The Bradley Stoke Journal

A scheme to add a bus lane on the northbound carriageway of the A38 between Little Stoke and the Aztec West Roundabout has been amended after a public consultation.

The scheme, first announced by South Gloucestershire Council (SGC) in September, replaced an earlier proposal for a more comprehensive system of new bus and general traffic lanes on roads leading off the Aztec West Roundabout.

That earlier plan was abandoned after First Group changed the route of its 73 service so that it no longer entered the Aztec West Business Park.

The new scheme foresees the creation of a new bus lane (with no reduction in the number of general traffic lanes) on the A38 between the Little Stoke junction (near the Texaco filling station) and the Aztec West Roundabout.

The public consultation attracted 32 responses from individuals and business. The council says it also received two petitions opposing the scheme from residents and businesses in the Patchway and Bradley Stoke areas, containing a combined total of over 300 signatures.

Residents of properties along the A38 said they were concerned about the loss of the existing service lane, which they say helps them to merge into the traffic flow on the main road. They also complained about the loss of parking space and pointed out that customers of the Ambourne House Nursery would no longer be able to queue in the service lane whilst waiting to enter the premises.

The council says that it has now revised its plans following the public feedback:

• The bus lane will operate at peak hours only (7.30am – 9.30am and 4.00pm – 7.00pm)
• Residents will be allowed to pick up and set down passengers while the bus lane is in operation
• A bus lay-by made redundant by the scheme will converted to a limited waiting bay, primarily to serve as an overspill car park for the Ambourne House Nursery

The Journal Comments

While the proposed changes will undoubtedly speed bus journeys between Bristol and Aztec West (and beyond to Thornbury), they will bring little benefit for the residents of Bradley Stoke. It is therefore wrong for the council to present this scheme as a replacement for the earlier Aztec West bus lane scheme, which included two new general traffic lanes on Bradley Stoke Way between the Aztec West Roundabout and Woodlands Lane.

Those new general traffic lanes would have helped ease the notorious traffic congestion that occurs between Woodlands Lane and the Aztec West Roundabout.

SGC has failed to respond to The Journal’s request for an official  statement on the status of the original Bradley Stoke Way plans, but a council representative manning the recent North Fringe Rapid Transit exhibition at Bradley Stoke Leisure Centre inferred that the original scheme has indeed been superseded by the rapid transit plans.

The bus rapid transit system, which is subject to government funding and will not be built before 2013/2014, will see two dedicated bus lanes running between the Aztec West Business Park and Bristol city centre. Regrettably, there is currently no suggestion that this scheme will include any improvements for general traffic flow on Bradley Stoke Way.

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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.

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Bradley Stoke bus users are being warned of temporary timetable changes on the No. 73 route that will see buses arriving a few minutes earlier than usual at stops in the town.

First Group has announced that many journeys on the No. 73 route heading into Bristol will depart Cribbs Causeway up to five minutes earlier than normal from today (Sunday 12th July).

The changes are a consequence of major roadworks taking place on Filton Avenue between Station Road and Stanley Avenue to install a new northbound bus lane. The work is being carried out as part of the £70 million Greater Bristol Bus Network project and is expected to last until October.

Traffic will be allowed to travel as normal from the city towards Filton, but part of Filton Avenue will be closed to all vehicles in the opposite direction.

Buses towards the city centre will be diverted to travel along Station Road, Gloucester Road North and then Wessex Avenue before joining the existing route on Filton Avenue.

Stops on Filton Avenue normally served by the No. 73 will instead be served by a shuttle bus operated by South Gloucestershire Council (SGC) that links with the diverted First Group service.

First Group says the No. 73 services will operate to the normal timetable beyond the junction of Filton Avenue and Lockleaze Road.

More Information:

• Service Disruption Announcement (First Group)
• Filton Avenue Shuttle Bus Timetable (SGC)

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South Gloucestershire Council (SGC) is inviting public comment on a proposed scheme to add a bus lane to the southbound carriageway of Great Stoke Way, near the Sainsbury’s superstore.

The proposed work would be carried out as part of the Greater Bristol Bus Network project, a £70 million scheme to improve bus services on ten key routes throughout the region.

The council hopes that the new bus lane will reduce journey times on the 73 route, which passes through Bradley Stoke on its way from Cribbs Causeway to Bristol city centre.

Delays on this service are particularly bad during the morning rush hour, as traffic queues on the approach to the Abbey Wood roundabout on the Avon Ring Road (A4174).

In its overview of the scheme, the council says:

“The existing carriageway will be widened to accommodate the new bus lane. Therefore, the number of lanes for general traffic will not be reduced. An additional left turn lane will also be available for general traffic on the approach to the Abbey Wood roundabout.”

Taxis, motorcyclists and cyclists will also be permitted to use the new bus lane.

The public consultation runs until Friday 26th June.

More Information: Great Stoke Way Southbound Bus Lane (SGC).

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Familiar green bus shelters on the 73 bus route through Bradley Stoke are being replaced with shiny silver ones funded by the Greater Bristol Bus Network (GBBN).

The old green shelters, owned and maintained by Bradley Stoke Town Council (BSTC), are beginning to show their age and the Council has sruggled to keep them free of graffiti.

Lib Dem Councillor Jon Williams has told The Journal that the new shelters will be owned, cleaned and maintained by South Gloucestershire Council (SGC), saving the Town Council a considerable amount of money.

The 73 route forms one of ten key bus ‘corridors’ identified in the Joint Local Transport Plan of the West of England Partnership, which is formed of the four unitary authorities of Bath & North East Somerset (B&NES), Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire.

Work already completed on the route includes the installation of raised kerbs at fifty bus stops between Bristol City Centre and Cribbs Causeway.

A number of the new shelters have already been installed in Brook Way (see photo above) and it is expected that more will follow.

Cllr Williams says that some stops on the route will have improved waiting facilities and real time information displays, but it is not clear if these features will apply to the Bradley Stoke stops, although Cllr Williams suggests that they will:

“This is really good news for the town. Real time information will enable bus users to plan their journeys and not turn up not knowing when the next bus is going to arrive. My hope now is that the bus services improve in the same way that the shelters have. Unfortunately, First Bus seem intent on making it more difficult to catch a bus rather than easier. ”

Cllr Williams’ final point refers to the fact that First Bus has recently axed two routes serving Bradley Stoke (74 and X74) and made changes to the 73 service which mean that it no longer serves MOD Abbey Wood or the Aztec West Business Park.

The total cost of the GBBN is £70 million – comprising £42 million from the Department of Transport, £20 million from First Bus and £6 million from developer contributions, with the balance funded by the four Councils. The money will be spent on bus priority schemes, new buses, real time information systems, bus shelters and service improvements.

Other GBBN projects affecting Bradley Stoke include a new bus priority scheme at the Aztec West roundabout. Implementation of a similar scheme at the Abbey Wood roundabout on the A4174 is currently underway but there is no news of when work on the Aztec West project will commence.

Related Link: Bus improvement schemes in progress (SGC)