MP tells South Glos Council to “get a grip” and sort out MetroBus traffic chaos

Traffic congestion on Bradley Stoke Way, caused by the MetroBus roadworks.

Local MP Jack Lopresti has arranged an urgent meeting with the Secretary of State for Transport to discuss traffic congestion caused by the MetroBus roadworks in Bradley Stoke, which he says “have gone on for too long”.

The move comes just days after Mr Lopresti’s efforts to put pressure on South Gloucestershire Council to alleviate the problems were heavily criticised in scores of comments on a post he made his own Facebook page.

Jack Lopresti.

The MP’s copying and pasting of a statement from the faceless MetroBus organisation stating that there are “no alternatives to the current traffic measures” was widely condemned, with one commenter accusing him of propagating “a pack of lies” from the contractor and another telling him to “go back and think of another response because this [one] is a joke”.

A new statement released by the MP’s office this afternoon (Monday 21st November) states:

Jack Lopresti MP has called an urgent meeting with those responsible for the MetroBus works in Bradley Stoke which are causing major road congestion. Representatives from the road contractors, MetroBus and South Gloucestershire Council (including the lead councillor responsible for transport in South Gloucestershire, Councillor Colin Hunt), along with the local Bradley Stoke councillors, have all been invited to a meeting in Jack’s office this week in order to find a solution.

Jack has also arranged to have an urgent meeting this evening with the Secretary of State for Transport, the Rt Hon Chris Grayling MP, to bring this issue to his attention and call for his intervention.

Mr Lopresti is quoted as saying:

“As a resident of Almondsbury and with an office in Bradley Stoke, I fully understand, have experienced and share the total frustration of people stuck in traffic jams during commuting hours without much evidence, it seems, of work actually taking place on the MetroBus route. Constituents have reported to me that whilst they are stuck in their cars in traffic jams they have seen workmen asleep on the site.”

“This evening, in my meeting with the Secretary of State, I will be urging him to intervene and put pressure on South Gloucestershire Council and the contractors to get a grip of the situation to complete the works as quickly as possible.”

“The works have gone on for too long and are not being done with due understanding and appreciation for people who have to get in and out of Bradley Stoke every day. The MetroBus works need to be completed as quickly as possible with the minimum disruption to local residents.”

The MetroBus roadworks on Bradley Stoke Way began on 2nd September 2015, with the closure of the Woodlands Lane junction for an estimated 18 weeks. The latest indications from Contractors Alun Griffiths are that the junction will not be fully reopened until early in 2017 (more in our December magazine).

Roadside sign announcing closure of Woodlands Lane for 18 weeks from 2nd September.

To share your MetroBus concerns with Mr Lopresti, visit the Contact Jack page on his website.

• The Journal will also be approaching South Gloucestershire Council, for a statement to use in our December magazine. Readers are invited to submit questions and suggestions for forwarding to the council. Please send them to info@bradleystokejournal.co.uk, including “[MetroBus]” in the subject.

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22 comments

  1. It’s not JUST Bradley Stoke though! The centre and surrounding areas are regularly bought to a stand still and the M32 is out of control!!
    Stoke Gifford and the surrounding area of Friends Life (AXA) and MOD is shockingly bad

  2. Something definitely needs to be done. Absolute chaos every minute of the day. I live in Bradley Stoke and hate how long it takes me to get away from my house let alone be able to come back to it. I’ve been cycling to work most days but refuse to get wet on rainy days but it annoys me that it takes me less than 10 minutes to cycle, 15 minutes to walk and 30-40 minutes to go by car!!! Just can’t imagine the fumes this metro bus is creating in the atmosphere every minute. It’s the same as going to the leisure centre. Having to leave 30 minutes before a class starts, instead of 10 minutes. I expect buses and taxis have had enough of it let alone employers all around the area. Let’s hope something gets started sooner rather than later.

  3. I live in Bradley Stoke and work in
    Westbury on Trym .i start work at 7.15 am a journey that used to take 25 minutes maximum ,this same journey
    Is now taking at least 45 minutes,the roundabout by Aldi is now grid locked every morning,it is ridiculous ,I dread the journey every day.i now need to leave home at 615 every day as am worried I will be late.

  4. This has been a total sham from the start, I haven’t met ANYONE yet that thinks the MetroBus is a good idea or will actually use it. I am sick of not being able to get it and out of my road, being late for work, the noise and fumes of traffic is in-acceptable. The workman are very thin on the ground and seem to amble around the work area. Believe me I have studied them at length due to the amount of time I have been stuck in the jams. It is ridiculous that the roadworks are not finished but continue to be extended without finishing anything that they have started! The cost to the tax payers is unforgivable, I believe I won’t be the only resident in Bradley Stoke that will be unwilling to pay extra council tax to help redeem the spiralling cost of this fiasco. Angry doesn’t even begin to express my feelings.

  5. I had a job interview at 11 today in Gloucester. I live in Bradley Stoke so you would think at that time of day leaving with 90mins to get there would be plenty enough time. Thanks to the BS traffic I arrived with only 5 mins to spare. Stressing the whole way there. I don’t think the organisers of this metro bus route know or care about the impact this is having on us all.

  6. The situation has become intolerable. In Bradley Stoke north we have now been suffering for over a year. Last Thursday it took me 31 minutes to travel along Bowsland Way from Campion Drive to the Aldi roundabout – a couple of hundred yards!! now I read that the gridlock will continue until Christmas – this is not good enough! The Council should seek damages from the contractors and the original builders and use the money to reduce the residents Council Tax. We have suffered enough!

  7. This is also having a knock on effect in Little Stoke. It is now taking my husband
    twenty mins to get out from our street in Braydon Ave just to the mini roundabout on Stoke Lane which normally takes two minutes. Also not helping is the Building Work at the Concorde Medical Centre with Patients parking on the street because they can’t get into the car park causing more traffic problems. Whereas The Harriers Social Club behind has a empty car park all morning maybe they could help?

  8. It’s not just Bristol. I work in Portbury and commute from Bath. The traffic jam caused by the metrobus works starts about one mile after the Bath M4 junction when travelling westbound and continues all the way until clear of the Almondsbury Interchange. In the other direction the jam caused by these works sometimes stretches as far as the Second Severn Crossing. It’s causing untold misery for tens of thousands of people.

  9. Yesterday the whole of Bradley Stoke, Little Stoke and Stoke Gifford ground to a halt because of road works and weather. Something needs to be done to ease the pressure of this metro bus as it’s a battle field every day.

  10. This is nothing just you wait until the 10000 “houses” are built on Filton Airfield. It will be pure gridlock not you mention the flooding that is bad enough now. As for the metro bus it doesn’t even serve this part or Filton. Two cars per house it’s going to be complete chaos! Bad enough if there is an accident on the motorway and traffic is diverted and the Christmas shoppers. Still at least the person responsible can sit cosy as he doesn’t live near the area and has no reason to drive in this area at peak times, as he famously told a packed public meeting against the beloved Airfield closure.

  11. I’m a sole trader and now have to have staff work for me because the hours are restricted on when I can go out to customers due to the volume of traffic I can’t even get out of my street because people are using it as a short cut. 3 times this week I have left the house to go to a job and had to cancel due to the volume of traffic. Sort it out!

  12. There are now over 20 workers actually doing something at Aztec roundabout approach. All JCBs have an operator inside.
    Must be complete coincidence.
    Or a miracle…

  13. The cones have been moved approaching Patchway Brook R/A down Bradley Stoke Way – and the traffic flowed better this evening into Bradley Stoke. Let’s see what happens trying to get out tomorrow morning. Just need the three lanes back approaching Aztec West R/A or an extension of the two lanes.

  14. Statement from Jack Lopresti MP about his meeting today (Thu 24th Nov) with representatives from South Gloucestershire Council, MetroBus, contractors Alun Griffiths, local Councillors, including Councillor Colin Hunt, South Gloucestershire’s lead Councillor for Transport, to discuss the ongoing problems with gridlock in Bradley Stoke resulting from the works to create the MetroBus scheme:

    http://www.jacklopresti.com/news/metrobus-meeting/291

  15. To reduce the reliance on cars a reliable and regular public transport system needs to be provided, the Metrobus is a big step towards this aim.
    Having attended the meeting with Jack Lopresti today, we were informed of positive progress in recent days, with the extension of the lanes at Aztec West roundabout which has seen a reduction in the congestion problems of the last few weeks.
    I, like everyone else look forward to the completion of these works as soon as possible, and I look forward to using the Metrobus next year.

  16. I disagree.

    The Metrobus project only benefit is to provide a few new roads that should have been built with the Bradley Stoke house premium (about 5% of house price) that went to BSDC 20+ years ago.

    To fix the Greater Bristol transport problem, create a number of primary bus routes that stop at only 6 major stops and make these buses free. Local buses can connect to these major stops and be paid for as normal.

    These primary routes can encourage large numbers to travel for free across Bristol, and hopefully reduce congestion

  17. I repeat again most people in Bradley Stoke’s problem with MetroBus. It will not help the large volume of traffic in North Bristol trying to get to the Motorways and elsewhere for work other than the Mall or Aztec West. MetroBus is not and wont ever be a solution to this problem , it was just accepted because the people who allegedly do some traffic planning have not done their job properly! No one did any traffic surveys to see where all the traffic was going and as such we are getting no extra provision for general traffic out of Bradley Stoke which is what we need most NOT a glorified empty bus lane! There are 4 entries onto the roundabout by ALDI and virtually all the traffic is trying to get onto one single carriageway exit up to the Aztec West roundabout that is immediately constricted with a Zebra crossing and the planners cant seem to work out what the problem is!

  18. I just looked at the MetroBus site ‘All you need to know’. According to the table on there, the journey from City Centre to Aztec will reduce in time from 44 minutes to 37 minutes, a saving of 7 minutes. All this disruption to save 7 minutes?

  19. I see Paul Hardwick has nailed his colours to the mast although unfortunately I can’t not vote for him as I’m not in his ward. Is there any chance of getting a statement on the record from all councillors. Would be useful for decision making at the next local elections.

  20. The timings given from the Metrobus site don’t teel the whole truth since the 73 bus is timetabled from Newleaze (close to Aztec West) to Parkway in 22 to 24 minutes (3 miles the way the crow flies) and to Bristol City Centre in another 37 minutes. One hour in total. The X73 is between 42 minutes and an hour, three times a day only – depending on the time of day. 37 minutes to the city centre sounds like a good improvement on most timings – not that I think the £120 million is good value for money

  21. I note that the metrobus seem to have added cycle racks at their stops by the leisure centre, are they going to provide cycles for the few passengers who get fed up waiting for the bus to arrive?
    I can’t see the scheme reducing traffic volume one iota, as long as the public transport shares the road, journeys will continue to take significantly longer than driving yourself.
    The additional pollution, disruption and no doubt cuts to local services that this white elephant is causing are completely unwarranted.

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