Bristol moves forward with pedestrianization efforts

The city has made use of the lockdown to make sure that improvements to air quality are here to stay

The Bristol City Council has unveiled the next phase of its Old City pedestrianization efforts. The goal of the local government’s project is to further improve air quality in the city by limiting the number of cars present and by promoting different alternatives for soft mobility.

Seizing the moment

Starting this week the timed road closures in the Old City that have so far been in place will be replaced with permanent car bans in order to facilitate the implementation of walking and cycling upgrades to the area that were launched during first months of lockdown.

In fact, the COVID-19 pandemic turned out to be a great boon for air quality all around Europe. Cities across the continent witnessed marked improvements as citizens were forced to remain at home and didn’t really have anywhere to go to with their cars. With the streets empty and with public opinion on their side, this gave many local governments the opportunity to enact their long-term pedestrianization ideas and bring them to fruition.

As explained by Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees “It has been an immensely challenging year, but we have moved quickly to try and capture the changes that lockdown brought to our air quality by bringing forward major transport improvements. I am delighted to announce that the Old City pedestrianisation will be ready for autumn in the next stage of our vision to transform Bristol’s transport network, creating cleaner air, safer and better public transport, and improved walking and cycling routes.

By giving less space to traffic and more space to the businesses, visitors and shoppers in this historic area, we also look forward to seeing increased footfall to give the traders a boost amid the tough times we are all facing. We are committed to putting people, sustainability and environment at the heart of post-COVID recovery and cleaning up our air in the fastest time possible.”