TRESA director, Suzanne Audrey, submitted written questions about the potential for improving the route between Three Lamps junction and Temple Meads to Bristol Full Council and received the responses set out below. Unfortunately the proposals are still not clear.
The full set of questions and answers can be found at the link below.
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QUESTION PQ22 & PQ23
Subject: Access to Temple Island/ A4
Question submitted by: Suzanne Audrey
Background
Residents of Totterdown, and other areas of south Bristol, have long suffered the inadequate and potentially dangerous shared walking and cycling (and now e-scooter) route on the footway between Three Lamps junction and the Temple Meads area. Over the years we have been informed that any improvement to the route would be expensive and would have to be linked to a major development. We were pleased when the city-centre arena transport plan included a southern entrance that would alleviate the pressure on the existing route and provide an alternative through Arena/Temple Island.
We note that a decision has been taken to ‘de-scope’ the southern route. We have been in touch with the Mayor’s office and are grateful that more information has been provided, but we are still unclear of the details and implications of de-scoping the southern access.
The information we have in relation to the A4 and the southern access to Temple Island is as follows:
Approval sought to de-scope EW2: Southern Access, £6.45m, from the initial cost profile and programme. It’s now partially replaced by the L&G scheme proposed masterplan which currently includes access from A4 to TI (subject to planning). An internal briefing note detailing the descope of Southern Access has been prepared and appended to this Form.
A4 Vehicle Protection study – £65K: BCC Highways have requested a study of the existing crash barrier and a design of solutions to reduce risk.
Southern Gateway Ped/Cycle link Study – £29K: Feasibility study of additional infrastructure to run alongside the A4 between the Southern Access and SG Transport Hub.
Details of alternative options considered and rejected: Southern Access was considered to be kept in scope, however with new scope identified and required and the L&G scheme now partially replacing the Southern Access with access from A4 to TI (subject to planning), it’s deemed as unnecessary. The funds are proposed be brought back into the contingency.
The surveys on the A4 boundary have been identified by BCC TDM and Highways, and have been added, subject to approval, in order to identify opportunities to synergise between ongoing highways works in the wider TQEZ development.
Question 1
Please can you clarify details of the access that is now proposed, from the A4 to Temple Island, in the
L&G proposed masterplan?
Mayor’s reply: The L&G scheme provides access from the A4 to the Temple Island site (subject to planning). Because of this, and the amount of land the solution would have taken up with concrete, we’ve removed the so-called “southern entrance”.
Question 2
This is a bit cheeky, but I wondered if the Mayor would consider cycling on the shared footway along the Bath Road between Temple Meads and Three Lamps junction at around 5.00pm in order to gain first-hand experience of this route? This might help to emphasise the importance of improving the route as part of the developments occurring in the Temple Meads area.
Mayor’s reply: I am confident the master plan will improve active travel options for people living and moving through the area.