Clifton : bring out your dead

After the Tank visit, we felt that a trip to Clifton was in order.

We took our stolen bicycle to the area. Just as there is no tank parking, there is no cycle parking in this part of the city -something they are proud of, rather than something they campaign about.

We ended up using the "no cycling" bit of tarmac where the tank had been.


Here's the video from a quick spin round the area


Key points

1. There's nothing happening
2. In the centre of the village, there is no legal area to park left.
3. Even the parking for under 2 hours is full -showing that short-term parking restrictions do not stop shop customers coming.
4. All four bicycle racks are full, and cyclists are inconveniencing pedestrians and endangering motorists by chaining their bicycles to railings and lamp posts -they do not take a hint, do they?
5. at 1:18, outside the parking limited zone, the residents are double parking. This extra parking area is going to be lost come the RPZ.
6. all vehicles bar the one a 3:49 have wing mirrors
7. There's no decent graffiti -hence no motivation for modern tourists to visit it.
8. Nothing is happening. There's a few people wandering around, but that's it
9. Despite all the echelon parking on Sion Hill and York Crescent, there's only 3-4 parking spaces there. The residents have to be grateful that they are powerful enough to stop the council taking the echelon parking away and putting in something anti-Clifton like a safe cycle route to the bridge!
10. Down in Hotwells, on Hope Chapel Hill, the RPZ is being painted in.
11. Civilisation has not collapsed down there, there are not legions of zombies walking around chewing the limbs of people with resident parking permits.

No, Hotwells's RPZ is not zombie country. Clifton village is, sadly. For all those "Clifton Will Die" posters, clifton is already dead as far as the rest of the inner city is concerned -they just haven't noticed.

Which means that rather than worry about whether the removal of shopkeeper and local business staff parking will kill the village, the Clifton Popular Front needs to think about how to get customers who aren't local businesses in there, competing with other parts of the town that are getting a national reputation.

Stokes Croft: exciting.

Clifton: an afternoon with an elderly aunt who smells of cat wee.

Clifton: some bike parking has snuck in to the village

Before we can declare victory in Clifton in the motorists side of the warn on motorists, we must note that some bicycle parking has been added to the village, and it is -shockingly- in use

On the mall: two stands, three bikes, on a buildout that would easily fit if not a 4x4, a little mini.

By the Thali Cafe, more stands and three bicycles. you can tell this isn't Stokes Croft as the bicycles are newer and still retain their wheels.

Further up Regent Street, two more stands and one bicycle.

It does reinforce that induced demand idea: if you provide bicycle parking, they will come. This is why it is critical that the councillors and aspirants do all they can to encourage driving and parking by car, instead of conceding any more pavement or road space to cycling or cycle parking.

On that topic, can we at least praise Clifton for not having a single bicycle lane anywhere west of Whiteladies Road, apart from that one on the approach to the Suspension bridge that doesn't actually work. Active Transport campaigners would probably push for some integrated route to join up the bridge with Cotham Hill, then to link over to Gloucester Road, then Bishopston and Montpelier, their own version of an Inner City Ring Road. They can dream, but as long as we hold the high ground that is Clifton, we will defeat them.

Clifton -no need for bike parking

We have done some research, and have concluded that there is no need for bike parking in Regent Street. The primary short-stay shopping outlet is Bargain Booze/Post Office, it has signs up on the pavement showing cars where to stop outside, an option exercised by WR57BBV

And shortly thereafter by the Saab RJ53MXW.

Further up the road, a mini-Tesco provides somewhere to lean kid's bikes against the railings.

If there was any need for bicycle parking in this street, you would expect to see bicycles. As there are none -no demand.

Thali Cafe Clifton News! Clifton gets Gentrified!

Gentrification is normally associated with a run down part of down being made "nice". You know when your area is becoming gentrified when you sit in on a PACT meeting and the complaints are about party noise rather than heroin addicts loitering around where the needle swap van comes. That and skateboarding.

In Bristol, gentrification means an area gets some good pubs, decent graffiti artwork -especially on the pubs- and good food, in the form of local cafes consortium Cafe Gusto and Thali Cafe.

Clifton has had a Cafe Gusto for a while, but you don't get free croissants there, so its not as good as the Bristol University outlet. It has long lacked, sadly, a Thali Cafe. Which is where one man: Jim, from the Thali Cafe team, comes to the rescue of this neglected corner of the city.

Here he is, pointing at a building. In his hand, a piece of paper. It says "October 2"

That date is the date of Clifton's October revolution: a thali takeaway cafe, serving the same food you would have to take your 4X4 over to Montpelier, or points further east or south, places where your satnav starts beeping saying "turn round now".

We mention drive, because people won't be cycling to this shop. There is one bit of gentrification that Clifton has resisted -there are no bike stands on these buildouts.

For a moment there appeared to be some bike stands nearby

But on closer inspection: barriers to stop cars using a car park without permission.

The only place that does have parking is a line of ancient Victorian railings, up on Bristol's Secret Bike Promenade.

More on that underexploited tourist attraction another day. The key thing is that it's a secret, because Clifton doesn't want visitors by bike.

Now, when will Clifton get the graffiti that the inner city deserves?