[hawkinspeter]

https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/through-traffic-banned-parts-bristol-8295492

This should be introduced towards the end of this year as an experimental trial – I wish it could happen sooner as it covers where I live. We had questionnaires about it during lockdown, though I think that was just about making Beaufort Rd (by the cemetery) one way to motorised traffic.

Topic

[slc]

chrisonabike wrote:

chrisonabike wrote:

As to the couple of folks who have severe disabilities – given that on the bus gate the access is signed for “…and authorised vehicles” presumably they could be included?

There are indeed bus gate exemptions for vehicles needed for mobility, as well as carers. The disabled woman that has appeared frequently in the press cannot take advantage of these exemptions because bollard modal filters prevent her from driving to the gates in the first place. She does have a fairly direct route available but (and this I think says it all) it is sometimes inaccessible due to inconsiderately parked vehicles.

The most visible outcome of modal filters in the road near hp and me is (drumroll) more antisocial parking.

The East Bristol Liverpool Neighbourhood… it would be great if the drivers would just behave like responsible citizens.

[chrisonabike]

No doubt as slc has noted

No doubt as slc has noted there are some who will feel they’ve lost in this change and who weren’t doing great in the first place.

As to the couple of folks who have severe disabilities – given that on the bus gate the access is signed for “…and authorised vehicles” presumably they could be included?

Of course, the detail is “how that is done” and people will delay and cock stuff up because “council”.  And if the original issue was “drivers cutting through this area” and as a result of stopping that there is (temporarily, hopefully) more congestion on the main road (at some times?) … well, yeah, not sure how we can have it both ways.

The vast majority of drivers around the area are likely perfectly healthy and nobody will die if they make the trip a bit slower – or even not at all.  And in fact most drivers around / through there originally may not be local residents either…

[David9694]

A driver dead cat to divide

A driver dead cat to divide and rule for sure. 

[hawkinspeter]

Investigation into police

Investigation into police presence in 3am Bristol bus gate installation chaos:

https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/investigation-police-presence-3am-bristol-10026144

I don’t really agree with the idea that the council is splitting the community along race and class lines, though I’m not a Barton Hill resident so maybe I’m missing something. Surely the only reason why there was a heavy police presence was due to the citizen revolt against the scheme? It doesn’t appear that the police did anything untoward though it is curious as to why they needed so many.

[hawkinspeter]

Bmblbzzz wrote:

Worth noting that the abovementioned Fadumo has so far been a dynamo for the Green vote in East Bristol (and is generally of an activist and active nature, as well as being, IMO, a lovely person) and that one of the Green councillors for the relevant wards is a bit of a controversial figure within their own party. This could get interesting and prove a bit of a shake-up in local politics.

Ed: It seems somewhat as if, in taking on one of the mayor’s projects, the current Green-led council has betrayed its previous bottom-up approach and adopted the top-down imposition of the mayor. That’s all sweeping terms obviously…. 

Fadumo has written an opinion piece here: https://www.bristol247.com/opinion/your-say/sad-shocked-happened-barton-hill/

There were some 50 police officers standing around. There were massive vans, ready to cart away anyone who disagreed with the scheme.

The police used their power to assist the contractors. They were safe but we knew our rights, we knew what we were doing.

The relationship between the community around the Barton Hill area with the police, Bristol City Council and the people who live in Lawrence Hill ward will no doubt be affected by what happened.

I care about the environment but I care about my community as well.

I want to say good luck to the council for developing relationships with this community, because it’s very concerning coming in the middle of night when everyone is fasting to a Bristol neighbourhood where it is well-known that a large ethnic minority population live.

It’s sad and I’m shocked the way it happened. We’ll see in six months time what will happen.

[Bmblbzzz]

hawkinspeter wrote:

Also, the Bristol247 article: https://www.bristol247.com/news-and-features/news/police-join-contractors-bus-gate-installed-before-sunrise/

Several of the protesters who lay down on Marsh Lane are currently fasting because it is Ramadan and were unable to have their Suhoor pre-dawn meal.

Another protester said that no legal notice had been given that the roads would be closed in order to install the bus gates.

Fadumo Farah, who lives in Barton House, said that she left her home before 4am after being notified about what was happening via a WhatsApp group.

She said: “The police officers told me they were here to keep the peace but it looks like they were assisting.

“We were only four women and one man. We were peacefully protesting and there were around 50 police officers…

“They said we would get arrested and we were breaking the law for protesting on the road.”

When contractors divided themselves to work on different sections of the infrastructure including on Marsh Lane and Avonvale Road, protesters also split up.

Farah added: “My position is supporting the community. As soon as I saw so many police officers, that was really disappointing because there were only a few of us…

“I have seen so many women broken and crying. We missed our special meal with our family this morning and now we are fasting…

“I asked them to bring us water or something but they refused to do that.”

Worth noting that the abovementioned Fadumo has so far been a dynamo for the Green vote in East Bristol (and is generally of an activist and active nature, as well as being, IMO, a lovely person) and that one of the Green councillors for the relevant wards is a bit of a controversial figure within their own party. This could get interesting and prove a bit of a shake-up in local politics.

Ed: It seems somewhat as if, in taking on one of the mayor’s projects, the current Green-led council has betrayed its previous bottom-up approach and adopted the top-down imposition of the mayor. That’s all sweeping terms obviously…. 

[Bmblbzzz]

chrisonabike wrote:

cul-de-sacs *

* Sorry French speakers, we’ve pinched your phrase now and we’ll pluralise it how we like!

Arse-bags!

[Dnnnnnn]

slc wrote:

slc wrote:

I am concerned that BCC has pushed this through at night and alongside major police involvement. Perhaps negotiation was impossible.

Nocturnal implementation isn’t ideal but I think your final sentence captures why it was probably necessary.
Interestingly – if admittedly anecdotally – I was around Church Road and Avonvale Road from about 4-5pm today and traffic flow seemed better than usual.

[slc]

pockstone wrote:

pockstone wrote:

How many words can you make from the letters in ‘dedication’. To get you started, one of them is ‘idiot’.

I don’t personally agree with the protesters, but they are not idiots. They are not convinced by the arguments for an LTN, but those arguments are not awesome in their majesty. Some of the women in question have been making a positive difference in Barton Hill for years, and we are fools if we dismiss them.

In fact I am concerned that BCC has pushed this through at night and alongside major police involvement. Perhaps negotiation was impossible.

[slc]

Bus gate in on Avonvale Rd,

Bus gate in on Avonvale Rd, at the site of the protests.

I think it might have gone in overnight. I did not notice it yesterday evening, though I was adjacent rather than going through and slightly occupied at that point with avoiding a driver cutting the corner on a right turn (giving me a cross look as they did so, so maybe the gate was in and I was to blame).

It looks like a hasted job – no planters (edit: they are there, I just didn’t register them) or tarmac colour, just signs and paint on the road, one of which read ‘Bus Gat’

[chrisonabike]

Is this being brought to you

Is this being brought to you by Mr. C?  IIRC he recommended dropping an “e” every now and then?

[hawkinspeter]

Council has just an ‘E’ left

Council has just an ‘E’ left to finish East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood work:

https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/council-just-e-left-finish-10019514

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7b2T8K2D-ps

[chrisonabike]

hawkinspeter wrote:

hawkinspeter wrote:

I’m glad that they weren’t arrested for a peaceful protest. In their defence, the roads aren’t “essential infrastructure” as otherwise they wouldn’t be installing bus gates on them.

This is concerning of course.  In the interests of fairness / motivating people it might be best if they started transformation from the wealthiest neighbourhoods…

… But of course, those folks practice already enjoy much reduced motor traffic and parking in their spaces!   And they don’t tend to bother with buses or public transport.  Which is why it’s distasteful when those who live in cul-de-sacs * and “quiet leafy lanes” lead the push-back against measures that could begin to fix the more traffic-heavy urban areas.

Looking at another history of transformation, it wasn’t easy – there was rioting in the streets, people destroying new infra, sitting in the road, shouting and threatening each other etc.  It’s to be expected.  As are some early “casualties” where it gets worse for some.  Change can’t happen by making it easier to drive initially, because that’s the source of the problem …

* Sorry French speakers, we’ve pinched your phrase now and we’ll pluralise it how we like!

[chrisonabike]

brooksby wrote:

brooksby wrote:

Lawd!  Remember when climate change was considered a bad thing?

Well some people never believed in it, and others thought that it was far enough away so that it wasn’t an issue for them (and might not happen anyway).  And some people believed that it might be a thing but humans have “conquered” everything else * so we can work around it if we need to (perhaps just fly on to the next solar system?)

I’m pessimistic that things like this are ever a winning move for those with the power to change.  We might slow the rate of increase a little … but our entire way of life is basically predicated on fear of the others getting ahead (economically, militarily).  So it just gets harder to do “saves you in the long term”.  Never mind “do we really need this?”

None of this is really new (historically).  However as numbers of humans have increased and our technology has changed our rate of consumption of resources also has increased.

* Still working on death, but a fix can’t be far away!  As for “other people” we have apps for that!

[brooksby]

hawkinspeter wrote:

brooksby wrote:

And yet discussing possibly blocking a ring-road motorway as a protest IS an arrestable offence.

Well, the whole XR thing was the establishment making an example of people who dare to push back against motornormativity and the idea that we should destroy our planet to make a few people richer.

Lawd!  Remember when climate change was considered a bad thing?

Donald Trump’s newly appointed energy secretary Chris Wright wrote:

“The Trump administration will end the Biden administration’s irrational, quasi-religious policies on climate change that imposed endless sacrifices on our citizens,” he said at the conference, for which tickets cost upward of $10,000. “The cure was far more destructive than the disease.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/10/chris-wright-climate-fossil-fuels

[Author]

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