No money available to fix tiny bike lane along busy road

There is “no money available” from a huge £200 million pot of funding to upgrade a very narrow bike lane along the A4 Bath Road. The pavement and bike lane, slammed as “one of the most appalling routes” in the city, is a key commuter route leading to many parts of south Bristol.

The narrow stretch of pavement is shared by pedestrians and cyclists next to a fast four-lane main road, and is often jam-packed with commuters coming to and from places like Brislington, Knowle, Totterdown and Stockwood. And soon 500 more homes will be built just next to it.

Legal & General, the financial giant, is planning to build 500 apartments on Temple Island, as well as offices, a hotel and a conference centre. And many of the people living and working there will also be walking and cycling on this narrow pavement and bike lane.

But there is no funding available from the £200 million which the government gave to Bristol City Council to upgrade walking, cycling and public transport routes over the next five years, according to City Hall chiefs. They did however admit that “this definitely needs addressing”.

The pavement and bike lane is slammed as “one of the most appalling routes” in the city – photo: Betty Woolerton

Transport bosses were asked if any cash could be used from the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement — which is paying for huge works on new bus lanes and new bike lanes elsewhere in Bristol — during a growth and regeneration scrutiny commission on Wednesday.

Suzanne Audrey, chair of Totterdown Residents Environmental & Social Action, said: “It looks like there’s nothing specific in this particular round of funding. But everyone knows this is one of the most appalling routes in Bristol. We’ve been told repeatedly that when money becomes available, something will be done — but it needs to be quite a lot of money.”

The section starts just south from Temple Meads train station with the Bath Road bridge roundabout crossing the New Cut. It then runs past a car garage where a new southern entrance to the train station will soon be built, and along a bridge over the railways, before splitting into the A37 Wells Road and the A4 Bath Road at the Three Lamps Junction.

Both the Wells Road and the Bath Road, key routes into South Bristol, will see major improvements for extra bus priority, as part of Bristol’s plans for its City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement. Elsewhere, walking and cycling routes will be upgraded along these roads, funded by this huge pot of cash. But not the narrow stretch near Temple Island.

Proposals for Temple Island are for a mixed-use scheme that could bring new homes, offices and commercial space to the area, as well as a new hotel and conference facility- image: Legal & General

Pete Woodhouse, transport strategy manager, said: “This is an area that won’t be solved by that project but will definitely need addressing at some point. We recognise it’s a challenging location and it would be beneficial to try and find a way of doing it. This is something that Temple Island or Temple Quarter is likely to be in the right place to sort out.”

Legal & General is currently consulting the public on its plans to develop the Temple Island site, before applying for planning permission from the council. The online consultation asks what the biggest challenges are that the community faces in the surrounding area.

The 2.7-hectare site used to be a train diesel depot but has been vacant since 1995. It was previously planned as the home of Bristol’s new arena, which will now be built in Filton instead. The Temple Island development is one part of the much larger Temple Quarter regeneration project, which will see space for 22,000 jobs created as well as thousands of new homes.

The number of people squeezing onto the narrow bike lane and pavement along the northern end of the Bath Road is expected to rapidly increase over the next few years, but it’s currently unclear if any of the millions invested in the Temple Island development and the Temple Quarter regeneration project will be spent on improving the section.

Main photo: Betty Woolerton

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