Another Council Cock-up

It's sometimes seems that no weekend walk or cycle ride is complete without coming across at least one example of civic incompetence and last week-end was no exception. Down at the Hotwells end of the Floating Harbour the Junction Lock swing bridge, aka Merchants Road (shown in red below), was closed to road traffic including pedestrians to allow upgrading of the operating mechanism and other renovations to take place. So the only means of crossing the docks was at the other end of the Cumberland Basin, either via the Plimsoll Bridge (in green below) or the Entrance Lock gates.


View Cumberland Basin crossings in a larger map

For walkers that represents quite a big detour, over 500 metres, so what about providing a more direct alternative? The most obvious alternative (orange above) would be to use the walkway across the top of the new Stop Gates just 85 metres to the east and easily accessible and viewable from both sides of the closed bridge. So what do Bristol City Council do? They erect security fencing either side of the stop gates to prevent people crossing! After all we can't have people resolving their own problems in a simple, straightforward and inexpensive way because then we might start asking ourselves what we actually need the Council for.



Instead the Council concoct a complicated, obscure and expensive 'solution', by funding (with our taxes) a 'free' ferry to connect across the east end of the Junction Lock (blue above). The designated ferry landing stages are at the Pumphouse and the Nova Scotia, each about 100 metres from the closed bridge. But of course it's not possible to view one landing stage from the other, so where does the ferry wait? It waits on the opposite bank at the Cottage landing stage because from there it is just possible, with good eyesight, to view both of the designated ferry landing stages.

So there we have our expensive and complicated 'solution', but how to make it obscure? Now this is where Bristol City Council come into their own. Most of us would take it for granted that such an arrangement would require very careful signing to ensure that people arriving at the bridge to find it closed were made aware of the alternative arrangements, in particular the location of the ferry landing stages and the procedure for attracting the ferry. But not Bristol City Council. What is blindingly obvious to the rest of us simply doesn't occur to them.

The end result is total confusion  - no official signing except a pathetically (and ungrammatically) improvised bit of wood jammed in the railings on one side of the bridge, "half of Bristol" scrambling around security fences to try to get across the stop gates, cyclists and pedestrians wandering around trying to find an alternative crossing, a ferry boat waiting forlornly at a remote location on the opposite bank trying to observe potential passengers at landing stages over 130 metres away and walkers looking at deserted ferry landing stages wondering if and when a ferry might arrive. Who but Bristol City Council could manage to oversee such a hopeless cock-up?

Brunel Bridge plan dropped

Plans for a Festival Way cycling and walking route from Hotwells to Ashton Court and on to Nailsea were intended to bring back into use Brunel's 160 year old swing bridge that crossed the entrance lock at the western end of the Cumberland Basin. The bridge ceased to be used in 1968 after the new flyover system was built but remains in situ in the 'open' (to navigation) position in the shadow of the high level swing bridge and flyover system.



But a recent press release from Sustrans says "The path will cross new lock gates at Brunel's old swing bridge in the Cumberland Basin before going under the flyover". The use of the word "at" rather than "on" (Brunel's bridge) is much more significant than a quick reading would suggest, although the word "near" would be more honest. This confirms suspicions that Bristol City Council are reluctant to restore the historic bridge to working order and will come as a great disappointment to those Bristolians who have pressed for this over many years.

The weasel worded press release goes on to quote Bristol's so-called "Cycling Champion" Cllr Terry Cook as saying "A new crossing will soon run across the top of the existing lock gates in Bristol's Floating Harbour, offering walkers and cyclists a three-metre wide path as a quick and convenient crossing through the harbour. The route will pass beside Brunel's forgotten bridge, which will not be forgotten again, as it will form a unique attraction on the route, and will become a focal point, providing a convenient spot and resting place with a bench bearing Brunel's iconic image."

So the high hopes of those who long dreamt of seeing Brunel's 1849 swing bridge restored to good use are to be answered with a bench! Anyone familiar with the site will know that notions of the historic bridge becoming a "focal point" or a "convenient spot" are disingenuous. In its open position the bridge is partly hidden under the modern swing bridge and the area around is blighted by the noise and shadow of the massive concrete flyover. Only swinging the bridge across the entrance lock would enable it to be properly viewed and appreciated once again.



It may be that the renovation involved in restoring the bridge to operation would have proved too costly, although the plans allowed for £150k to cover this work which seems realistic, given that the bridge remains in fundamentally sound condition. Besides, should we not be giving more recognition than ever to the value of the industrial heritage embodied in the old docks?

What may prove most depressing about this regretable news is the way it has been 'slipped out' under cover of a news story based around the more welcome news of the development of a cycle and walking route from Hotwells to Ashton Court, Long Ashton and Nailsea. We are used to such devious tactics form Bristol City Council's PR staff but it seems that the Council's new 'partner' Sustrans is now playing the same game. Don't those who have invested so much in this project deserve to be informed of the demise of their dream in a more honourable way?

Pictures courtesy of www.farvis.com.