South Gloucestershire Council is running a second consultation on its proposed road safety improvements for Bradley Stoke Way, in the vicinity of the Willow Brook Centre.

The latest consultation, which runs until Wednesday 8th February, invites comments on the new toucan crossing that is proposed to replace two uncontrolled crossing points that were the sites of two serious road traffic accidents during 2011.

The new light-controlled crossing will be situated approximately midway between the two existing crossing points and new guardrails will be installed to deter pedestrians from crossing the carriageway away from the new toucan crossing.

There is still no news on the outcome of the first consultation on the overall scheme, which ran from 20th December 2011 to 8th January 2012. The Journal has learned that “seven or eight” responses were received but the Council has so far not found the time to give personal replies or publish an analysis of the results on its website.

Cllr Brian Allinson, SGC’s executive member for planning and transport, said last year that work on the new measures would start in March 2012 but that schedule now appears to have slipped by at least a month, with the Council now saying:

“Depending on the results of the public consultation and advertisement, the scheme is programmed to be designed in this financial year (2011/12) with a view for implementation in 2012/13.”

Last February’s accident left a 10-year-old cyclist with life changing injuries after he was in collision with a car on one of the two uncontrolled crossing that would be replaced by the new toucan crossing.

The second serious accident, in September, saw a 13-year-old boy crossing the road on a mini-scooter struck by a motorcyclist. The boy suffered serious head, abdomen, arm and leg injuries and a recent update in the newsletter of Bradley Stoke Community School (where he is a student) reported that he is “still very unwell and not yet able to communicate”.

Research by The Journal has revealed that a speed monitoring exercise that the Council’s Highways Department agreed to undertake in response to the February accident began more than seven months later at 9:30am on Friday 30th September 2011 – the day of the second accident.

It has also come to light that Cllr Allinson was apparently unaware of the February accident that officials in his own Highways Department were responding to. Speaking during a discussion on pedestrian crossings at a recent meeting of Patchway Town Council, Cllr Brian Hopkinson, who is also a Bradley Stoke Town Councillor, said of the two Bradley Stoke accidents:

“Brian Allinson said that if the first accident had been pointed out to him (because it wasn’t) … something may well have happened then.”

Photo: Cllr Brian Allinson (right) inspects the scene of the second accident with Bradley Stoke Councillors.

The M4 will be closed westbound between junctions 19 and 22 from 10pm tonight (Thursday 12th January), re-opening at 6am on Friday morning.

The overnight westbound closure will be repeated between the same times on Friday (13th January).

The Highways Agency says the published closure times represent a worst case scenario and the period of closure could be shorter, dependent on traffic levels.

Westbound traffic will be directed onto the M32, leaving at junction 1 and along the A4174 (Avon Ring Road) and A38 (Gloucester Road) to junction 16 of the M5 (Aztec West). Onward traffic will then travel south to M5 junction 18, take the Avonmouth link roads and join the M49 to travel in a northerly direction to rejoin the M4 at junction 22.

The eastbound carriageway will be fully closed between the same junctions on Saturday night (14th January), when the diversionary route will operate in the reverse direction.

The closures are part of an £88.6m project to create a ‘managed motorway’ scheme around the M4/M5 interchange, in which speed limits are dynamically controlled and traffic is permitted to use the hard shoulder at peak times.

Work on the M4 is expected to be completed by December 2012 with the M5 portion of the scheme scheduled for completion in spring 2013.

More info: Impact on your journey (Highways Agency)

Proposals for a number of road safety improvement schemes around Bradley Stoke achieved limited success when they were discussed at a recent meeting of South Gloucestershire Council’s Southern Brooks Area Forum.

Seven Bradley Stoke schemes were competing for a share of the £50k pot available, along with other proposals from Filton, Patchway, Stoke Gifford and Winterbourne.

In the end, just two of the Bradley Stoke schemes were awarded funding – and only for “investigation” work rather than full implementation:

• Noise and speed reduction measures in Woodlands Lane, near Woodlands Park
• Introduction of a pedestrian crossing on Brook Way near the junction of Elm Close

Each of the above projects was awarded £5k, with the Brook Way proposal being extended to also investigate the possibility of providing a pedestrian crossing facility near the Concord Medical Centre in Braydon Avenue.

Of the eight schemes awarded funding by the area forum, six were given £5k for “investigation” work. The only two projects to receive funding for implementation were in Patchway, where the left turn from the A38 Gloucester Road into Shellmor Road is to be prohibited and a bus stop on the A38 northbound, near the Callicroft Road junction, relocated.

Ten ‘safer routes to school’ schemes that had been put forward (including ones near Bowsland Green Primary School and St Mary’s Primary School in Bradley Stoke) failed to win funding but the forum agreed to recommend them to the Executive Member for Transport for further consideration.

Photo: South Gloucestershire Council’s transport chief, Cllr Brian Allinson, with Cllr Ben Walker at the pedestrian crossing on Pear Tree Road, where a ‘raised table’ will be soon be installed, thanks to funding awarded at a previous meeting the Southern Brooks Area Forum.

Residents of Bradley Stoke who live close to the M4 motorway could be affected by overnight roadworks that are due to start on Monday (9th January).

The Highways Agency says it has sent out letters to properties within 500m of the areas where the night-time work is to take place.

The roadworks are the first step in the implementation of the Agency’s £88.6 million M4/M5 Managed Motorway scheme that will see hard shoulder running introduced at peak times on the M4 (between the top of the M32 and the Almondsbury Interchange) and the M5 (between Cribbs Causeway and the Almondsbury Interchange) from early 2013.

This month’s overnight works, which are expected to run until 23rd January, are necessary for the installation of a temporary safety barrier along the M4 (in both directions). They will involve road planing, re-surfacing and the introduction of narrower running lanes.

The Agency says it will try to complete the noisy road planing operations by 11pm each night, with re-surfacing work continuing thereafter.

Daytime operations during January will include the installation of temporary cable ducting along the affected sections of the M4 and M5 and vegetation clearance on the M5 – in areas where gantries are to be installed or emergency refuge areas created.

Roads in Bradley Stoke within 500m of the M4 include Palmers Leaze, Fennel Drive, Juniper Way, Ormonds Close and Stanley Mead.

In November 2011, local residents were invited to a public exhibition about the scheme. If you were unable to attend, the display panels from the exhibition may be viewed from a link on The Journal’s M4/M5 Managed Motorways information page.

Works on the M4 are expected to be ongoing until December 2012. Construction work on the M5 is due to start in April 2012 and last until spring 2013.

South Gloucestershire Council is inviting residents to have their say on a number of proposed casualty reduction measures on Bradley Stoke Way, in the vicinity of the Willow Brook Centre.

The consultation comes after two school-age children were seriously injured in separate traffic accidents along this stretch of road earlier this year.

A public petition for improved safety measures on the road, started after the second incident (in September), was signed by more than 3,900 people and resulted in the issue being debated at a meeting of South Gloucestershire Council last week.

A meeting in October attended by the Council’s transport chief, Council officers, local Councillors, local police and headteachers of local schools outlined a number of proposed safety measures for the road and these have now been formalised in the plans that are the focus of the current consultation.

The main component of the proposed scheme is the provision of a new signal-controlled (toucan) pedestrian crossing on Bradley Stoke Way, close to the pedestrian access point from Wheatfield Drive. This new crossing will replace the two existing uncontrolled crossing points where the recent accidents occurred.

The proposals also include an extension of the existing 30mph speed limit northwards by 260m, so that it includes the new crossing. It is also proposed that the 30mph limit be extended south of the Savages Wood Roundabout to include the existing toucan crossing between Snowberry Close and Champs Sur Marne.

The petitoners’ call for the northbound carriageway to be reduced to a single lane is now being met “for most vehicles” through the introduction of a bus lane (which would have been needed anyway following last week’s Government go-ahead for the North Fringe to Hengrove bus rapid transit scheme).

Drawings published on the consultation webpage also show additional features that include yellow bar markings on the road surface at the approach to the start of the 30mph zone and a permanent vehicle-activated speed reminder sign in the central reservation opposite the Willow Brook Centre.

The petitioners’ call for the new crossing to incorporate a “speed table” has not been satisfied, with the Council previously saying this wouldn’t be possible because the road is used by buses and emergency vehicles.

The consultation runs until Sunday 8th January 2012.

A major transport scheme that includes the building of a Stoke Gifford by-pass and the introduction of a fast and reliable bus service between Bradley Stoke and Bristol city centre has taken a big step forward with the award of £51 million of Government funding.

Work on the £102 million North Fringe to Hengrove Package, which will also be funded by Bristol City Council (BCC) and South Gloucestershire Council (SGC), is scheduled to start in two years time, subject to successfully overcoming regulatory hurdles that are expected to include a public inquiry.

The Stoke Gifford by-pass, running from the Parkway North Roundabout on Great Stoke Way to the Avon Ring Road (emerging opposite the Holiday Inn), will provide Bradley Stoke motorists with a more direct route to junction 1 of the M32 at Hambrook, avoiding the notorious bottlenecks at the Parkway Station railway bridge and the Abbey Wood Roundabout.

Public transport users will benefit from a new bus-only junction onto the M32, where Stoke Lane crosses over the motorway, close to the Dower House.

Within Bradley Stoke, a number of new bus lanes will be constructed along Bradley Stoke Way – without reducing the number of lanes available for general traffic. For more details, take a look at The Journal’s interactive map of the rapid transit route or consult the detailed route plans [PDF, 63.7MB] submitted with the official bid to the Department for Transport (DfT).

Statutory orders for the scheme are due to be published by June next year and a public inquiry could start in December 2012. On-site work is scheduled to start in December 2013 and the new by-pass and ‘rapid’ bus service should be open/operational by December 2016.

The two local authorities will together contribute £51 million to the scheme, with SGC’s share being £30.6 million. BCC has said it will use “prudential borrowing”, supplementary business rates and a workplace parking levy to raise its £20.4 million contribution but SGC has been less transparent, saying only that its share will be funded from “capital receipts and developer contributions” with the detail hidden in an appendix to the bid that is “not for publication at present”.

Commenting on the announcement, Cllr Brian Allinson, executive member responsible for transport and Chair of the West of England Partnership’s Joint Transport Executive Committee, said:

“We are delighted that the bid has been successful. This is exceptionally good news for South Gloucestershire’s economy and for transport as a whole across the region.”

“The North Fringe to Hengrove rapid transit scheme, along with the recent announcements about the schemes in Ashton Vale and the South Bristol link, coupled with the electrification of the Great Western Main Line rail line clearly demonstrate the benefits which can be achieved when the four West of England councils work together in partnership.”

“Securing this significant investment in the West’s transport system is further recognition of the importance central Government places on this region and the scheme will lead to more jobs being created and improved links made with communities in the north and east fringe when work starts on the scheme in two years time.”

Local MPs Jack Lopresti and Chris Skidmore MP released a joint statement saying:

“The £102m investment will greatly improve the transport links between residential areas and employment, leisure and retail centres in our area.”

“The scheme will give a boost to the local economy by providing fast, frequent and reliable public transport service linking the areas of Cribbs Causeway, Aztec West and Emersons Green with Bristol city centre and with Hengrove to the south of the city.”

The MPs say the scheme will bring the following benefits to the local area:

• It will support our buoyant local economy, and improve the quality of life for local residents as well as national and international travel
• It will reduce congestion and therefore the economic, environmental and health damage that is associated with it but also enhances the chances of regeneration through the linking of areas of economic growth and housing expansion
• It will also promote equality of opportunities through improved connectivity to education, employment, leisure, health and retail facilities

Their statement concludes by saying:

“Well done to both South Gloucestershire and Bristol City Councils for working together on the joint bid – this is a fantastic piece of news and the Government should be thanked for its commitment to our local area.”

More info: North Fringe to Hengrove Package (The Journal)

The Editor comments

This scheme, while likely to be welcomed by many in Bradley Stoke and Stoke Gifford, still has long way to go before it becomes reality. The current delay to the approval of SGC’s Core Strategy is likely to have an impact and the recent decision by planning officials to earmark the Filton Airfield site for development could necessitate a re-think of transport plans for the whole North Bristol area.

The project’s dependency on (housing) developer contributions could also easily lead to delays as planned developments fail to materialise due to the depressed economic climate. December 2016 seems a long way off but don’t hold your breath – experience tells us that it’s likely to be later!

Experience also tells us that costs often escalate on long-term projects like this, so expect to see some (more) pruning in the coming years, particularly as any overspend will have to be met by the two local authorities and not central Government. The new bus-only junction onto the M32 is predicted to be the first casualty.

Footnote: There already seems to be some disagreement about the total cost of the project, with the MPs quoting £102 million, the West of England Partnership’s “best and final bid” £97 million and the DfT’s announcement £92.9 million.

Representatives of a group campaigning for improved road safety measures on Bradley Stoke Way will tonight (Wednesday 14th) address a meeting of South Gloucestershire Council (SGC) in a debate secured through the Council’s petitions scheme.

Two serious accidents involving school-age children on the stretch of the road near the Willow Brook Centre earlier this year led to a group of concerned parents and residents launching a public petition to force a debate at a meeting of Full Council – through a mechanism enshrined in the South Gloucestershire Petitions Scheme.

Officially launched on Saturday 15th October, two weeks after the second serious accident on the road, the petition soon achieved the 2,500 signatures required to force a debate and the number of supporters has since grown to over 3,900.

The petition called on the Council to install a new ‘raised table’ toucan crossing, replacing the two drop kerb uncontrolled crossing points where the recent accidents have occurred. It also demanded conversion of the dual carriageway stretch of Bradley Stoke Way to a single lane, the introduction of a 30mph speed limit and the installation of improved warning signage and over-speed indicators.

Since the petition was launched, the Council has committed to installing a new toucan crossing between Wheatfield Drive and Savages Wood and extending the 30mph speed limit in a northerly direction so that it includes the new toucan crossing. The 30mph zone will also be extended in a southerly direction south of the Savages Wood Roundabout – to include the existing toucan crossing between Snowberry Close and Champs Sur Marne.

The Council has so far resisted the petitioners’ demand for the new toucan crossing to incorporate a speed table (on the grounds that the road is used by buses and emergency vehicles). The current plans also don’t meet the request for the dual carriageway section of the road to be reduced to a single lane.

A large number of campaigners attended the Bradley Stoke Safer and Stronger Community Group meeting on 1st November, where SGC’s head of Street Scene and Transport Services Mark King outlined the changes being proposed and answered questions from the public.

Mr King said it was hoped to implement the current proposals by “the back end of March [2012]“. He promised that the Council would look into the possibility of “narrowing the lanes down” but added that this would need to be done without compromising plans to introduce a new bus lane as part of the North Fringe to Hengrove Rapid Transit Package.

One member of the public called for a 30mph speed limit to be applied along the full length of Bradley Stoke Way, claiming that this was requested in the wording of petition. This would be easier to enforce and less confusing for drivers, she added.

Another speaker pointed out that there had been another recent accident (on 31st October) on Bradley Stoke Way, at the site of an uncontrolled crossing near the bridge over the nature reserve. Although no pedestrians were involved in the accident, which involved a car (alleged to have been speeding) and a motorcycle, it had occurred at a time when children were walking to local schools. This was further justification for extending the 30mph speed limit, the speaker added.

When The Journal’s photographer visited the site of the 31st October accident a few days later, the bollards and street lamp on the pedestrian refuge in the centre of the road could be seen to have been flattened in the accident. Although the crossing seems to be intended only to provide access to a bus stop on the eastern side of the road, a number of students making their way home from Bradley Stoke Community School were witnessed using the crossing in preference to the toucan crossing further up the road.

The chances of Bradley Stoke gaining a fast and reliable bus service linking the town with the centre of Bristol have become significantly slimmer following an announcement made by Chancellor George Osborne in last week’s Autumn Statement.

The £97 million North Fringe to Hengrove Bus Rapid Transit Package failed to appear in a list of 20 projects winning a total of £386 million of funding from the Department for Transport, in contrast to two South Bristol schemes which together picked up £61.1 million of Government money.

The North Bristol scheme is now left in the remaining pool of 25 projects, fighting for a residual £244 million that is due to be handed out before the end of the year.

South Gloucestershire Council and Bristol City Council have jointly asked the Government for a £51.1 million contribution to the scheme but the central funding pot is now oversubscribed by 249%, up from 96% before the Autumn Statement.

If the scheme fails to attract Government funding, the bus service aspect of the scheme is likely to be dropped but South Gloucestershire Council would be left to foot the full cost of the Stoke Gifford by-pass, which will still have to be constructed to support the building of 2,000 new homes on land between the Winterbourne Road and the Avon Ring Road (the ‘East of Harry Stoke’ new neighbourhood foreseen in the Council’s Core Strategy).

The by-pass, known officially as the Stoke Gifford Transport Link, will link Great Stoke Way with the Ring Road via a new bridge over the London to Bristol railway line.

Should the scheme defy the odds and succeed in attracting government funding, it will see a new bus lane constructed on the northbound carriageway of Bradley Stoke Way from the Savages Wood Road Roundabout (near the Leisure Centre) up to the Aztec West Roundabout, where a new bus-only ‘straight through’ left-turn lane will be constructed onto the A38 southbound.

New bus lanes would also be constructed on Bradley Stoke Way southbound, between the Aztec West Roundabout and Woodlands Lane and on the approach to the Great Stoke Roundabout on the Winterbourne Road.

A further bus lane would be constructed on the northbound carriageway of Great Stoke Way on the approach the the Great Stoke Roundabout.

Between the Aztec West Roundabout and Cribbs Causeway, the ‘rapid’ bus service would follow the route of the existing route 73 service, although it will be rather less than ‘rapid’ along Highwood Road in Patchway, where a 20mph speed limit will apply once the work to convert the road into a pedestrian-friendly ‘linear park‘ has been completed.

In the city centre direction, buses would head down Coldharbour Lane (past UWE) to access the M32 at a new bus-only junction. The existing inbound bus lane at the end of the M32 would also be extended northwards to start midway between junctions 2 and 3.

More information:

• Best and final bids submitted to the Department for Transport on 9th September 2011 (travel+)
• North Fringe to Hengrove Package (The Journal)

A public exhibition in Bradley Stoke later this week will provide more information about a major motorway upgrade scheme that is about to commence on the M4 and M5 near the Almondsbury Interchange.

The £88.6m managed motorway scheme – the first of its kind in the South West – will involve the use of variable mandatory speed limits and use of the hard shoulder as an extra traffic lane to ease congestion.

The scheme will be implemented on the M4 between the top of the M32 and the Almondsbury Interchange and on the M5 between Cribbs Causeway and the Almondsbury Interchange.

Contractor Balfour Beatty  is due to begin mobilisation works next Monday (7th November), which will include the installation of traffic management and site clearance. The hard shoulder will be closed along sections between junction 19 and 20 on the M4 and junctions 15 to 19 on the M5, with three lanes open in both directions. A 50mph speed limit, enforced with average speed safety cameras, will also be in place for the safety of road users and the workforce.

It is expected that construction work will start in full between January and March 2012 (subject to a statutory process being completed), with work due for completion in 2013-14.

The exhibition takes place on Friday 4th November, from 2pm to 8pm, at the Baileys Court Activity Centre, Baileys Court Road [map].

Visitors to the exhibition will be able to find out more about what the works will involve, the steps being taken to minimise disruption during construction, and how the finished scheme will lead to safer and more reliable journeys. Staff from the Highways Agency and contractor Balfour Beatty will also be on hand to answer questions.

When announced by Geoff Hoon, the then Secretary of State for Transport, in 2009, the M4/M5  scheme was set to be started in Spring 2010 and be fully operational in 2012. Those dates have since slipped by almost two years.

Speaking after the recent announcement of the awarding of the contract to Balfour Beatty, current Roads Minister Mike Penning said:

“This £88.6 million investment shows the Government is delivering on its promise to invest in transport schemes that reduce congestion, improve safety, and support economic growth. At the height of construction hundreds of people will be working on this project that will provide much needed additional capacity for more than 140,000 road users who use these motorways every day.”

“Our experience shows that managed motorways deliver significant safety and journey time benefits. That’s why the Government has committed to start work on eleven managed motorway schemes by 2015, including the M4/M5, while the Highways Agency is ensuring value for money and making excellent progress against its commitment to reduce the cost of major capital projects by 20 per cent across the roads programme.”

Construction work on the M4 will begin in January 2012 and is expected to last for about a year. Work on the M5 will start after Easter 2012 and is also likely to take a whole year, meaning that traffic management measures will be in place on both motorways over the busy 2012 summer holiday period.

Balfour Beatty say they will use an advanced “quick movable barrier system” to implement overnight lane closures, ensuring that a full set of lanes remains in use during peak hours.

Work required to implement the scheme includes strengthening the hard shoulder, building emergency refuge areas and installing sensors in the road to measure traffic levels and speeds. Additional CCTV cameras will also be installed to monitor the motorways and emergency refuge areas.

Complete overnight closures of the two motorways will be necessary to install 33 new ‘super span’ gantries (21 on the M5, 12 on the M4). The massive gantries will be assembled and wired-up at a building on the Aztec West Business Park, which will also house the project office for the construction team.

Once completed, the scheme will be managed from the Highway Agency’s South West Regional Control Centre in Avonmouth. Opening of the hard shoulder lanes to traffic will be triggered dynamically by traffic levels and it is anticipated that this will happen between around 7am and 10am in the morning rush hour and between 4pm and 6pm in the afternoon.

For those unable to attend on Friday, the exhibition is being repeated at the Coniston Community Centre in Patchway on Saturday 5th November, between 10am and 4pm.

More info: M4 J19-20 and M5 J15-17 Managed Motorways (Highways Agency)

South Gloucestershire Council (SGC) has announced that a range of new measures are to be introduced to improve road safety on Bradley Stoke Way, in the vicinity of the Willow Brook Centre.

The news follows two serious accidents on this stretch of road this year alone, both of which involved children who were using informal crossing points between Savages Wood and the shopping centre.

A public petition for improved road safety measures launched after the most recent incident attracted 2,600 signatures in just six days after it was officially launched by concerned parents and residents on 15th September.

The planned improvements announced today include extending the existing 30mph speed limit zone and constructing a new light-controlled pedestrian crossing.

SGC officers and executive member for planning and transport Brian Allinson met with representatives from local schools on Tuesday 18th October to discuss concerns about road safety at the location and consider options for improvements.

The meeting heard that following the recent serious injury accident on Bradley Stoke Way in September, the council had implemented a number of measures to tackle traffic speed, including introducing additional road signs and markings and requesting police mobile speed enforcement.

Cllr Allinson also announced that a programme of work has now been drawn up to extend the area covered by the existing 30mph speed limit and to change two existing dropped kerb crossing points into one new light-controlled pedestrian crossing.

An SGC press release explains that the developments have been made possible through the availability of ‘Section 106′ funding from development in the Bradley Stoke area, and are being brought forward as part of planned improvements on Bradley Stoke Way through the North Fringe to Hengrove Package major transport scheme bid.

Consideration is also being given to erecting additional railings at the site in order to take an existing drop kerb crossing point out of use, and to introducing permanent speed reminder warning signs either side of the proposed new light-controlled crossing.

Cllr Allinson said:

“South Gloucestershire Council takes road safety extremely seriously and we are very concerned about the recent accidents on Bradley Stoke Way.”

“I am very grateful to local schools for the opportunity to meet with them and discuss their concerns about road safety at this location.”

“Council officers have now prepared an outline programme of work for permanent measures to tackle road safety on this stretch of road and I understand that, provided no objections are raised during consultation, work will be able to commence on site from March 2012.”

The Council’s proposals are due to be discussed at the next meeting of the Bradley Stoke Safer and Stronger Communities Group on Tuesday 1st November at the Baileys Court Activity Centre (7pm start), where Mark King, SGC’s Head of Streetcare, will give a presentation.

The minutes of the 18th October meeting reveal that the Council also plans to extended the 30mph speed limit to include the existing toucan (light-controlled) crossing south of the Savages Wood Roundabout (between Snowberry Close and Champs Sur Marne).

More info: Plan of “reactive safety measures” already in place on Bradley Stoke Way [PDF, 459kB]

Footnote: Section 106 agreements are legal agreements between a planning authority and a developer to ensure that certain works related to a development are undertaken – for example, to provide a community meeting space, open spaces or play area and equipment.

South Gloucestershire Council (SGC) has agreed to draft a proposal for a second toucan crossing on Bradley Stoke Way near the spot where a 13-year-old boy was seriously injured in a traffic accident three weeks ago.

The news is revealed in the latest newsletter of Bradley Stoke Community School (BSCS), where the injured boy is a student in Year 9.

BSCS Headteacher Dave Baker reports that he attended a meeting this week with representatives of SGC, including Cllr Brian Allinson, the Council’s Executive Member for Transport, members of the police force and other local headteachers.

Mr Baker says that the safety of pedestrians crossing Bradley Stoke Way was the only agenda item at the meeting, which was arranged after headteachers, parents and other residents voiced concern that nothing seemed to have been done to improve road safety after an earlier accident at virtually the same location in February.

According to Mr Baker, the Council has agreed to prepare a proposal to:

• Add a second toucan crossing at the crossing point between the entrance to Savages Wood and the entrance to Bradley Stoke Way from Wheatfield Drive
• Reduce the speed limit to 30 mph from just north of the new crossing
• Install railings at the side of the road to discourage people from crossing anywhere other than the two designated crossing areas

There will also be greater police presence in the area to check the speed of motorists as well as some reactive road signs reminding drivers to slow down.

At the present time, there are no plans to reduce the dual carriageway stretch of Bradley Stoke Way between the Willow Brook Centre and the Leisure Centre to a single carriageway – the Council will review this once the other measures are in place, adds Mr Baker.

The latest news on the injured boy, Ben Thompson, is that he is now able to breathe on his own and has therefore been moved from the Critical Care Unit at the Bristol Children’s Hospital to Frenchay Hospital.

A public petition to force SGC to debate a set of road safety improvement measures on Bradley Stoke Way demanded by local residents achieved the required 2,500 signatures within six days of being launched. For further details of the petition and how to sign, see: Road safety improvements petition launched.

Local MP Jack Lopresti says he has asked the Roads Minister, Mike Penning, to see if there is anything the Government can do to assist SGC in addressing the issue.

Photo: Official launch of the Bradley Stoke Way road safety petition.

A formal petition calling on South Gloucestershire Council (SGC) to implement a series of road safety improvement measures on Bradley Stoke Way is to be officially launched tomorrow (Saturday 15th).

The move comes after an accident on Friday 30th September at a recognised crossing point on the busy road, in which a 13-year-old boy, believed to have been riding a mini-scooter, was in collision with a motorcyclist. The boy suffered serious head, abdomen, arm and leg injuries and was taken to Frenchay Hospital, where he remains in a critical but stable condition. The motorcyclist was also taken to hospital with a broken leg and a broken arm.

A similar accident in February this year, that occurred at an “informal crossing point” just 40m away from the site of the most recent incident, left a 10-year-old cyclist with life changing injuries after he was in collision with a car.

Both of the incidents occurred in the area where Bradley Stoke Way changes from dual to single carriageway, just north of the Willow Brook Centre.

Organised by a group of concerned parents and residents, the petition calls on the Council to install a new ‘raised table’ Toucan crossing, to replace the two drop kerb uncontrolled crossing points where the recent accidents have occurred. The group is also demanding that the dual carriageway stretch of Bradley Stoke Way to be converted to single lane traffic, the introduction of  a 30mph speed limit and the installation of improved warning signage and over-speed indicators.

The petition, which has been running online since Monday 10th October, will be officially launched at the Willow Brook Centre at 12 noon on Saturday. Residents will be given the chance to sign up on the day and will also be able to take away a signature form to allow them to collect further signatures. [A signature form can also be download here]

Under SGC’s Petitions Scheme, if the petition is able to attract 2,500 signatures, the Council will be forced to debate the matter at a meeting of its Full Council.

Dave Baker, headteacher of Bradley Stoke Community School (BSCS), the school attended by the 13-year-old injured in the most recent incident, has called for “an urgent review of speed limits and safety measures on and around Bradley Stoke Way” and questioned why no changes have been made after he and Jon Barr, headteacher of Meadowbrook Primary School, met with the Highways Department at South Gloucestershire Council in July.

When The Journal asked SGC for a response to the concerns raised by the two headteachers, we were provided with the following response:

“South Gloucestershire Council takes road safety extremely seriously and we are very concerned about the recent incidents on Bradley Stoke Way.”

“Following the serious injury accident involving a child in February this year, a representative of the council’s Transportation Services team met with the child’s parents and the headteachers of Meadowbrook Primary School and Bradley Stoke Community School to discuss their concerns and consider options to improve road safety at this location.”

“It was agreed that the council would implement a speed monitoring exercise on Bradley Stoke Way when schools returned from the summer break in order to better understand traffic speeds at this location. The speed monitoring exercise was underway at the time of the second accident and should be completed by Friday 14th October.”

“Since the accident on Bradley Stoke Way last week, the police have been asked to undertake mobile speed enforcement to help deter speeding at this location. We are also introducing additional road signs and markings, including speed activated signs, as a matter of urgency.

In response to the Council’s statement, the two headteachers told The Journal:

“We are pleased that South Gloucestershire Council have agreed to meet both schools next week to discuss what action can be prioritised to address our shared concerns about children’s safety and Bradley Stoke Way. The response of the community on the e-petition has reinforced our commitment to ensuring there are changes in the way people drive on that road.”

Accident statistics provided to the Bradley Stoke Journal by SGC show that there have been 29 personal injury accidents on the stretch of Bradley Stoke Way between Patchway Brook Roundabout and Webbs Wood Road Roundabout in the five year period up to 31st July 2011.

An initial analysis of the data shows that five of these accidents involved personal injury to young persons aged 17 or less crossing the dual carriageway section of the road near the Willow Brook Centre. All but one of the incidents occurred on the Toucan crossing opposite the Leisure Centre. Further analysis will be given in a future article in The Journal.

Bus shelters in Bradley Stoke deemed too shabby for a prestige bus route enhanced by millions of pounds of government money are to be replaced as part of a £140,000 package of additional spending.

Local Councillors expressed concern in 2009 when South Gloucestershire Council (SGC) began ripping out many of the Town Council-owned green bus shelters and replacing them with hi-tech silver flat-roofed ones at a cost of £20,000 per stop.

Town Councillors demanded that SGC put the old shelters into storage for possible use at sites where there is currently no shelter but this turned out to be impractical due to damage caused during removal.

The West of England Partnership, responsible for overseeing the £70 million Greater Bristol Bus Network project, originally planned to leave a small number of old-style shelters along the 73 route in Bradley Stoke but has now decided to spend extra cash to replace the small number that remain in order to improve the image of ‘Corridor 4′ that runs from Bristol city Centre to Cribbs Causeway.

The extra money was approved at a recent meeting of the WoEP’s Joint Transport Executive Committee, justified by the following agenda statement:

“At Bradley Stoke / Little Stoke, there are parish owned shelters which are in a poor condition due to age, and the comparison with the new Trueform shelters that have been erected is very noticeable. The image of Corridor 4 will benefit from the replacement of these shelters by providing a more aesthetic and consistent standard of shelter provision.”

The extra £140,000 spend covers upgrading shelters in Bradley Stoke and Little Stoke and improving the pavements at shelters in Filton Avenue.

The new shelters already installed in Bradley Stoke are currently being wired up with electricity to power real-time displays that will show the estimated arrival times of the next three buses. Trenches are being dug to tap into the power supply at the base of an existing street light (often not the nearest one, as we reported last week).

The old-style bus shelters had been due to receive a lick of paint in October 2010 as part of a community action day by staff from local McDonald’s restaurants but the initiative was cancelled due to poor weather.

South Gloucestershire Council has opened a public consultation on proposed casualty reduction measures for the Patchway Brook Roundabout on Bradley Stoke Way (adjacent to the Aldi store).

The purpose of the scheme is to reduce the number of personal injury accidents involving cyclists and motorcyclists at the roundabout, which joins Bradley Stoke Way, Pear Tree Road, Brook Way and Bowsland Way.

For the three year period 2008 to 2010, eight personal injury accidents were reported to the police as having occurred at the roundabout. Of the eight accidents, seven involved either a cyclist or motorcyclist. Five of the accidents involving a two-wheeled vehicle occurred when a car driver either entered or exited from the roundabout and collided with a cyclist or motorcyclist travelling around the roundabout.

The following measures, designed to reduce accidents involving two-wheeled vehicles, are proposed under the scheme:

• Reducing the width of the circulatory carriageway around the roundabout whilst retaining two traffic lanes around the roundabout;
• Installing cycle symbols at the entrances to the roundabout to remind drivers to look out for cyclists;
• Installing an additional yellow box marking at the exit to Brook Way.

The consultation runs until midnight on Thursday 29th September 2011 and the Council says it will publish the results by 1st October 2011.

The scheme is also likely to be discussed at this Tuesday’s meeting of the South Gloucestershire Cycle Forum, which takes place at Bradley Stoke Leisure Centre (6pm to 8pm).

Subject to the comments received during consultation, the scheme is scheduled to be implemented in the current financial year.

A separate consultation on the installation of a raised table at the zebra crossing on Pear Tree Road (near Holy Trinity Church) is also currently in progress. The end date for that consultation is Monday 19th September 2011.

Residents in Bradley Stoke are being asked to comment on a proposed raised zebra crossing to make walking to school safer for local children.

The 2011 Travel Plan for Holy Trinity Primary School has identified an increase in the number of drivers failing to stop at the zebra crossing outside the school on Pear Tree Road [Street View].

Speed surveys taken on Pear Tree Road in the vicinity of the school also identify vehicle speeds greater that 30mph.

The Travel Plan states that pupils are discouraged from walking to school due to the lack of safe places to cross the roads.

In May 2010, South Gloucestershire Council (SGC) received a petition from the school and parents highlighting these concerns.

Bradley Stoke’s Mayor – and now District Councillor for Bradley Stoke North (since May) – Ben Walker organised a site meeting with the Council’s transport chief, Cllr Brian Allinson, to explore what could be done, including the possibility of creating a raised zebra crossing.

Funding for this scheme was then agreed by councillors at a Southern Brooks Area Forum meeting in March 2011 after having heard from Cllr Walker at the meeting about the need for action.

Commenting on the consultation that has now started, Cllr Ben Walker (Con, Bradley Stoke North) said:

“The school and local parents have done a great job in highlighting this local road safety issue and I was pleased to be able to support their efforts in securing funding.”

“There can be no justification for speeding drivers who fail to stop at this crossing, particularly when pupils are crossing on their way to and from school – something needs to be done.”

“Now that the consultation on this scheme has started, I would encourage residents to respond so the council knows the strength of local feeling there is on the need for action.”

The consultation ends on Monday 19th September and details can be found on South Gloucestershire Council’s website:

• Bradley Stoke – Pear Tree Road – Raised Zebra Crossing (SGC)

Bus route and timetable changes scheduled for mid-September look set to leave a large part of South Bradley Stoke without a direct daytime service to Bristol city centre.

South Gloucestershire Council (SGC) has confirmed rumours that the 71 and 72 bus services operated by Wessex Connect are to be withdrawn from 18th September.

The hourly 71 service, which links North Bradley Stoke with Little Stoke, Filton and the city centre on weekdays is to be replaced by a new U8 service that operates at peak hours only.

The 72 service, also hourly during the day Monday to Friday and linking South Bradley Stoke with the city centre via Little Stoke and Filton, will be replaced by a new U7 service linking Cribbs Causeway and the University of the West of England (UWE) at Frenchay.

Users of the new U7 service wishing to travel to the city centre will have to change onto other routes at Parkway Station or UWE (in term time only).

Another new service, labelled U7A, will provide a small number of peak hour journeys between Aztec West, Parkway Station and UWE.

A number of readers have contacted The Journal to complain about the proposed changes, some of whom are known to have also contacted Bradley Stoke Town Council and SGC.

SGC gave us the following statement:

“This service [71/72] has been operated by Wessex Connect on a mainly commercial basis, but the company has recently decided that this service is no longer viable to operate commercially and have therefore withdrawn the service and used these resources to support the U7/U7A and U8 routes.”

“There are other services available from Orpheus Avenue (service 73) or Elm Close (service X73).”

“The council will continue to discuss this issue with the current operator.”

One reader, who currently travels on the 72 from Ellan Hay Road to Rolls Royce, wrote:

“The 72 bus doesn’t offer a particularly satisfactory service at the best of times as it only runs hourly and sometimes doesn’t turn up. However it has been the only possible travel option available to me. I am disappointed to see that Wessex Connect is now proposing to withdraw it and replace it with a link between Cribbs Causeway and UWE, assisting students with their transport but completely disregarding the Bradley Stoke South Council Tax payers.”

Another reader, who catches the 72 from Baileys Court Road and travels to the city centre, wrote:

“We have never had a decent bus service in the south, certainly since I moved here in ’97, and when First Bus withdrew the service 74 we were told that it wasn’t viable because the town, especially the South, was built for car drivers!”

“I just wonder how we are supposed to get to and from work and, also, how people who rely solely on the bus are meant to get around. A lot of residents in Bradley Stoke South are now ‘getting on in years’ and are not able to walk to Orpheus Avenue for a 73.”

Wessex Connect failed to respond to an emailed request for a statement and their head office telephone system repeatedly terminated our calls before we got to speak to anyone. A source at the Bristol depot told us that the fate of the 71 and 72 services was in the hands of SGC.

The latest cuts follow the withdrawl of the 74 and 74X services in February 2009, a reduction in the frequency of the 73 service in February 2010 and the withdrawl of the 73A service in September 2010.

Related link: Bus services in Bradley Stoke (The Journal)