December 2016
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Letters and Opinions Bristol North Fringe heading for gridlock Recently, I drove to work at Filton from Bradley Stoke via Braydon Avenue (Little Stoke). I joined the traffic at the miniroundabout at the end and queued all the way to the A38, and then from Patchway all the way to the roundabout at Filton. It took me half-an-hour to go about four miles. The following day, I went via Gipsy Patch Lane and queued all the way along Gipsy Patch until I came to the A38, then joined the queue all the way up to the Filton roundabout; it was no quicker. My car was chucking out whatever cars chuck out for the same time. I now read in the Journal that the former East Works site is being developed into offices, warehouses, hotels and car showrooms … so I carefully looked to see what road improvements were going to be made. Did I miss something in your article? So, let me get this straight: South Glos Council now wants to attract more businesses, as well as agreeing to build 3,500 houses on the other side of the A38 on Filton runway, but with no change to the road infrastructure? Oh yes, ‘the MetroBus’ is the answer. Well it doesn’t go my way! I remember this happening with Sainsbury’s, Sun Life and B&Q, then the MoD and the Abbey Wood Retail Park. They all moved in with zero road improvements, so this council has history. Filton, Patchway and the five Stokes are just going to be totally gridlocked in a few years’ time during rush hour times and it’s going to still be a nightmare for normal residents outside of those times. It’s all very well upgrading the railway bridge at Gipsy Patch with two extra lanes for the MetroBus, but two extra lanes will be needed for cars as well, the A38 needs an extra lane, the dual carriageway from
Winterbourne should continue to the A38. The only hope is that the MetroBus fails and the extra lanes can be used for relieving the already congested roads. South Glos Council is encouraging me, and I know a lot of my friends, to think very hard about staying and living in an area which is going to be a total nightmare to go anywhere or do anything in a few years’ time. No thought has been given to how ambulances and fire service vehicles get around in emergencies during rush hour. I guess it won’t be the time to have a heart attack or house fire. Graham Osborn Bradley Stoke
MetroBus stops are poorly designed Whilst traversing Bradley Stoke Way between Great Stoke (Rabbit) Roundabout and Savages Wood Roundabout, I noticed that the new bus stops constructed for the MetroBus scheme are not set back to allow carriageway flow for other road users when buses stop for boarding/alighting passengers, even though the verges allow ample room for this. Surely, this positioning will only lead to traffic backing up behind the buses when at these stops, especially at peak times of the day – also bearing in mind the increased traffic that will be generated on Bradley Stoke Way when the Stoke Gifford Transport Link (SGTL, a.k.a. Stoke Gifford By-Pass) is complete. The consequences will no doubt be nose-to-tail congestion and frustration for other road users wanting to pass a stationary bus. To say nothing of the danger to pedestrians and passengers wishing to cross the carriageway at and near these stops, which are positioned in close proximity to roundabouts. Are these stops positioned by design for the benefit of all? Surely not. Chris Sheppard Bradley Stoke
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