A leading Bristol Green councillor has claimed transport officers have no data to justify planned changes to how people move around south Bristol.
Southville councillor Christine Townsend said the lack of data “fundamentally flawed” the planned South Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood scheme.
The scheme aimed to “design safer and quieter streets” and “encourage people to walk and cycle”.
However, over 2,000 residents signed a petition to ‘stop Southville roadblocks’ as the public consultation came to an end yesterday.
When addressing controversy, Cllr Townsend cited the lack of data as a key reason for widespread concerns, claiming “there’s no evidence or data from the traffic department showing what they’re trying to solve and that’s fundamentally flawed in my view.”
“Some people don’t want anything to change and then some people want us to make more changes”.
🙅 The South Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood should be debated this week. However, the Greens have undemocratically blocked the petitioners from being heard
— Labour Bristol (@LabourBristol) October 20, 2025
📣 Everyone deserves to have their say, whether the Greens agree with them or nothttps://t.co/2TthlmajJw
Cllr Townsend claimed she will “push for all the pavements to be extended across the roads and put in speed bumps” and “put in a number of camera operated road blocks where only permit holders can enter and exit”.
“Dean Lane needs sorting out absolutely. It is one of the main thoroughfares in and out of central Bristol from the South and that needs to be made safer.”
Some concerns came from shop-owners worrying that their business might be affected. Owner of Rare Butchers of Southville, Chris Cierpik, said that his business has been on North Street for 15 years yet he “can’t see the problems they’re talking about”.
Cierpik voiced that “it’s wrong to try and make it more difficult for car drivers… we’ve got customers coming from Brentry or Downend and they get here by car.”
He added, “we’ve got zebra crossings here that are so out of date you can’t see the illumination, and I think the council should start with that if they’re concerned about safety.”
Annie Sutton, a shop worker at Mon Pote, felt positive about the changes and hoped that it would “bring more footfall to the business and people would be more and more interested in the neighbourhood.”
As a young person in Bristol, she was “very in support of encouraging people to walk more and cycle more,” however there are concerns for “people with access ability issues and whether they’re gonna be able to get around.”
A spokesperson from the council said: “We thank all who took part in the consultation which closed yesterday evening and will now analyse the feedback before providing an update on any fresh designs based on this resident input.”
