The Bradley Stoke Journal

South Gloucestershire Council (SGC) has opened a public consultation on plans for a major new road transport scheme that will link Bradley Stoke with Bristol city centre.

The scheme, known as the North Fringe to Hengrove Package, includes provision of bus rapid transit services, the construction of a new link road between Stoke Gifford and the A4174 Avon Ring Road (close to junction 1 of the M32 at Hambrook) and a new Park & Ride facility beside the M32 (close to the Coldharbour Lane bridge).

“In principle” funding of £168 million was approved by the government in July and the next step will be the submission of a Major Scheme Business Case to the Department for Transport (DfT) by March 2010. If the scheme is approved, implementation could start in 2013/2014 – according to the West of England Partnership (WoEP), which is fronting the bid on behalf of SGC and Bristol City Council.

Rapid transport is described as a fast, frequent and reliable public transport service provided by buses running, where possible, on traffic-free routes – sometimes on and sometimes off existing roads. Journey times will be reduced by requiring tickets  to be purchased prior to boarding and giving buses priority over other road users at traffic lights.

The long-awaited Stoke Gifford Transport Link, which will combine a bus rapid transit route with a regular road, is intended to relieve the current congestion around Bristol Parkway station. The route will start from Great Stoke Way in Stoke Gifford, running initially behind houses in Kings Drive.  A new bridge will be constructed to carry the link over the Bristol to London railway line, east of Bristol Parkway station.

Maps included in the consultation documents show the bus rapid transit route starting on the Aztec West Business Park and then following the full length of Bradley Stoke Way before using the new Stoke Gifford Transport Link to reach the Avon Ring Road. Buses will then head for the University of the West of England (UWE) campus on Coldharbour Lane before joining the M32 at the new Park & Ride.

Proposed stops along Bradley Stoke Way include Woodlands Lane, Patchway Brook Roundabout, the Willow Brook Centre, Webbs Wood Roundabout and Baileys Court Roundabout.

SGC is staging a number of unstaffed public exhibitions to allow residents to learn more about the proposals. Local venues are:

• From Monday 30th November to Friday 4th December at the Aztec West Centre
• From Monday 30th November to Monday 7th December at the Willow Brook Centre

A staffed exhibition is also being staged at Bradley Stoke Library on Saturday 5th December, from 9am to 12 noon.

The consultation period runs until Friday 8th January 2010.

Related links:

• North Fringe to Hengrove Package consultation (SGC)
• North Fridge Rapid Transit (The Journal)
• North Fringe to Hengrove Package (WoEP)

South Gloucestershire Council has announced that it has scrapped plans for a bus priority scheme on the A38 Aztec West roundabout, saying that the work is “no longer viable” after First Group made changes to the route of its 73 bus service.

The earlier proposals have now been abandoned in favour of a northbound bus lane on the A38 Gloucester Road between the Little Stoke junction and the Aztec West Roundabout.

Consultants working for the Council say that traffic studies suggest that the new scheme could save buses an average of 10 minutes at peak times.

The original scheme also included a number of improvements on the section of Bradley Stoke Way between the Aztec West Roundabout and Woodlands Lane. The status of that part of the scheme is currently unknown.

The Council has opened a public consultation on the new scheme, which runs until 17th October.

An exhibition of the new plans will take place at the Aztec West Business Centre between Monday 28th September and Friday 2nd October.

A poster for the exhibition summarises the proposed changes as follows:

• New northbound bus lane between the Little Stoke junction and Aztec West Roundabout.
• The existing pedestrian crossing point near the roundabout will be upgraded to allow cyclists to use it.
• A southbound on-carriageway cycle lane will be provided from Aztec West Roundabout to The Common.
• An additional lane will be provided on the roundabout to assist the vehicles heading right toward Woodlands Lane via Bradley Stoke Way.
• The bus stop on A38 northbound on the approach to the roundabout will be relocated adjacent to the
  pedestrian access to the business park.

The 73 bus service previously made a loop around the Aztec West Business Park during the morning and evening peak periods, but First Group decided to cut the diversion in an effort to improve journey times between Cribbs Causeway and Bradley Stoke.

First Group has announced changes to the 73 bus service which will see journey times between Bradley Stoke and the centre of Bristol reduced but leave the Aztec West Business Park isolated from the public transport network.

The changes, which come into effect on Sunday 1st February, will see, for example, the existing 08:04 service (now retimed to 08:01) from Kemperleye Way (North) taking three minutes less to reach Bristol city centre.

Time savings between Bradley Stoke and Bristol will be achieved by cutting out sections of the route that visit Filton High School and MOD Abbey Wood. Passengers travelling to the school will have an extra five minute walk from Fox Den Road, while those wishing to reach the MOD will need to alight at the nearby retail park.

Journey times on the section of the 73 route between Bradley Stoke and The Mall, Cribbs Causeway, will be reduced by axing the peak hours only loop through the Aztec West Business Park.

The Aztec West cut, which leaves the business park without public transport of any form, is likely to anger workers from businesses at the far end of the park, who will now have a long walk to access services from stops on the main A38 or Bradley Stoke Way.

The move throws doubt on the rationality of parts of a recently announced Greater Bristol Bus Network scheme to introduce bus lanes at the Aztec West roundabout. Those plans include a new bus lane on the eastbound exit road out of the Aztec West Business Park.

South Gloucestershire Council recently announced plans to create an alternative bus access route into Aztec West from Patchway, via Waterside Drive (which is currently restricted to emergency vehicles).

Related Links:

• Service Changes in Bristol from 1st February – First Group
• Map of changes to services 73, 73A and 73B – First Group
• Guide to Bus Services in Bradley Stoke – The Journal