Bradley Stoke Town Councillors have successfully fought off plans to install a ‘raised table’ cycle crossing on Baileys Court Road, which they claimed would have caused damage to vehicles and hindered emergency vehicles.
South Gloucestershire Council (SGC), which had proposed the feature as part of its Cycling City Route 3 scheme, has agreed to alter the crossing to use a dropped kerb design. The 5m wide crossing will now be constructed level with the existing road surface and be painted green.
The U-turn comes after one Town Councillor described the proposed crossing as an “obstruction of the highway”, while another claimed it was a back door way of imposing a lower speed limit for motorists.
SGC says it considered the alternative of installing a signal-controlled crossing but the estimated cost of £100k would have been “far beyond budget”. A zebra crossing, although cheaper, would “not be ideal for cyclists” it added.
The concession was accompanied by a request for the Town Council to contribute towards the cost of re-siting of a nearby bus stop and shelter, said to be needed to improve road safety.
That plea fell on deaf ears as the Town Clerk was instructed to inform SGC that “in the current financial climate, the Town Council would be unable to make any contribution”.
A similar ‘level’ crossing to the one now foreseen for Baileys Court Road is currently being installed in Fiddlers Wood Lane (pictured above), close to its junction near the Savages Wood Roundabout on Bradley Stoke Way.
Another crossing, this time part of Cycling City Route 4, is to be constructed across Brook Way, close to its junction with The Common (East).
Great, I can continue to my usual 50mph+ on that road, along with all the others. Thanks councillors!!
That is a very sensible comment to make. Speed bumps don’t slow down prats, they only cause discomfort and vehicle damage to law abiding citizens.
John Ashe.
Typical. More watering down of the Cycling City schemes. As usual, the motorist is seen as king (and yes I do drive as well as cycle!).
Lots of ££££ spent on that crossing, lots of lovely fresh new tarmac too. Just a shame it wasn’t used to repair the potholes that infest Bradley Stoke roads.
Why aren’t the cyclists up in arms about what is a clear risk to their on-road safety. Or are they all riding on the pavement? 🙂
Congratulations councillors! You’ve made the roads more dangerous for everyone just so that drivers can carry on speeding.
I hope that people remember that you think speeding motorists are more important than the families who live in your wards when voting time comes around.
Anon-e-mouse, the new cycle path long heraleded is just a 1 foot widening of the pavement!
Hopefully we will get a proper cycle path one day.
Surely this is the works carried out at Fiddlers Wood Lane?
flurfy chicken: Correct, the photo is of Fiddlers Wood Lane. They haven’t started on Baileys Court Road yet, but it will now look the same as Fiddlers Wood Lane once it is completed.
I see today that some of the new cycle path bollards along Bradley Stoke way have been vandalised and pushed over.
As a part-time cyclist I’m disappointed that these 2 councillors are so anti cyclist. From his comment I guess John Ashe was one of the short sighted 2. When will these councillors learn that the world is changing?