The Bradley Stoke 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.

More: Extra money will make shelter provision “more aesthetic” »

Town Councillors have urged residents concerned by proposed changes to bus services in Bradley Stoke to attend tonight’s Southern Brooks Area Forum meeting in Filton.

Residents attending last week’s Town Council Planning Committee meeting were advised that the changes were a commercial decision by the operator, Wessex Connect, and not South Gloucestershire Council (SGC).

Protests by bus users and Journal readers have already resulted in an amendment to the originally proposed route of the new peak-hours-only U8 service that replaces the hourly 71 service from 18th September. The new U8 service will now additionally pass through the south of Bradley Stoke, enabling that area to at least maintain a link with Bristol city centre at peak times.

The recent changes can be seen by comparing the (original) version 2 and (latest) version 4 issues of the U8 timetable on the UWE website, although Cllr Keith Cranney warns that “the situation is liable to change from day to day.”

Town Councillors agreed to “write to Wessex Connect raising concerns, on behalf of the residents of Bradley Stoke, with regard to the withdrawal of bus services from the town.”

The Southern Brooks Area Forum meeting takes place tonight (Tuesday 30th) at Filton Community Association, Elm Park, Filton BS34 7PS [map], starting at 7pm.

The main business of the Area Forum meeting will be to allocate the £26,607 of capital grant funding available to voluntary organisations in the Southern Brooks area, which includes Bradley Stoke, Filton, Frenchay, Patchway, Stoke Gifford and Winterbourne, for the 2011/2012 financial year.

Read about the Bradley Stoke groups that have applied for grants »

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.

Read on for SGC’s statement on the latest bus service cuts »

A new northbound bus lane on the A38 Gloucester Road between Patchway and Aztec West has entered service following months of construction and associated traffic disruption.

Work on the Greater Bristol Bus Network (GBBN) funded scheme started in April 2010 and was originally due to finish by October but “engineering issues” and “adverse weather conditions” saw its completion slip to the end of February this year.

South Gloucestershire Council (SGC) says the new bus lane, combined with improvements to bus stops, pedestrian access and road widening, will improve the reliability of bus services and also improve the experience for bus users and reduce congestion for all road users.

The service lane between the Little Stoke junction and Hempton Lane has been converted to a peak-time only bus lane between 7:30am – 9.30am and 4pm – 7pm.

The existing carriageway from Hempton Lane to the Aztec West Roundabout has also been widened to accommodate a new bus lane.

Taxis, motorcycles and cyclists are also permitted to use the bus lanes.

Further improvements include:

• The bus stop on the A38 northbound near to the roundabout has been relocated adjacent to the pedestrian access to the business park to improve access
• The existing pedestrian crossing point on the approach to the roundabout is upgraded to enable cyclists to use it
• An additional on-carriageway cycle lane on the southbound A38 from Aztec West Roundabout
• An additional traffic lane on the roundabout for all traffic heading right toward Woodlands Lane via Bradley Stoke Way

A similar improvement scheme has also recently been completed at Great Stoke Way, near the Sainsbury’s store in Stoke Gifford.

Read on for comments from SGC and First Bus Bristol »

Local Councillors visited Bradley Stoke Community School (BSCS) last week to promote Youth Unltd, South Gloucestershire Council’s (SGC’s) concessionary fares scheme for young people aged 14 to 18.

The Youth Unltd card was introduced by the Council in April 2010 and offers half adult fare for local bus services after 6pm weekdays and all day on weekends and school holidays.

On the 29th and 30th January Youth Unltd card holders can travel for free on all local bus services (excluding Stagecoach) for any journey which starts and/or finishes in South Gloucestershire.

The Council has been working closely with schools to promote this offer including visiting schools during lunchtimes to give students the opportunity to sign up.

BSCS headteacher Dave Baker said:

“This is a fantastic opportunity for our students; there has been a lot of interest in the Youth Unltd bus pass and we have promoted it as we believe it is important for young people to develop their independence.”

Read on to find out who can apply for the Youth Unltd card »

Roadworks to to install a new northbound bus lane on the A38 Gloucester Road in the vicinity of the Aztec West Roundabout are likely to continue until the end of January, according to South Gloucestershire Council (SGC).

The works, which have involved frequent lane closes on the busy route, began in early April 2010.

The completion date was originally given as the end of October but a number of  “engineering issues” saw that date slip to the end of November.

With the works still ongoing six weeks after the revised deadline, The Journal has been given the following statement from SGC:

“Our contractors working on the roadworks at the Aztec West roundabout have experienced significant delays due to the adverse weather conditions. This started with the continuous heavy rain in November followed by the very cold spell in December, which prevented certain works from being carried out. The bus lane is currently scheduled to open in late January, weather permitting.”

The new bus lane is part of the Greater Bristol Bus Network (GBBN) project, a £70 million scheme to improve bus services on ten key routes throughout the region.