Is Bristol still open ?

[Red9zero]

Is anyone still commuting into Bristol ? My wife and I having been working at home since March and have only ventured into the centre once since then. I have to say, with the road closures, new cycle lanes etc, I don't particularly relish the thought of returning to the daily commute either !
A friend who had a coffee stand in Queen Square has finally given up and relocated to a new location out of town, as the footfall is just not returning to anything like it was. Most of the companies in the block we are based in have no plans to return for the forseeable future too. I hear the traffic reports on the radio saying it is busy, but I do wonder if that is due to the lack of access into the city now, particularly from the south.
On the plus side, I did hear that the diesel ban appears to be off due to the drop in emissions !

[Red9zero]

Scrump said:

I still drive in to the centre each day.
Many offices still closed.
Traffic levels much reduced.
Commuter car parks empty.
Many roads closed or reduced in capacity to make room for cycle lanes, this results in tailbacks on those roads even with the reduced traffic.

That's what I found on my only trip into the centre since March. I forgot Baldwin Street was closed so ended up on a huge detour. The NCP I usually use was practically empty in the middle of the day too. I still hear on the radio every rush hour that Coronation Road is still busy though !

[Red9zero]

warch said:

IIRC Bristol city centre one way system was changed before lockdown, I went there with my wife in February and ended up have to drive up Park Lane, Clifton, Durdham Downs to get back out again.

Some of it was, but the constant roadworks don't help. It's as if they don't want people driving there

[Red9zero]

jules_s said:

Its a combination if things....Cumberland road being shut one-way mainly, combined with all the traffic diverting South because of the Baldwin St/Bristol Bridge fiasco

The council haven't thought this through (as usual) or there is a bigger plan afoot that they aren't letting on about yet

I get the impression that they are moving the emission hot spots away from the centre to avoid / postpone the diesel ban.

[Red9zero]

I had an email earlier from NCP with a discount code for 4 hours parking for £4.50 in any of their Bristol centre car parks. Hardly a huge amount off, but they must feeling the pinch.

[Red9zero]

Yertis said:

Baldwin Street, now empty apart from a few old polythene bags blowing about, was closed at the beginning of August. The reduction of car lanes/introduction of largely empty cycle lanes in the name of Covid XR-inspired political doctrine, means that getting across town is if anything slower than it was before covid. I'm driving in every day, have done since May, and traffic congestion is steadily building back to pre-covid levels, despite their being undoubtedly fewer cars on the road.

What Bristol City Council have done is incompetent at best. For example, what should be a straight-forward round trip to Stokes croft from Hotwells means (for me) driving inbound through the Centre, but returning via Cotham Hill, Tyndalls Park, Clifton Village and Goldney Hill. I won't be making that trip again (there are other places to buy paint) and I assume many other people will be making the same decision. There's certainly no incentive for me to keep my business in here once my lease runs out. I'm sure BCC will ultimately achieve their clean air targets, by creating a dormitory city of bedsits and bars.

Baldwin Street closing is a big blow to me as with Prince Street bridge one way (outbound) and Cumberland Road closed (last time I looked), the only way anyone heading for the old city from the south is down Coronation Road. Not the nicest route at the best of times.
Between that and the new WFH culture, I can't see us renewing our office lease when it expires next year. Maybe they could turn our office block into student accommodation, as seems to be happening to every other building in the centre.