Leaked document reveals council is looking at closing bridge to general traffic, to help speed MetroBus journeys.
Campaigners who successfully petitioned for a review of South Gloucestershire Council’s decision to construct a new bus lane on Hatchet Road, Stoke Gifford say they are shocked to hear that one of the alternative proposals being actively considered by the council includes the closure to general traffic of the Parkway Station railway bridge (linking Hatchet Road to Brierly Furlong).
The bus lane, or whatever alternative proposal might replace it, is required to support a ‘second phase’ MetroBus route known as the Cribbs Patchway MetroBus Extension (CPME), which will link The Mall at Cribbs Causeway with Bristol Parkway Station and serve the new developments planned for the former Filton Airfield site.
The council insists that measures are needed to shorten MetroBus bus journey times and “increase reliability” on the Hatchet Road section of the route, but campaigners have argued that the bus lane scheme represents poor value for money and will only achieve minimal journey time improvements.
Their preferred alternative, which would remove the need to remove mature hedgerows and trees from both sides of Hatchet Road, is to review the number of bus stops and implement lay-bys at those that are deemed necessary.
A study note seen by the Journal and known to be in the possession of local councillors and campaigners, describes a £1.5m scheme to restrict the Parkway railway bridge to buses, taxis, pedestrians and cyclists only. This would be supported by a £6.5m scheme to widen the Winterbourne Road to dual carriageway along its full length between the Hatchet Road Roundabout and Great Stoke Roundabout (a.k.a. Rabbit Roundabout) and a £5m scheme of improvements at Great Stoke Roundabout.
The supporting elements are understood to be necessary to handle the general traffic that would need to use the soon-to-open Stoke Gifford Transport Link as an alternative route.
Advantages of the alternative scheme, aside from those for MetroBus, are said to include making the Parkway bridge safer for pedestrians and cyclists and encouraging the use of sustainable transport.
The only disadvantage listed in the study note is that traffic from the north would not be able to travel to the south of the railway line without redirecting around the A38 or SGTL. [Ed: This would clearly also apply for journeys in the opposite direction, e.g. from Filton to Parkway Station.]
On the subject of funding, the note says: “Some initial work has suggested that the scheme, tested with and without the [Winterbourne Road] widening, would have a good chance of achieving funding through the West of England Combined Authority channels.”
When the existence of the study note was raised by members of the public at a meeting of Stoke Gifford Parish Council on 12th September, council chair Ernie Brown, also an SGC ward councillor, said he was aware that SGC’s officers had been working on the alternative proposal “for three months”. He added that he “didn’t want to see any discussion of the Parkway bridge closure option” and said he was worried that the outcome of the current review would offer just two options, the Hatchet Road bus lane or the closure of the Parkway bridge.
A South Gloucestershire Council spokesperson declined to confirm any details from the study note, saying only:
“We are on track to report back to Cabinet on this issue later this year, [an action] which was resolved at a meeting of Full Council in July.”
“As part of this work, officers are re-examining plans for the route of the MetroBus from the Hatchet Road roundabout to Parkway Station and investigating whether the CPME scheme can be delivered in a different way. The details are still being finalised, however a report will be brought to a public meeting of Cabinet where the proposals will be discussed in full.”
This article originally appeared in the October 2017 issue of the Bradley Stoke Journal news magazine (on page 8). The magazine is delivered FREE, EVERY MONTH, to 9,500 homes in Bradley Stoke, Little Stoke and Stoke Lodge. Phone 01454 300 400 to enquire about advertising or leaflet insertion.
Restricting traffic access through the Parkway bridge to buses, taxis etc. makes a bit of sense if it’s done at peak times only. To have this restriction in place 24 hrs would in effect isolate the communities each side of the railway line.
This is such an ill thought out plan it beggers belief. There are no suitable alternatives to get to the ring road.
Forcing traffic to go up Gloucester Road and turning left at Airbus is not an option – that road is already saturated during rush hour.
Old Gloucester Road is a parking lot during peak periods already. So where else are cars supposed to go?
The Metrobus scheme has been a joke from start until its finish (if it finishes). I’d love to know what the MoD, Aviva & SGS have to say about this as well.
Surely the new link road from South Bradley Stoke is going to alleviate the traffic both there and at Hambrook lights. Honestly, is there a single competent person serving on the council….
As a cyclist I think it’s a great idea. Getting more Bristol people out of their cars is a good thing IMHO! People just don’t think of other modes of transport around here.
The bridge is narrow and dangerous for cyclists and pedestrians.
As someone else said, once the Stoke Gifford bypass comes online I think this plan could work.
As usual the ecomentalist brigade at sgc keep banging on about reducing car journeys and using public transport.
As usual they forget about delivery vehicles and professional drivers who have to put up with these half baked schemes.
Traffic will be reduced once the stoke Gifford by pass is completed so there won’t be any need to address high traffic volumes.
The sgc should concentrate on sorting out a bus provider for the other farce commissioned by sgc and bristol called metrobus.
The sgc are a bunch of #%>!*!!!!!
If, once the new Stoke Gifford Link Road is operational, and traffic is still an issue in the area, charge £2 for every car that passes under the bridge at peak times.
The vast majority of people driving along Hatchett Rd and under the bridge have no choice currently, and cause lots of congestion and pollution. Once the SGLR is open, this excuse is gone. Any continued excess use of the road as a rat-run must be discouraged.
What about the Stoke Gifford residents that live on the wrong side of the tracks? Cutting off car access would have a seriously bad affect on people caught on the wrong side and it would be an over reaction right now. The traffic is ridiculous at peak times, there is no denying that but no-one really knows the impact of the new link road until it’s open.
I’ve always thought how badly the road lay out and priorities on the roundabouts work at peak times. People bypassing around Aviva at peak times cause a snarl up on Hatchet lane as people hesitate and give way. The partial lights cause similar difficulties coming out on the Abbeywood roundabout. But if you fix things in isolation, it may cause a queue elsewhere. It needs a proper review after the new link road is in place to understand the pinch points and suggest a cohesive solution.
In response to a misleading comment (from someone who should know better) stating that “there is NO truth in this rumour”…
The article describes a study conducted by SGC (this is a fact, not a rumour).
The article does not say the council intends to close Parkway Bridge, only that a study has been conducted to examine this possibility as an alternative option to creating a bus lane on Hatchet Road.
Whether or not the council chooses to include the bridge closure scenario in the set of options to be taken forward for further consideration and consultation will be revealed at a Cabinet meeting on 4th December 2017.