Closing the Portway

Via the Evening Post:

More than three miles of one of Bristol's main roads could be closed to motorists on summer Sundays under plans put forward by city councillors.

Liberal Democrat Councillor John Rogers has said the A4 Portway could become cycle-only once-a-week with traffic re-routed across The Downs and Whiteladies Road.

Councillor Rogers said: "For a minor amount of inconvenience to some motorists this would be a fantastic opportunity for Bristol families."

This proposal has an air of madness about it, but it’s mad in an interesting fashion. So I rather like it. To judge whether it is plausible, the sort of information I would expect to have is:

• An estimate of the traffic on the Portway on a Sunday
• A quick survey of a small sample of local residents who may be directly affected – primarily those who live on the Portway, Shirehampton and probably Sea Mills as well.
• A check on any businesses or existing facilities that might be compromised.

View Closing the Portway? in a larger map

Assuming there are no show stoppers, closing the Portway to vehicles would be an useful experiment and potentially a nice little earner.

It’s relatively cheap to arrange (in direct costs) and there is a potential income source from selling street trading and performance licenses at accessible points along the route - a linear festival one might call it. It might even be a way to get some more income out of the the Park and Ride.

It’s the latter point that interests me. Bristol’s Park and Rides – which are money pits - don’t operate on Sundays, so the Council could permit free parking and allowed share-taxi services (Jitneys) and regular taxis (Hackneys) running from the Bath and Ashton car parks to deliver passengers to the Portway (there would be a small vehicle registration fee of course). Not all taxis and private hire cabs can accommodate bikes however, so there’s an opportunity for “man with van” services to shift the bikes while others carry the riders. Or an opportunity for some taxis to justify investing in roof racks and exterior storage (assuming that isn’t prohibited by some piffling local Hackney Carriage regulation). First Bus might even want to lay on a service.

Think of it as a little petri dish in which to trial different modes of mass transit, in a manner which is self-funding.

But – a word of caution: Bristol has form for burning money trying to create “interesting urban spaces” – for example the Urban Beach/Kitty Litter Box in Redcliffe that Helen Holland(ex-L) paid London poseurs Demos to run a few years ago. Just because you have Cycling City money, you are not obliged to spend it.

So if the Lib Dems want to have a go, then here are my top tips:

1. Don’t muck about for 2 months thinking about it and having meetings. The summer will be over soon.
2. Announce a date, close the road late on the night before and tell commercial operators (hot dog vans, local bands, car dealers, bike shops, face painters) where they can set up pitches, first-come first-pitch.
3. Give blanket permission to taxis and bus companies to operate out of the Park and Ride sites all-day Sunday. Charge them some money for the privilege.
4. Clearly state at what time the road will return to being a public highway, and fine anyone left who obstructs it.
5. Remember to lay on a street cleaning crew, and tell the police.
6. Tell everyone, but don’t spend a fortune on leaflets and paid-for radio and press announcements.
7. Remember to have someone around to count visitor numbers
8. See what happens. Probably in the first instance, no one will turn up.
9. Repeat a couple of times and draw some conclusions.
10. And don’t do it on the same weekend as the St Paul’s Carnival. Your market is going to be local people. There’s no point queering the pitch for other family-oriented leisure activities.

I note that the Association of British Drivers are the BEP’s go-to people for a fuming quote:

[T]he Association of British Drivers called the idea "absolute rubbish."

Spokesman Bob Bull said a plan to close the main road into the centre of Bristol from the motorway was "crackpot."

"There are a tremendous amount of areas around Bristol that are cyclist only, let them stay there and enjoy themselves.

It’s only a road for goodness sake. If the Portway was closed on a week-day during the rush hour, then that would be a major irritation and a big cost to local business. But on a Sunday? Calm down, dear.