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December 2016
News
Councillors to press for deferral of Hatchet Road bus lane plans
S
toke Gifford’s three South Glos councillors have signalled their intention to formally call for the implementation of a controversial new southbound bus lane on Hatchet Road to be deferred until the impact of the new Stoke Gifford By-Pass on traffic flows through the village are known. The new bus lane, approved by South Gloucestershire Council’s (SGC’s) Environment & Community Services (ECS) Committee in July, forms part of the Cribbs Patchway MetroBus Extension (CPME) scheme, which will link Bristol Parkway Station with The Mall at Cribbs Causeway and serve the new developments planned for the former Filton Airfield site. The councillors’ intended plan of action was confirmed after a packed public meeting held at St Michael’s Primary School on 22nd November demonstrated the strength of feeling amongst local residents against the bus lane proposals. The meeting, attended by around 140 people, was addressed principally by Cllr Colin Hunt, a member of the ECS Committee which approved the Hatchet Road bus lane option and also chair of the West of England Joint Transport Executive Committee, which oversees the region’s MetroBus projects. Facing an audience which seemed to be universally opposed to the Hatchet Road plans, which will see mature hedgerows and scores of mature trees ripped out, Cllr Hunt made it clear from the start of the meeting that he was not prepared to consider any alternatives, saying: “one way or another we’ve got to put a bus lane down there. All we’re trying to do is provide a fast bus service. I understand that you don’t want to lose green space, but we all have to make sacrifices.”
Cllr Hunt revealed that since the decision in July, council officers have been investigating a number of measures that might mitigate the impact of the scheme, such as moving the main area of ‘land take’ over to the Forty Acres side of the road and reducing the width of the bus lane, both of which would lead to less vegetation being taken from Meade Park and adjacent to residents’ homes on the east side of the road. However, both of these options would require further public consultation and thereby delay the scheme. Points made by members of the public ranged from general scepticism about whether any of the proposed MetroBus schemes will succeed in getting people out of their cars to specific questions about the options for Hatchet Road, with one resident describing the committee’s decision as “intellectually challenged,” given that the council’s own technical assessment showed that the less costly options of “doing nothing” or “just adding bus lay-bys” performed equally well or better in terms of journey times. “There must be some other reason why you want to do that. What is the hidden agenda?” she asked. Another resident claimed that it was foolish to be providing a bus lane along just part of Hatchet Road and have no proposals for the rest of it (beyond Ratcliffe Drive). “The buses will just join the rest of the queuing traffic,” he added. “This isn’t about nimbyism, it’s about common sense.” In a comment left on the Stoke Gifford Journal website two days after the meeting, Cllr Ernie Brown, chair of the parish council and one of the three South Glos councillors for Stoke Gifford wrote: “I can see no justification for adding a extra bus lane for
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