Thousands demand halt to East Bristol LTN trial

More than 3,000 people have signed a petition to halt a liveable neighbourhood trial in Bristol.

The traffic calming project, which has not been fully installed yet, is designed to reduce rat running and promote active travel in St George, Redfield and Barton Hill.

But many have attributed the Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN) to increased levels of congestion and delays on main routes into the city.

Bristol City Council, which has responsibility for the scheme, had urged people to assess the impact once the trial had been completed next year.

The liveable neighbourhood involves a variety of traffic calming measures including bus gates, cycle lanes, with bollards and planters blocking through traffic.

It had been installed on a trial basis with a view to becoming permanent next year, costing up to £6m.

The petition, which was started anonymously, described the scheme as "a total waste of taxpayers money," warning it would significantly increase journey times and pollution levels into the city.

Melissa Topping, who uses a wheelchair and lives in Redfield, is amongst those who had signed it.

She said: "There are not enough adjustments made for elderly and disabled residents, to be able to get around unencumbered without having to sit in 20 mins of traffic on Church Road."

Melissa was part of a protest last week that stopped council contractors from installing planters in nearby Barton Hill: "It's not right for this area, these are not busy streets, you don't need to close off streets that are not busy."

Whilst many of the measures were yet to be completed, those that were elsewhere had been welcomed. In St George, through traffic was now blocked from accessing Beaufort Road, a notorious rat run.

Sabrina Fairchild, who lived nearby said: "It was never this quiet before, it was constant traffic. It has created more of a community feel and made it a nicer place to live."

However she conceded the project remained divisive: "I think we can find ways to address some of the concerns that have been brought up. It's not a reason to scrap the scheme but to iterate it."

Bristol City Council meanwhile wanted the trial to be fully implemented before making any decision on its future, although the authority had already planned a second trial in south Bristol.

Speaking to BBC Radio Bristol Green Party councillor Ed Plowden said: "We always knew there would be disruption when this started. It will take time for everything to settle down.

"This is a trial, we are listening, and looking to make sure everything works for everyone," he added.

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