20mph speed limits and more cycle lanes coming to Bristol? All roads “where possible” set the speed limit under the Green Party plan

As the Green Party prepares to take control of Bristol council after last week’s election success, eyes have now turned to campaign manifesto promises, the city’s “slow, expensive and unreliable” transport network to be tackled with investment increased walking and cycling. , as well as installing 20mph zones on all roads in the city “where possible”.

Although the party fell short of an overall majority and is currently in talks to form an administration, it won 10 seats to become the largest party in Bristol, 13 ahead of Labour. Presumptive next leader Tony Dyer also said that while they would be open to suggestions from other parties, the manifesto that won them success last week should be prioritized, possibly signaling active travel-friendly policies.

> Wales set to reduce the default speed limit to 20mph in residential areas

The Greens’ manifesto stated that all roads in Bristol “where possible”, and excluding motorways and dual carriageways, will have speed limits of 20mph, with the policy coming alongside increased highway maintenance and repair budgets to “a ensure our streets and sidewalks are safe. “.

“We need a holistic approach to our transport to ensure people can get around the city easily and safely,” said Martin Fodor.

At the heart of this appears to be a key manifesto pledge to “increase investment in high-quality walking and cycling infrastructure and cycling skills”, while creating low-traffic neighborhoods “by calming and reducing traffic on selected streets and helping it flow better on main routes” it is also mentioned.

School streets will also be widened, preventing drivers from accessing roads outside schools during the hours when children are traveling to and from school “to deal with the congestion, poor air quality and road safety issues they face many schools”.

Alongside these active travel commitments, the Green Party has also committed to improving public transport, with a focus on buses, with investment to make services more reliable, more frequent and more accessible, 16-21 year olds to enjoy half-price bus travel.

To pay for transport policies, the Greens proposed the introduction of a workplace parking charge (car parking charges paid by employers), with the party stating that it would prioritize new resident parking schemes in areas where “there is the greatest request to help tackle congestion and finance appropriate transport alternatives’.

“Transport in Bristol is slow, expensive and unsafe. We want to get Bristol moving and make public transport and active travel easy options for everyone,” the party’s manifesto reads.

Other transport commitments included the development of a transport and travel plan to review funding sources, bus routes and active travel corridors, particularly considering the feasibility of removing parking from bus lanes to make routes more efficient.

Speed ​​limits of 20mph were implemented across Wales last autumn, to much protest from some residents and sections of the media. In September, an initial analysis of transport data immediately after the changes suggested there had been a “dramatic” change in traffic speeds, with analysts calling the results “stunning and far greater than would have been predicted”.

> James May says 20mph is ‘pretty fast’ and hopes ‘attitude change’ can help stop road sectarianism

In England, in January the deputy leader of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council announced that the local authority’s “intention” is to introduce a “default” 20mph limit in urban areas across the conurbation, similar to Wales’ implementation .

However, a month later cycling campaigners criticized the updated plans to restrict the proposed roll-out to only streets deemed particularly dangerous or where serious injuries have occurred, with Cycling Rebellion urging local authorities to be “bold”.