Bike lift idea in Bristol unlikely

Bristol cycle campaigner and green blogger Chris Hutt’s suggestion for a bike lift to help cyclists up one of the city's toughest climbs has been hailed as “unlikely” by Councillor Dr. Jon Rogers, the City Council's Executive Member for Transport and Sustainability.

Mr Hutt said on his GreenBristolBlog that a bike lift put in the Trenchard Street multi-storey car park will save cyclists battling their way up Park Row and follow similar schemes already in place in Europe and Asia.

It would involve an external lift being built on the south-west side of the car park and link the bottom of Trenchard Street with level eight of the multi-storey on Park Row. Cyclists would be lifted more than 30 metres and emerge just above the Red Lodge, about the same gain in height as climbing Park Street.

Intermediate levels on the car park would not be served so ascent would be rapid and direct, and entry and exit doors could be on opposite sides so bikes would not need to be turned.

Cyclists have been known to use the existing lifts in the Trenchard Street multi-storey for decades and Mr Hutt, of Clifton, believes it could prove very popular with cyclists and those who are considering cycling but who are put off by the city's hills.

Dr Rogers said there had already been discussions to regenerate the area around Trenchard Street, which ‘might include bike lift plans in the longer term’.

Speaking to the Bristol Evening Post, he said: "I think that it's certainly an interesting idea however the cost against the lift is probably such that it is unlikely to be a realistic option. But it is being done elsewhere in the world. You are looking at either flatter and longer routes to cycle or looking at the possibility of bike lifts as another option."

Bristol was named the UK's first Cycling City and the aim is to get double the number of regular cyclists in Greater Bristol. And last month, cyclists in the city were able to enjoy a traffic-free ride along Ladies Mile in a move hoped to encourage more people back on their bikes.