Bristol BRT2 route – Ashton Avenue Bridge

Eviction of Stapleton Allotments has begun.

A very sad day.

Meeting is tonight – 7.15 pm, the YHA.

Some Post coverage: Metrobus meeting: Bristol campaigners angered by snub from officials – not that they would ever turn up, of course.

Metrobust works now increasingly visible across the city…

Meanwhile they give evasive answers in response to FOI requests:

http://stopbrt2.org.uk/vague-answers-show-brt-weakness

Final bill will be interesting – especially given pressure on BCC budgets elsewhere (libraries, social care, etc).

PSA for anybody interested:

The Ashton Avenue Bridge will – apparently – be closed to pedestrians and cyclists for a year, from this coming autumn onwards. There will be a signed diversion via Brunel Way. It’s not a pleasant prospect for those who value the Festival Way as a safe, vehicle-free route into the city.

So, the wretched Metrobust rolls on… whilst the Henbury rail loop is kicked into the long grass. Transport planning in this city is utterly screwed. 🙄

The once-leafy Butterfly Junction is now a depressing sight. 😥

Ashton Avenue Bridge is scheduled to be closed from early october, apparently – ironic that the Metrobust works will cause such a hassle for cyclists and pedestrians… the very people who’ve made an effort to get out of their cars.

Do I have this completely wrong, or are they planning to divert people up and over the flyover while the bridge is shut?

Two flights of stairs plus four lanes of traffic, what could possibly go wrong?

what could possibly go wrong?

Well indeed.

Apparently, there’s some talk of ramps – although I’m not sure about the details.

I would suggest something like this:

why is Bristol so anti-development in general? I’ve lived here for a decade and have never know a city that actually gets so little done in terms of developing infrastructure as Bristol.

metrobus on its own wont solve the transport problems of Bristol but it is a start. the city has been grindingly slow for years due to the mass of cars. making a start on new mass transit infrastructure is surely a good idea? once this part is complete other projects can feed into it to improve connectivity all over the city.

People always seem to be banging on about resurrecting old rail lines, but buses are infinitely more flexible modes when you seek to develop a city wide network of fast cheap travel. (Although granted Metrobus isn’t cheap!)

You are correct Rob, we do need much better public transport in Bristol, the problem with MetroBus is that it is being built on some of the few green areas and pedestrian/cycle areas that do exist in Bristol.

So rather than encouraging people to use alternative transport to cars it takes safe space away from those of us who already aren’t using our car.

I, personally, am all for public transport but not at the cost of safe cycle and pedestrianised areas. The space for MetroBus should be coming out of the existing road space. If they can’t do that then they should be looking at light rail as that is already there.

Robw1 – Totally agree with your post. Bristol has far to many do gooders who want all the lovely aspects of say a modern public transport system but don’t want it in their back yard or if it rips up that tiny bit of waste ground. Just look at all those protests about the metro route near the M32. It is not nice piece of land, it never has been, it is right besides the M32 for god sake. I totally agree with people standing up and stopping say the development of Ashton Court or other lovely areas but nothing ever gets built in Bristol.

People do have to realise that if they want a lovely public transport system and open east to cycle on streets in the centre then they have to rip a good chunk of things down to build this and they need a ring road that actually goes all the way around the city to get cars out of the city centre.

It also doesn’t help that some idiot a few years ago decided that the Bristol city boundary would run through Filton so if anything needs to be done in the north of the city you have to get BCC and South Gloucestershire council to agree on things and for some reason they hate each other and always have.

I’ve no problem with improving public transport in Bristol, for pity’s sake… but the AVTM (BRT2) is a ludicrous scheme – it offers no advantages over the arterial Hotwell Rd P&R, and comes at staggering financial cost (not to mention the impact on green space along the Festival Way). Everybody knows that the BRT planning “process” has been driven by the need to secure DfT funding, rather than good design – hence we’ve ended up with the frankly-bonkers re-route down Cumberland Rd (which will divert AV P&R commuters AWAY from the centre!), among its many other failings. It’s an utter shambles.

The scheme’s supporters have yet to demonstrate that Metrobust represents VFM (not least given the escalating liable costs to Brizzle), or that it will provide/sustain a modal shift in transit. In short, the whole thing is an embarrassment – hardly “do-gooding” to point that out.

If anybody has evidence to the contrary, please don’t be shy.

I entirely agree about the council boundary/rivalry… it’s dysfunctional.

We need an ITA.

Rob, just to be clear, this is what was originally proposed for Bristol:

It’s fugly but it works. The Bristol one was going to be this but it was quickly found to be unworkable, so what we have instead is a sexy park and ride, with just a tiny increase to the capacity of the existing bus network.

While the overall message of the Stop BRT2 campaign has been strongly negative, as you’d expect, they have made constructive suggestions for improvement, such as routing the bus down Hotwells Road. Hotwells is 4 lanes wide, with a complete dog’s dinner of bus stops, bus lanes, and short stay parking that’s mostly useful for popping to the Spar. Instead of sorting this out, and losing a tiny amount of road and parking capacity, they’re taking space away from walking and cycling routes.

Do I have this completely wrong, or are they planning to divert people up and over the flyover while the bridge is shut?

Two flights of stairs plus four lanes of traffic, what could possibly go wrong?

There are ramps already in Greville Smyth park and near the bank of the new cut, and a second temporary one is being built. It remains to be seen whether they can be negotiated with a trailer, else it looks like I’m going to be driving to nursery for the next year. The irony is not lost on me…

Does it look like there’s going to be a separate footway? They can’t be expecting people to play chicken with the traffic on the flyover, surely…

Does it look like there’s going to be a separate footway? They can’t be expecting people to play chicken with the traffic on the flyover, surely..

There are already separate footways both sides. I use them regularly.

they’re taking space away from walking and cycling routes.

Where exactly are they doing this? I only glanced at the plans some time ago but the impression I got was that there would be more space for walking and cycling once the project was finished.

The whole route is supposed to have a cyclepath/footpath alongside stretching way out past Long Ashton to the A38 somewhere isn’t it? Plus 2 other bits I remember as a benefit to cyclists/pedestrians were the opening up of the route along the old docks railway under the bridge that comes out onto Avon Crescent and a new section of path by the Louisiana to link Cumberland Road with Commercial Road.

Also Ashton Bridge might actually be better for cyclists afterwards. The Butterfly Junction end at the moment is already stuffed full of traffic both parked and moving during office hours. Maybe it’ll be a bit clearer with a just a few buses an hour instead.

Umm, buses every five minutes apparently over Ashton Avenue Bridge.

My personal issue is the Ashton Avenue Bridge area. Getting away from the traffic with children is difficult in Bristol in my area. It was nice that once I’d gotten to Greville Smyth Park I could cycle with my two kids (both on bikes) all the way from there into the harbour side with only one small entrance to a set of flats to worry about. It is nice, it’s pleasant. When the buses come that area will not be so nice. It will not be so pleasant.

Now, again personally, I could accept that if it was going to bring an big improvement in the local public transport. But, as stated above, it doesn’t. And what it does bring is a large cost to Bristol at a time when money is really tight and other services are being cut to fund this as money is finite.

🙁

Where does the bus every 5 minutes figure come from?

In this BBC link they’re talking about reducing it from 5 an hour to 3 an hour. The current Long Ashton Park and ride service is only 1 an hour.

[Edit:… umm, ok, maybe more than 1 an hour, not sure what page I was looking at there]

In this BBC link they’re talking about reducing it from 5 an hour to 3 an hour. The current Long Ashton Park and ride service is only 1 an hour.

[Edit:… umm, ok, maybe more than 1 an hour, not sure what page I was looking at there]

Yes, it’s a project to bring a small improvement to an existing service.

That’s been their line all along, but for most of the route, I can’t see how they can physically create more space for walking and cycling.

The Chocolate Path is still going to be the only cycling provision along Cumberland Road, and while I appreciate being able to use it, it’s a pretty shoddy cycle facility, what with its lumpy surface and narrow corridor.

The route seems to be replacing part of the Festival Way, between Ashton Avenue Bridge and the Brunel Way flyover. There’s a bus stop planned for Butterfly Junction, which will create more disruption.

I don’t think the problems associated with the Create Centre car park will go away either, given that the route turns off up Cumblerland Road before there.

The contract, seen by BBC Radio Bristol’s Chris Brierley also suggests fares could be up to £7 a day

**** my hat. This really does have White Elephant written all over it.

I’m all sad again now 🙁

What’s the deal with the ramp being constructed from the grass by the pump track up to the flyover?

Please do not tell me there’s going to be a diversion over the flyover? 😥

This whole thing is absolutely ridonculous.

Please do not tell me there’s going to be a diversion over the flyover?

Yup – the Ashton Avenue Bridge is now closed. 😐

Please do not tell me there’s going to be a diversion over the flyover?

There’s a diversion over the flyover. It’s not too bad actually as it’s been segregated, but it takes you onto the ramp by Create centre, along a contraflow that was previously one way. So now you have cyclists approaching down the junction from a direction motorists would not expect – it’s an accident waiting to happen IMO. Be careful out there folks.

it’s an accident waiting to happen IMO

Aye, it’s dodgy – already had some nasty moments… 😕

Holy thread resurrection!

Anyone else get wet feet this morning? Apparently, the new flood defences for the metrobus route along Cumberland Rd mean that the spring tide water has nowhere to go, so it now sits on the chocolate path. Brilliant.

Anyone else get wet feet this morning?

I’m not on ‘ere so much at the moment due to being busy with work n’ ting, but I can’t say I’m surprised by this – in the event of a combined heavy rainfall/spring tide flood event, it’s probably worth ditching the bike for a kayak…

In other news: what a well-planned & joined-up project it’s turning out to be… (with Bristol liable for the overspend, of course)

MetroBus to spend £2 million after realising bridge near Ashton Gate would be too low.