Hundreds of petitioners have called for better lighting to be installed along the Concorde Way cycle route.
Local councillors said the part of the path between Muller Road and Mina Road was “perilously dark” during the winter months. More than 740 people signed a petition calling on Bristol City Council to install streetlights along Concorde Way near the Ashley Down train station.
The petition was presented to councillors on the transport policy committee September 17.
Green Councillor James Crawford, who represents Bishopston and Ashley Down, said: “This lack of lighting has a disproportionate impact on women and girls, many of whom understandably feel quite unsafe using these isolated, unlit paths after dark.
“This isn’t really an isolated problem. Inadequate lighting affects routes and paths across our communities, and we need a much more systemic approach to identifying and addressing these safety concerns. I’m hoping that this petition is a start of a wider piece of work looking at making our city feel safer.”
This section of the route is used by many people including schoolchildren at Fairfield High School and passengers heading to Ashley Down train station. But there have been reports of muggings and attacks in the tunnel underneath the railway.
The hundreds of signatures on the petition will demonstrate the support of the local community for better lighting. But at this stage it’s unclear how much the lighting would cost to install, and where the funding would come from.
Green Cllr Emma Edwards, who also represents the ward, added: “This is something that we’ve been working on for a really long time. It’s one of the main walking routes for children at Fairfield School going back up into Bishopston. And then obviously we’ve got the Ashley Down train station now, so people are walking up to the train station.”
Around 1,000 commuters use Concorde Way every day, connecting people to major employers such as the University of the West of England and the Ministry of Defence. The seven-mile walking and cycling route runs through St Pauls, St Werburghs, Ashley Down and Lockleaze, and all the way up to Cribbs Causeway.
Ashley Down station opened in 2024 as part of a major investment in local train services by Network Rail and the West of England Combined Authority.
Reports by Alex Seabrook, Local Democracy Reporter