Princess Victoria Street Engagement Survey

Throughout 2020 Bristol City Council used temporary barriers to create more space for pedestrians and cyclists across the city, including on Princess Victoria Street, in response to the pandemic and social distancing measures. Building on this work, we launched engagement with the Clifton community in December 2020 to find out how we could further improve walking and cycling journeys in the area.

The engagement was open for six weeks from Monday 7 December 2020 to Sunday 17 January 2021. People were asked about street environment, what they liked about the street, what they would improve and what would they prioritise. In addition to the general questions, some specific suggestions submitted by the community were included in the survey. People were asked to give their views on ideas for widening the pavement, timed closures and a full closure of a short stretch of Princess Victoria Street between the junctions of Clifton Down Road and Waterloo Street. The survey sought to capture views from residents, businesses and anyone who uses the street to help build a picture of what people would like to see improved in the street environment and provide them with the opportunity to give feedback on their own experiences.

Individual responses were received via the online survey and paper copies were posted with a free post envelope to 2400 local properties, with a follow-up postcard sent to the same properties. 40 posters were put up in the local area to raise awareness of the survey. Local stakeholders and community groups were also asked to help raise awareness of the survey and it was promoted via social media platforms.

As COVID-19 restrictions prevented face to face engagement, the team offered virtual chats and phone appointments to anyone who didn’t want to submit a written response but wanted to ask questions and provide verbal feedback.

From the community survey we received 907 responses, made up of 482 online and 425 paper copies. Of the responses, over 85% are residents who live within one mile. The majority (90%) of respondents say they walk to travel to the road and over 80% visit the street over 3 to 4 times a week.

The top 4 priorities for respondents were “more outdoor space for café/restaurants”, “cleaner air”, “more greenery/planters”, & “wider pavements”.  Over 85% of respondents like the street for both “the local high street economy” and “the personality and character of the street”. 62% of respondents felt that “the streets are busy with traffic” is a serious or a moderate problem. 57% of respondents felt that “narrow pavements” is a serious or moderate problem. 35% of respondents felt that “there is not enough car parking” was either a serious or a moderate problem while 54% felt it was a minor problem or not a problem at all.

The main themes that came through the free text boxes were providing additional support for pedestrians (95 responses), lack of residents parking (25 responses), concerns around displaced traffic resulting from potential changes (23 responses) and the need to reduce traffic (22 responses).

In addition to the general questions, some specific suggestions for the section of Princess Victoria Street between Clifton Down Road and Waterloo road, which were submitted by the community, were included in the survey:

• Most respondents (68%) agree or strongly agree with the suggestion to “widen pavements” on this stretch of the street. 21% Disagree or strongly disagree.
• 56% Agree or strongly agree with the suggestion for “a daily timed closure”. 34% Disagree or strongly disagree.
• 53% Agree or strongly agree with the suggestion for “a full closure”. 40% Disagree or strongly disagree.

The feedback from this survey along with the engagement with local businesses, community groups and local stakeholders will be used to produce some designs for the street. Information on next steps will be shared with the community in the coming weeks. More information about what we engaged on and the results are available in either the summary report or the full report.