News / Cumberland Road
New signage to be installed warning drivers of bus gate
New signs are to be installed by the council warning drivers about a controversial bus gate where more than 50,000 penalty notices have been issued since the start of 2024.
Almost £1.6m has gone into council coffers thanks to the bus gate on Cumberland Road but City Hall bosses insist that it “has not been put in place to generate income”.
Bristol City Council, however, has now lost three tribunal cases with two adjudicators calling the existing signs “inadequate” despite an adjudicator previously confirming that the signage is fully compliant with the latest national guidelines.
is needed now More than ever
The bus gate close to the SS Great Britain is by far the council’s biggest earner when bus gates and bus lanes are compared.
In its first full month of operation in January, it generated an income of £447,704 – more than £400,000 more than the bus gate on Victoria Street approaching Bristol Bridge in second place.
In August, 4,081 PCNs were issued to motorists who had driven through the Cumberland Road bus gate raising £58,345. Victoria Street was still in second place (1,012 PCNs; £13,550 income) and the bus gate the other side of Bristol Bridge on High Street with its junction with Baldwin Street was in third place (928 PCNs; £13,125 income).
Red asphalt was added to the bus gate in April – photo: Martin Booth
Bus gate campaigner Matt Sanders said that the Cumberland Road bus gate is on course to become the highest-grossing bus gate in the UK.
Sanders, an art director at Aardman Animations whose HQ is only a stone’s throw from the bus gate, has compiled a 150-page dossier explaining how the bus gate’s signage fails to comply with the Department for Transport’s regulations and guidance.
Sanders is particularly scathing about what he calls the SS Great Britain “honey trap” with visitors leaving the attraction’s car park to retrace their steps towards the city centre contravening the bus gate if they turn left onto Cumberland Road from Gas Ferry Road.
He said: “The bus gate is operating like a carnivorous plant, luring unsuspecting visitors into this locale, and then slamming its trap shut as they attempt to leave.”
Bus gate campaigner Matt Sanders with his suggested new signage – photo: Matt Sanders
A Bristol City Council spokesperson said: “Despite winning 31 appeals and an adjudicator confirming that our signage is adequate, we continue to listen to drivers’ feedback and make changes to the bus gate signage.
“Since the bus gate’s installation we have introduced an electronic sign, red surfacing, and are in the process of installing additional illuminated signage on Gas Ferry Road as part of respecting and responding to the recent adjudication findings.
“We hope that this illuminated signage in particular will provide additional visibility at night and during poor weather conditions.
“The bus gate has not been put in place to generate income. It is there to help reduce air pollution and increase the number of bus travel options for residents.
“The signage installed surrounding the Cumberland Road Bus Gate is compliant with the latest guidance and legislation from the Department for Transport, with the number of signs exceeding the requirements set out by the Traffic Signs Manual.
“Since the introduction of the bus gate, PCNs have consistently reduced and this trend is continuing.
“We understand drivers’ frustration when, without their realisation, they have accumulated multiple fines before they have received the first letter, and while each appeal is considered on a case by case basis we will continue to be sympathetic to people in this situation.”
Main photo: Martin Booth
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