Bristol ushers in 2nd wave of major transport improvements

Authorities want to make it even more pleasant to walk and cycle around the city

The Bristol City Council is getting ready to usher in the 2^nd phase of its plans for to seize the moment during the onset of the coronavirus pandemic and quickly went about enacting some long-planned projects and ideas that have made Bristol more pedestrian and public transport-friendly.

Keeping up the good work

As TheMayor.EU reported earlier in May, the Bristol City Council sped up its plans for implementing reforms to local transport networks that have been long overdue in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The local government enacted a number of pedestrianization projects and upgraded numerous cycling and pedestrian spaces. Furthermore, it made substantial improvements to the local public transport network and made travel by bus safer, faster and more convenient.

Now, the City Council is ready to proceed with part 2 of its plans – namely to make all the changes that authorities introduced over the last few months permanent and sustainable. In accordance with this vision for the future, authorities have applied for additional funding that will go towards further improving the city’s pedestrian, cycling and bus infrastructure as well as towards making the transformation permanent.

Mayor of Bristol Marvin Rees stated that “We are taking bold action to create a better, more connected future for everyone and to help Bristol emerge from this crisis in a more inclusive and sustainable way… These major transport improvements were already in the pipeline, but the coronavirus means we needed to accelerate the plans to support social distancing.

The pandemic has had huge impacts on our usual travel habits and, despite its challenges, we saw air pollution levels drop by almost half during the months of lockdown with big increases in walking and cycling. We want to capture those benefits and protect the long-term public health of the city as well as the viability of our public transport services that provide real value to our communities.”