South Gloucestershire Council has announced that two-way temporary traffic lights are to be installed on Hatchet Road from mid-September for a period of three months.
The traffic lights, which will initially be in operation at off-peak times only, are required to enable two existing bus stops to be upgraded to MetroBus-specification stops as part of the Cribbs Patchway MetroBus Extension scheme.
The bus stops affected will be the northbound stop near the Sandringham Road/ Ratcliffe Drive roundabout and the southbound stop outside the former Co-operative foodstore.
The upgrades will include extending the bus stop platforms, new paving, replacing the existing shelters with new MetroBus shelters and the installation of MetroBus iPoints and CCTV to monitor the stops.
iPoints provide travel information and allow passengers to purchase tickets before they board and plan journeys.
Once upgraded, the two bus stops will be continue to be served by existing local bus services.
Work will begin on the upgrades on Monday 14th September and will last approximately three months.
The initial phase of work will involve extending the bus stop platforms, laying the new paving and installing the electrical connections needed for the iPoints and CCTV.
Traffic management
To enable the work to take place, two-way temporary traffic lights will be in operation on Hatchet Road from Monday 14th September, for approximately three months. The temporary lights will initially be used during off-peak periods only. However, the council says it will continue to monitor traffic levels in the area and if traffic levels remain low their use may be extended to peak times.
During the works, the two bus stops affected will be out of service and bus passengers will be directed to use alternative stops just a short walk along Hatchet Road.
The alternative bus stops will be:
- For northbound journeys, passengers should use the bus stop on the opposite side of the road to the former Co-operative store.
- For southbound journeys, passengers should use the bus stop near the Sandringham Road/ Ratcliffe Drive roundabout junction.
Alternative bus stops are also available further along Hatchet Road near to the Winterbourne Road / Gipsy Patch Lane roundabout.
Traffic on Hatchet Road is currently already impacted by another set of temporary traffic lights – as part of the Covid-19 social distancing scheme at Parkway railway bridge. The Journal has recently been informed that the future of the bridge scheme is due to be reviewed in mid-September.
Cribbs Patchway MetroBus Extension
The Cribbs Patchway MetroBus Extension aims to provide a frequent and fast bus service between Bristol Parkway Station and The Mall at Cribbs Causeway. It will extend the existing MetroBus network in Greater Bristol, which currently consists of the M1, M2, and M3 & M3X routes.
As part of its implementation, the narrow, arched railway bridge on Gipsy Patch Lane is being replaced with a much wider concrete structure that will accommodate two traffic lanes in each direction.
Services on the route are currently planned to start in 2023 (recently put back from 2022 due to delays on the railway bridge replacement part of the project).
Update: Peak time lights excluded
Added 13th September 2020.
On 10th September, the following sentence disappeared from the SGC project webpage:
“However, we will continue to monitor traffic levels in the area and if traffic levels remain low their use may be extended to peak times.”
It is therefore assumed that a decision has been made NOT to use traffic lights at peaks times.
Update: MetroBus shelter installation
Added 22nd March 2021.
South Gloucestershire Council says work will resume this week (w/c 22nd March 2021) to install a new MetroBus shelter at the northbound stop.
This work could not be carried out last year because supply chain difficulties caused by the Covid-19 emergency meant that the new MetroBus shelter was not available.
In the interim period, the existing shelter has been retained as a temporary measure.
Two-way temporary traffic lights will be needed during the work, which is expected to take four days. The bus stop will be out of service during the works and passengers will be directed to use alternative stops a short walk along Hatchet Road.
Installation of a new shelter at the southbound stop outside the former Co-op store is programmed for later in the spring.
Why do they need bus stops on hatchet road. Completely counter productive. The buses delay the traffic behind them giving the bus a clear run to the next roundabout, this creating a bus lane effectively at zero cost and disruption!
Why fix what’s not broken!!
50 people on a bus and not in cars is reduced traffic! Why is that so hard to understand.
Will those who will use the extension Parkway Station walk about 10 minutes in pouring rain to catch the m1 Metrobus to go into town. The reason you have to walk is that Metrobus cannot get into Parkway Station.
Do people realize that the bus extension from Cribbs Causeway does not go into town.
M Gosling’s comment on Hatchet Rd bus stops is a puzzle. There are 3 each way now, all from my bus using observations well-used in ‘normal’ times, and there will be 3 in the future. Nothing wrong with that??
Discussion about this article on the SGJ Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/StokeGiffordJournal/posts/3575878032457338
The new MetroBus shelter at the northbound stop is being installed this week (w/c 22nd March 2021). See update appended to article.