Friday 14 January 2011

The Friday Quiz - Who are the Sleepers?

It's over, of course, the Cold War. But the legacy remains.

This map is a Soviet rendition of Bristol. Before the Glorious Cumberland Basin intersection was built. Note the existing railway route through the docks and the city. Note that, with a little thought and investment, this infrastructure could have provided an efficient and sustainable rapid transit system, linking southern and central Bristol with Temple Meads. The Soviets knew this, and documented it.


Which is why, in 1969, Bristol City Council decided they had to foil the CCCP, and came up with their own Glorious Five Year Plan for the docks. Just look at what we're missing...


This vision of Utopia never happened.

Bristol Traffic asks - was the Council infiltrated by a fifth column? We know that Cycling City took another 40 years to complete. There must have been sleepers...

4 comments:

SteveL said...

What lovely maps! Where did you get the floating harbour road plan from?

Quercus said...

Have a rummage around this site:

Bristol Floating Harbour

copitorojo said...

I love the Russian map, where did you find that?

SteveL said...

Soviet Maps. Ex-cold war, still ongoing argument with Ordnance Survey as to whether or not they are derived from OS maps (it's a royalty thing)