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September 2021
News
Two-way traffic returns to Parkway Bridge Cost of removing ‘social distancing’ scheme and implementing new safety measures put at £60,000
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emporary shuttle lights which had been in place at Parkway Bridge since June 2020 were removed at the start of September, coinciding with the start of the new school year and an anticipated increase in traffic levels. At the same time, footways under the bridge have been permanently widened by small amounts and a 20mph speed limit for road users introduced. The move appears to represent a climbdown by officers at South Gloucestershire Council (SGC), who as recently as May 2021 argued that the “experimental” scheme should stay in place for a further 12 months. The measures to temporarily widen the footways on either side under the bridge were originally put in place to allow pedestrians and cyclists to ‘socially distance’ from one another, with traffic
Decision
Two-way traffic back running under the bridge in the first week of September. The extent of the minimal footway widening under the bridge can be judged from the varying distance between the kerb and the yellow line road marking.
reduced to one lane controlled by traffic lights. However, as traffic levels increased following the end of the third coronavirus lockdown, the three Stoke Gifford ward
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councillors were unanimous in calling for the scheme to be removed, whilst at the same time pressing for the longer-term solution of building a second, parallel tunnel through the embankment, dedicated for use by pedestrians and cyclists. Cllr Ernie Brown, writing in the Stoke Gifford Parish Council annual report published in May 2021, said: “The restrictions put in place due to the pandemic have run their course and we are again requesting South Gloucestershire to have them removed.” However, in a briefing note published later that month, SGC officers responded with a recommendation to keep the scheme in place for a further 12 months, saying that it had “encouraged active travel and improved road safety whilst not having an adverse impact on the highway network”. With traffic levels expected to further increase from September as the schools returned, the three Stoke Gifford ward councillors persisted with their demands and were eventually successful in securing a new scheme that will “prioritise safety whilst allowing a more controlled free-flowing traffic”.
A report prepared for SGC’s director of environment and community services, who made the decision to remove the lights, shows that three options were on the table: 1. Retain the scheme for a further 12 months 2. Remove the lights and return to the pre-Covid layout 3. Remove the lights and introduce pedestrian and cycle safety measures Within Option 3, there were three variations proposed: (a) widen the footway on the eastern side and implement a protective pedestrian barrier on that side; (b) widen the shared use path on the western side and remove the footway on the eastern side; and (c) widen the footways by 0.5m on the eastern side and 0.3m on the western side. The decision reached was that Option 3c be implemented, which the report states reduces the carriageway width to 5.7m, adding that this is “an adequate width for two-way traffic”. The cost of carrying out the work is put at “approx. £60,000”, although this sum is said to include “funding for several active travel initiatives [at local schools and businesses]”.
Implementation
The work to widen the footways under the bridge was carried out during a two-week-long series of overnight road closures that started on Monday 23rd August and concluded on Friday 3rd September. The temporary traffic lights and barriers were then removed, allowing two-way traffic under the bridge to resume from the morning of Saturday 4th September. The new 20mph speed limit on Brierly Furlong and Hatchet Road extends from south of the Church Road mini-roundabout to the Ratcliffe Drive roundabout.
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