRC Bristol city centre one way system was changed before lockdown, I went there with my wife in February and ended up have to drive up Park Lane, Clifton, Durdham Downs to get back out again.
It was, and in addition they have since further reduced car lanes across the city by introducing additional cycle lanes.
This is the way councillors' minds work.
Yertis said:
Baldwin Street, now empty apart from a few old polythene bags blowing about, was closed at the beginning of August. The reduction of car lanes/introduction of largely empty cycle lanes in the name of Covid XR-inspired political doctrine, means that getting across town is if anything slower than it was before covid. I'm driving in every day, have done since May, and traffic congestion is steadily building back to pre-covid levels, despite their being undoubtedly fewer cars on the road.
What Bristol City Council have done is incompetent at best. For example, what should be a straight-forward round trip to Stokes croft from Hotwells means (for me) driving inbound through the Centre, but returning via Cotham Hill, Tyndalls Park, Clifton Village and Goldney Hill. I won't be making that trip again (there are other places to buy paint) and I assume many other people will be making the same decision. There's certainly no incentive for me to keep my business in here once my lease runs out. I'm sure BCC will ultimately achieve their clean air targets, by creating a dormitory city of bedsits and bars.
Baldwin Street closing is a big blow to me as with Prince Street bridge one way (outbound) and Cumberland Road closed (last time I looked), the only way anyone heading for the old city from the south is down Coronation Road. Not the nicest route at the best of times.What Bristol City Council have done is incompetent at best. For example, what should be a straight-forward round trip to Stokes croft from Hotwells means (for me) driving inbound through the Centre, but returning via Cotham Hill, Tyndalls Park, Clifton Village and Goldney Hill. I won't be making that trip again (there are other places to buy paint) and I assume many other people will be making the same decision. There's certainly no incentive for me to keep my business in here once my lease runs out. I'm sure BCC will ultimately achieve their clean air targets, by creating a dormitory city of bedsits and bars.
Between that and the new WFH culture, I can't see us renewing our office lease when it expires next year. Maybe they could turn our office block into student accommodation, as seems to be happening to every other building in the centre.
Red9zero said:
Baldwin Street closing is a big blow to me as with Prince Street bridge one way (outbound) and Cumberland Road closed (last time I looked), the only way anyone heading for the old city from the south is down Coronation Road. Not the nicest route at the best of times.
Between that and the new WFH culture, I can't see us renewing our office lease when it expires next year. Maybe they could turn our office block into student accommodation, as seems to be happening to every other building in the centre.
My office is also in Old City, as you say it's either down Coronation Road and in via Temple Meads, or up Jacobs Wells, down Park Row to the Bearpit, round the Bearpit and back towards the Centre, and up in via Small Street but only before 10.30 when they close everything. Between that and the new WFH culture, I can't see us renewing our office lease when it expires next year. Maybe they could turn our office block into student accommodation, as seems to be happening to every other building in the centre.
Next they'll be wondering where all their business rates have gone because TBH the bars can't survive just on student loans, especially at the moment, and no one else will bother going into the City.
I posted the latest clean air zone update from the council here:
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Yertis said:
Red9zero said:
Baldwin Street closing is a big blow to me as with Prince Street bridge one way (outbound) and Cumberland Road closed (last time I looked), the only way anyone heading for the old city from the south is down Coronation Road. Not the nicest route at the best of times.
Between that and the new WFH culture, I can't see us renewing our office lease when it expires next year. Maybe they could turn our office block into student accommodation, as seems to be happening to every other building in the centre.
My office is also in Old City, as you say it's either down Coronation Road and in via Temple Meads, or up Jacobs Wells, down Park Row to the Bearpit, round the Bearpit and back towards the Centre, and up in via Small Street but only before 10.30 when they close everything. Between that and the new WFH culture, I can't see us renewing our office lease when it expires next year. Maybe they could turn our office block into student accommodation, as seems to be happening to every other building in the centre.
Next they'll be wondering where all their business rates have gone because TBH the bars can't survive just on student loans, especially at the moment, and no one else will bother going into the City.
Gassing Station | South West | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff