Bristol Elections 2021: Councillor responses

In May 2021, Bristol residents were able to vote in elections for local councillors, Bristol Mayor, West of England Combined Authority Mayor and Avon & Somerset Police & Crime Commissioner. We published the positions of the mayor and PCC candidates on Car Free Cities to help inform voters. At the time, we didn’t publish the answers of the councillor candidates, so, as the Car Free Bristol project concludes, we thought it might be useful to look back at their priorities.

We received 23 responses from candidates who went on to become elected councillors. As Bristol currently has a mayoral system of governance, local councillors have limited ability to enact these changes, but here are some of their thoughts - you’ll be able to make your own mind up on how far the Mayor of Bristol and the Mayor of the West of England have got with implementing them. We asked:

“What single change would make the biggest positive impact on tackling car dependence and dominance in your ward?”

Walking and cycling

  • “Introducing new safe and high-quality cycling and walking infrastructure…and ensuring people feel they can use the existing facilities like the Bristol to Bath railway path to get around safely, at any time.” Marley Bennett (Labour, Eastville)

  • “Just one? A citywide network of traffic-free cycling routes then.” Barry Parsons (Green, Easton)

Liveable/low-traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs)

  • “Working on Liveable neighbourhoods and the concept of the '15 minute city' so that more people will be encouraged to shop and use leisure and food services locally rather than  driving into town or out-of-town supermarkets.” Emma Edwards (Green, Bishopston & Ashley Down)

  • “More local services so people do not have to drive to shops, for exercise, health etc.” Katja Hornchen (Labour, Brislington East)

  • “More road space for alternative transport (bikes walking, scooting, bus, ideally a tram!)” Tom Hathway (Green, Clifton Down)

  • “Physical measures to prevent speeding cars.” David Wilcox (Green, Lockleaze)

  • “It is likely to be a combination of things (rather than one single thing) like an RPZ and proposals to stop rat running/reduce traffic in residential neighbourhoods. We also will need to work with Officers to understand and mitigate the effects of the CAZ that boundaries our ward and will cause additional dirty traffic on St John's Lane.” Ed Plowden (Green, Windmill Hill)

Public transport

  • “Public bus routes to Brislington and Keynsham from Stockwood.  Better bus service down the Wells Road, going from Stockwood into town but work to get better Orbital routes.” Graham Morris (Conservative, Stockwood)

  • “Better public transport routes with the rest of the city.” Sarah Classick (Lib Dem, Hengrove & Whitchurch Park)

  • “Better, more frequent and reliable, affordable buses.” Helen Holland (Labour, Hartcliffe & Withywood)

  • “Better bus service.” Heather Mack (Green, Lockleaze)

  • “Probably improving bus services further.” Philippa Hulme (Labour, Horfield)

  • “Improved suburban rail connections.” Steve Smith (Conservative, Westbury-on-Trym and Henleaze)

  • “Improving the bus service. Hengrove and Whitchurch Park is a significant distance from the city centre, with an older-than-average age demographic which means that public transport improvements are more likely to make more of an impact that active transport measures (although both are, of course, desirable!)” Andrew Brown (Lib Dem, Hengrove & Whitchurch Park)

  • “Improved public transport, education and promotion on a range of safe alternatives.” Amirah Cole (Labour, Ashley)

  • “Better buses.” Jos Clark (Lib Dem, Brislington West)

  • “Reducing the cost of using public transport so it’s more affordable.” Farah Hussain (Labour, Central)

  • “A tram network with a route up Gloucester Rd and other lines.” Martin Fodor (Green, Redland)

Car clubs and car sharing

  • “Facilitating community car shares between small groups to have the car as an option rather than default. Getting people used to the idea of using the appropriate transport mode for the particular journey and only using a car where there is no viable alternative. It's about culture shift as much as physical changes.” Tim Wye (Green, Ashley)


More thoughts

  • “40 % of residents in my ward don't have access to a car.” Kerry Bailes (Labour, Hartcliffe & Withywood)

  • “I don't think a single change would - it has to be a mixture of carrot and stick. But I hope the Clean Air Zone will help.” Carla Denyer (Green, Clifton Down)

  • “Changing people’s mindset.” Lisa Stone (Green, Windmill Hill)

  • “Kill/demolish the M32.” Jenny Bartle (Green, Easton)

Lucia Skelton