A 'state of the art transport hub' at Temple Meads

Monday, 13 October 2008

It's been promised.

Development agency SWRDA says Temple Meads will offer

'a seamless transport interchange integrating the rail services with buses, taxis, airport coaches, cycling, the river bus and rail parking'

Not before time! But what's the reality? What's really being planned for Plot 6?

Apartments, offices, and a multistorey car park. Business as usual in fact.

SIGN THE PETITION HERE

 WHAT AN OPPORTUNITY!

We have the chance of a state of the art transport hub, with direct links to all parts of the city. For all kinds of transport. With 'soft' measures to make it work, like real time information, smart multimodal ticketting, and an accountable authority in charge.

•     No more wondering when your bus or train is coming.
•     No more standing around in the rain.
•     No more long walks between stops, or multiple changes.
•     Much simpler journeys, less to go wrong.

The site is available. Now.

All it needs is the co-operation of the main players - SWRDA, Bristol City Council, Network Rail, and the Three Faces of First.

'Plot 6' - the long carpark. Shows access to road, rail, and (bottom left) ferry systems
Screenshot from Microsoft Virtual Earth

Why here at Temple Meads?

Because

• that's where the railway links are to the suburbs and the rest of the country
• that's where the rail system meets the floating harbour
• that's where there are excellent links into the city's road system
• that's where Plot 6 is, available now, already in public ownership, and ideal for the purpose.

In fact Temple Meads is to get everything a good transport hub needs. Almost.
   

The old passenger shed - the 'Digby Wyatt' shed - is wasted at the moment, it just shelters a few cars.
But it's going to be transformed.

With station modernisation, the Digby Wyatt shed will become a comfortable waiting area for rail passengers with good lighting and seating, real time information and advice, plus places to be fed or entertained. What can now be an unpleasant, time consuming, even threatening experience can be turned into a tolerable, even pleasurable experience for travellers.

There's just one thing missing. Still no decent bus services to most of the city.

BUT IF, INSTEAD OF HAVING A BLOCK OF FLATS BUILT JUST OUTSIDE, IT HAS A CENTRAL BUS STATION, EVERY PUBLIC TRANSPORT USER IN BRISTOL WILL GET THE BENEFIT. SO WILL EVERY PUBLIC TRANSPORT PROVIDER

WHAT OTHER CHANGES?

Instead of the fragmented services we have at the moment - country buses and coaches at Marlborough Street, trains at Temple Meads, city buses scattered all over the place - all central bus and coach routes would call or terminate at Temple Meads. (The prime site at Marlborough Street Bus Station could be sold off - a big incentive for First to get their act together at last?)

 IS IT PRACTICABLE?

Of course. Plenty of other places have shown it can be done.

....even the small town of Coleraine, in Northern Ireland

REALITY CHECK - WHAT STANDS IN THE WAY?

Only a lack of political and corporate imagination.
None of the present transport strategies confront the problem of changing trains and buses.
There's a lack of ambition, even among the transport providers, to increase patronage.

Unseen by the public, other plans have already been drawn up for Plot 6.

[added Nov 3]: You might even see them by clicking here, for a website that provides documents for would-be developers, but which is hidden from search engines and sometimes off-line because the owner's bandwidth has been exceeded

The Area Development Framework (ADF)

This is the masterplan for redevelopment on and around the station. It's commissioned by landowner and development agency SWRDA and, apparently, blessed by Bristol City Council without any public consultation.

It's unpublished, it's not finalised, it's not even a binding plan, but it's being used to guide the proposals for Plot 6.

But, even if you were allowed to see it, you won't find any mention of the SWRDA's 'seamless transport interchange integrating' ....anything. Unless you count some redesigned stops for the the Clifton buses and the Airport coaches, on the main station approach ramp.

The Development Feasibility Study for Plot 6

Based on the ADF, this is the brief given to bidders who want the contract to develop Plot 6. Tasked with a first priority to 'maximise value', the consultants (Gillespie) have come up with a mixed use scheme of shops, offices, and apartments - plus a multistorey car park - without any new public transport provision. Pretty well the usual mixture in fact. Four bidders have been lined up to turn this uninspiring vision into uninspiring reality.

Diagram/Picture from Gillespies' press announcement. The new developments are the cream blocks. The current station is the big grey area, lower right.

The full plans reveal that the new buildings are (from the left - west):

A 4 storey office block

A 7 storey office block (these are the two buildings in the lower picture, with the Old Station/museum out of sight to the right)

A 4 storey residential block

A 4 storey residential block (both with shops etc at ground floor level)

A long 3.5 storey station car park

At the waterfront (eastern) end, there's a 14 storey residential tower.

The long rectangular building, part of the old station, is the Digby Wyatt shed, which will become the new ticket/information/waiting area for the station

Not a bus stop in sight.

WHAT NEXT?

 It may be a year or more before we're officially allowed to see what's planned for Plot 6. (though in the spirit of sharing we'll let bona fide enquirers have a copy of what we've learned.)


The Bristol Green Parties will do all they can to help it to happen.