Plans have been re-submitted for a pontoon walkway along the Floating Harbour connecting one side of Temple Meads station to the other under the railway bridge. Permission for this development, first proposed in 2015 before BWA was formed, had lapsed after 3 years, so a new application was necessary.
BWA has commented on planning application 19/01050/F. Though we welcome the provision of new pedestrian routes, especially away from road traffic, we are concerned that it is proposed to be a route shared with cyclists.
Our comments point out that the route is likely to be well used once the University development at Temple Meads is complete, and there is the potential for a further pedestrian bridge over the harbour connecting to forthcoming developments along Silverthorne Lane.
We have requested that the future use of this as a shared pedestrian/cycle route be conditional on the peak measured flow of pedestrians not exceeding what is manageable within the 4m width, and that prominent signage is included to ensure that if cyclists are allowed they are required to give way to pedestrians.