South Gloucestershire Council Public Consultation Cycling City Route

South Gloucestershire Council

Public Consultation

Cycling City Route Number 7 – Ring Road Path

Background In June 2008 South Gloucestershire Council, jointly with Bristol City Council, were chosen as Britain’s first Cycling City.

Government funding totalling £11.4 million has been awarded to the area to transform cycling infrastructure and to pioneer innovative ways of making cycling a real transport option for more residents. This funding will be matched by Bristol and South Gloucestershire councils and their partners creating a total scheme value of £22.8 million.

The aim of the Cycling City project is to double the number of cyclists in the Greater Bristol area. To do this we need to promote and encourage cycling through better infrastructure, training and promotion.

The Cycling City project will implement safe, continuous, attractive, comfortable and coherent routes across the project area.

This route has been designed with the help of the South Gloucestershire cycle forum. The forum is a group of regular cyclists who have worked with engineers to ensure the proposed route is suitable and to overcome current problems on the route.

Route

Cycling City Route 7 will run predominantly along the A4174 Ring Road off-road cycle path from the Dramway Roundabout (junction with B4465 Shortwood Hill), to the Bristol City Council boundary in the vicinity of Southmead Hospital (i.e. Kenmore Drive). Although the westernmost section of the route is located away from the Ring Road corridor, continuous direction signing as far as Southmead Hospital will be provided as part of the Cycling City route signing proposals. This route will provide a total length of approximately 10km of predominantly off-carriageway cycle facilities. To make the most efficient use of the available funding and to introduce measures benefiting the greatest concentration of cyclists, improvements are proposed only on the southern and south- western side of the Ring Road.

The intention of this scheme is to provide a continuous off-carriageway cycle route catering for both less experienced and more confident, regular cyclists, thereby improving access to important local businesses such as Hewlett Packard, MOD Abbeywood, University of the West of England and other public amenities and facilities between Emersons Green and Southmead Hospital. This project has been considered in conjunction with other Cycling City Schemes, (such as Route 17 – A38 review) and other proposed developments along the route, to ensure the proposed design includes measures producing tangible improvements within the timescale of the Cycling City project.

Proposed Scheme

• Upgrading and linking existing off carriageway cycle facilities • Provide new 1.8/2.0m (minimum of 1.5m) wide off-carriageway cycle lanes where appropriate • Install green surfacing and highlighted cycle facilities across junctions (including slip roads) with cycle symbols • Install continuity cycle symbols / arrow markings along the length of the scheme.

Timescale

The scheme is programmed for construction during 2010, subject to comments received during the public consultation stage.

Unmanned exhibitions will be held at; Sainsbury’s, Emersons Green BS16 7AE, University of the West of England, Frenchay Campus, BS16 1QY, Filton Sports and Leisure Centre, Elm Park, Filton, BS34 7PS for 2 weeks, commencing from Monday 8th February to Monday 22 nd February 2010. Signs will also be erected along the route and posters displayed locally in advance of the exhibitions.

A layout of the proposals is shown as a preliminary design on drawings:

T002-R007-01 Filton Police Station T002-R007-02 Filton Sports Leisure Centre T002-R007-03 King George Public House T002-R007-04 Station Road Rail Bridge T002-R007-05 Abbeywood Roundabout T002-R007-06 A4174 Opposite Harry Stoke Road T002-R007-07 A4174 Holiday Inn T002-R007-08 M32 Roundabout T002-R007-09 Frome Bridge T002-R007-10 Bromley Heath Road T002-R007-11 Bromley Heath Footbridge T002-R007-12 Church Lane Footbridge T002-R007-13 Lyde Green Roundabout T002-R007-14 The Rosary Roundabout T002-R007-15 Overall Plans (three sheets)

Your Chance to Comment

You are invited to comment on the proposed scheme. Please send all comments by 01 st March 2010 to:

Kevin Bishop/ Florence Ching Mouchel (working in partnership with South Gloucestershire Council) Severn House Lime Kiln Close Stoke Gifford Bristol BS34 8SQ. Email: [email protected]