Campaigners call for traffic-free roads on Bristol Downs

Campaigners in Bristol are calling for the Circular Road on the Bristol Downs to be closed to traffic on four Sunday mornings in 2015.

More than 4,000 people have signed a petition, but the Downs Committee say closures may not be possible due to Highway rules.

Cycling on the Downs is, in fact, banned due to an 1861 bylaw, according to campaigners, but petitioner Vicky Cracknell told the BBC: "It wouldn't just be in the interest of cyclists but runners and walkers too.

"We've been doing some surveying on the Downs, over the last couple of months, and it is very quiet in terms of motorised vehicles on a Sunday morning.”

But Downs Committee councilor Peter Abraham says it is not as easy as just deciding to close the road for a few hours.

“One has to go through a procedure for road closures and already we’re receiving a number of objections to the road being closed on a Sunday morning,” he said.

“We’re looking at the whole of cycling and the Downs and how we can make it more family friendly - and I think it might well mean that we could have an occasional car-free Downs.”

Source: BBC

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