Plans for the Portway face criticism. Advocates say the design ignores disabled people and cyclist needs.
Critics say crossing the road will be hard. Cyclists and walkers will share paths. The speed limit drops from 50mph to 40mph. New bus lanes should make buses faster. Many bus routes already use the road. More bus routes are planned too.
But few people walk or cycle there. Bristol plans to spend £10.7 million on the project. They might spend another £8.4 million on resurfacing. Councillors approved the plans on February 6.
The West of England authority makes the final call. Campaigners want them to rethink it. David Redgewell uses a wheelchair. He is a transport campaigner. He can’t cross the road to the train station. He uses that station often. His friends live in Shirehampton.
Another wheelchair user feels hopeless. They can’t use the footbridge. It’s unusable for some disabled people. “We’ve been planned out,” they said. Can the council help disabled people use the station?
The bridge steps make it hard to move. Cyclists also dislike the plans. They want a separate bike lane. The current plan only widens the pavement. Nick Davies says the road is bad for walkers. It shouldn’t be like a highway. The design has problems.
He says it’s not a bus scheme. It only resurfaces the road.The pavement is too narrow now. Widening it slightly isn’t enough. It will be below the minimum recommended width. Authorities say few people walk there. Pedestrian improvements would cost too much.
The road is wide and trucks use it a lot. A bike lane needs big changes. That would cost around £25 million. Adam Crowther spoke about roadwork problems. Narrow lanes cause issues. Cars get stuck in smaller areas then. This damages those areas more.
He explained resurfacing versus reconstruction. Resurfacing is removing the top layer. Reconstruction means rebuilding the road. It creates a stronger base. Crowther says few people walk or cycle near Sea Mills. A bike lane would be costly there. Few people would use it. Creating a pavement is not good value either.
Bristol needs more pedestrian crossings. But the council struggles to pay for existing ones. The Portway has few walkers. It has many buses. More crossings could slow buses. Don Alexander discussed the pedestrian bridge. People rarely use it. It’s dangerous to use then. He would like it removed.
The council will spend £2 million. This improves a junction near the park. Buses can turn onto the Portway. North Somerset buses will go toward the arena. Local buses will benefit too. A new train station opened in 2023.
