Since the advent of red trousers, ( city mare, sorry mayor ) Bristol has become a total mess traffic wise. I have had a few jobs in my lifetime... and still have one now! Since my last permanent job in 1999 ended I looked for something I could have control over and enjoy .. so self employed and being paid to travel was top of the list! I settled for courier I have watched the changing face of Bristols roads and traffic since then 2000 been all over the UK, parts of EIRE and Europe. Today I went into town to drop my xyl off, usually I go by bus ...oap card or to pick up from 1 or 2 destinations simple to get at. Today I realised "what a mess the roads are" and I don't mean the roadworks, although these are only there because of what is will be the end result. Bristol is a bowl, with a prevailing wind/breeze blowing up the Avon gorge which keeps the "pollution" trapped. In the 80's I was one of the suffer's of the Bristol pollution sickness as it was later identified as, and had to change my place of work! Traffic has slowed down, ( red trousers) and since condemned as a £million's experiment that doesn't work, has had a multi fold affect on pollution and time travelling from a to wherever. ( will cost even more to go back to original) When travelling through the centre toward park street there is no left turn into Baldwin street! No marked alternatives and no places to " easily turn around " to gain the right turn into it. I became a part of 6 cars queing to do a U turn at CANONS MARSH! the que waiting to go meant you had to pull out, to hope for a kind soul, thus blocking others heading to canons marsh etc .... We are all, those living in the council tax area of Bristol , going to have to pay a further £100 a year to pay the councils way forward, the errors of past ways, expenses of posh luncheons etc AND THE WAGES OF THE JOBSWORTH'S THAT COME UP WITH these idiotic road plans. the hidden agenda of course is of course " the traffic is now so congested in Bristol we have to charge people to be in the central zone that we have screwed up to nake it polluted and congested" THE ARENA, if ever that comes to fruition will be a white elephant, as a lot of the promoters state top class acts want top class money, so either pay £200 a seat for 15,000 or less for more seats. Maybe AG will gain from this? there have been a few successes in the past! so come on SL lets have a few pop concerts in the summer!
As you know John, my commute is from Whitchurch to Aztec West. Luckily I do work offset shifts which see me start very early (06.45) or later (at 11.00) but in the middle of those shifts is also a week of 08.00 - 16.30 which is a complete nightmare. And the most annoying thing about the majority of the road works in and around Temple Meads, is that the work appears to be largely cosmetic. Pretty new kerbs have been laid etc, but we are paying for this, and it will not improve traffic flow or journey times for the thousands like me to have to cross the city every day. I cant say I notice the pollution too much. We are high up in Whitchurch exposed to the winds from the Atlantic, and I don't spend any time in central Bristol luckily. Out here at Aztec on the banks of the Severn awaiting the next set of high winds, there is no sign of pollution either. From the centre, aside from going the long way round via Ashton and Winterstoke Road, to get to the south of the city and beyond on the way to Wells/Yeovil etc, the A37 and the A4 are the only routes available. Both are single lane carriageways and therein lies the problem Bad planning, too many sets of traffic lights and too many cars on the road because public transport is both unreliable and expensive.
Bristols always been a mess traffic wise. Bugger all to do with George Ferguson. My mate was killed by a car driving too fast and may have survived if it had been a 20mph zone. No accidents in my road since it was a 20mph zone. Four in five years before. So well done George. RPZ no problem with them either I had to dig up the garden to park outside of my house. My RPZ cost £2k to pave. An RPZ would have saved me money. Too many cars, not enough space, multiple councils involved not Fergusons doing either. The arena will get ****ed up by Labour and the Tories and the rest of the ****ers who get nothing done. Rees has cost Bristol tens of millions by delaying it. If it got built top bands would play at it and big bands do play at Bris fest, Vegfest, Grillstock and they do not cost £200 to watch.
RA, don't know if you read the report about RT'S 20 ZONING traffc flows etc, friend of mine is in police traffic and backed up part of what it said when he stated the incidences of minor accidents went up dramatically, and stayed up after the 20mph was introduced. It also resulted in more people being killed in the period of observation. HOWEVER he said this [ peeps killed] is a figure that you can compare to in other time periods which are worse or better ( over a number of preceeding years.. ball park was ten years ). the recommendation was to return to previous! Angelic, yep know where you, and work certainly templemeads area will look pretty, the templeway / redcliffe area etc also. Used to work at AZTEC, for 10 years ... and my "shifts" usually outside of the 7-30 to 9 and 445 to 6 30pm traffic slots. In the past 3 years, used to go childrens hospital to collect sample for PATHOLOGY LABS elsewhere in UK took me less than 25 minutes, LAST 2-3 YEARS now takes me 35 - 40 mins, and my stop starting is about 20 plus times as opoposed to maybe 7 or 8! the new geezer Rees? is costing us dear... banned the german market, my xyl said centre was less crowded last Christmas and this as people went elsewhere then and didn't go into town this! ALLEDEDGLY got rid of people who didn't agree with him.... Hitler did that and so did Saddam and a load of other "dictators" DO WE NEED A MAYOR... NO HOPEFULLY more people will vote next time ... ballot paper should have an extra box... the candidates and a box that says NO MAYOR
the problem is there are a dozen sites around Bristol but the idea is also to boost the economy.. cafes pubs restaurants shops.. at temple meads it is ok but parking is an issue! and the capacity is to small? need another 5-7000. Need parking for about 4000 cars? or buses that use park and ride with a late night ticket provisio like last bus midnight? and only for venue holders! picking up at the bus station where at that time of night it is pretty quiet!
Agree, but its a mess because Bristols roads were built for horses and carts, not the 11,000 teachers alone that cross Bristol every day in term time by car. Also Bristol isn't flat like a lot of cities, where Trams or light rail systems come into their own so our own geography/topography doesn't help. Totterdown, Park St, Clifton, Knowle etc. The white elephant that is the Metrobus will also haunt us for years to come in my humble opinion. And why did they not gauge peoples opinions before building it ? They spent millions, caused additional grief for motorists continually having lanes closed on the M32 and now the 40 MPH zone with speed cameras for buses and Taxis. I use the M32 every single day at all times of the day and evening, and can say hand on heart I've see under 10 buses/Taxis use that lane in the months since it's been open. I dont think enough people will use it, plus it comes nowhere near me in Whitchurch which is a densely populated suburban area. We've already lost one of our two main bus services as First Bus gave it up. Wessex then took it on and saved it, albeit with a slightly amended route, and now they want to bail too as they are not making a profit. This is a public service and no two bit bus company should dictate whether they can be arsed to run a bus service or not. They should be made to provide a service. The times I use it (when I go drinking or to a gig) it's always busy. I just don't get it. Whilst I don't want to see 4 lane highways running through the heart of the city in all directions, something has to give and be changed. Not by the cosmetic changes like seem to be happening now, but by creating new roads, cutting out all the sets of unnecessary ****ing traffic lights every 20 yards, or making existing roads more efficient, thus making travelling around easier for residents and visitors alike. The way that the Council and other influences have dictated about the roads, the sports stadiums, airports, and concert arenas over the years is an embarrassment to the city, but as usual it's the minority that are listened to, and that's when common sense goes out of the window across all of the citys needs. Rant over
they asked 30 people..lol think they were all red trews family and work colleagues thousands said they didn't want, hundreds protested ... and what is it going to provide? 200 people not needing to take their car through the chaos it is seemingly giving and will give? ...like 40 zone and multiple traffic lights set for the odd bus ....
I hear there's a spare piece of land at Ashton Vale , I wonder if anyone's considered building it there ?
I can’t really comment on Bristol traffic because I have not lived there for 20 years, only to say that I need to allow at least 4 hours to get to the airport now, whereas in 1996 I commuted to and from Swindon and it took 1 hour - most of that was gong from Bishopsworth to the M32. What I DO know however is that the traffic planner for Bristol is a car-hating militant cyclist. She lodged with my niece in Bedminster. Funnily enough, the head Wiltshire traffic planner is also a non-driver from Gloucestershire. Amazing that such people would be placed in charge of something they have strong negative feelings about. Just like putting a vegan in charge of the British Meat Governing body Oh, wait - that’s exactly. what Corbyn has done - albeit the Shadow minister.
20mph zone is backed by my local school, and councillors. Councillors say accidents are down in BS4. Less people die when hit at 20mph. My friend might have survived. Speeds where I live have dropped. There have been less accident sand NO deaths. The report was bollocks by the way because accidents and deaths had increased far more on roads with speed limits above 30mph as well. Police should be out there doing their jobs and coming harder on reckless drivers who think its ok to break the speed limit.
First bus are vultures who have too much power. I use the bus, I walk, run, cycle and the car. Heres the thing Bristol traffic problems are caused by people like me. There are too may cars and too many driving families like mine. We have a big Land Rover not because we need it because we like it. Selfish in many ways. I use the car too much and sit in traffic jams with all the rest in cars too big and carrying one person because I like it more than the bus. I would rather do that than give my money to first bus. Too accommodate the likes of me we would have to concrete over half the City. We can all point the finger but actually its people like me and virtually everybody. Its easier to blame others for simply not be arsed to want to go beyond the ease of sitting in your own vehicle because you like it more than breathing the same air as ****wits on the number 1 bus ****ed up on drugs shouting about stabbing people up like the last time I used it.
You’re going the wrong way then. One of my plants is in Swindon and my office base is Stancombe in Flax Bourton just behind the airport. I get from Blunsdon to office in just over one hour, ten minutes.
It’s probably the time of day I travel. A friend has a flat in Benalmedina which she lets me rent at ‘mates rates’ so I fly from Bristol to Malaga. In order to manage my holidays efficiently we leave Swindon at 3pm after work. We go M4, M32, past Temple Meads, Bedminster then A38 to the airport. It’s been touch and go the past 2 times but the flights were delayed so we were ok. The M4 was bad around the Chippenham turnoff but also the M32 and town were really slow.
Roads policing is no longer a priority to the government, so, because of the severe cutbacks, it's no longer a Police priority. For years, the fatal/serious injury stats decreased in this country, partly due to the amount of traffic increasing, partly due to technological advances in automotive safety design but also a pro-active policing environment where stop checks were relatively commonplace and actually seeing marked police vehicles was more so!! Other than accidents, I can't remember the last time I saw what used to be called a "jam sandwich" on the motorway. It is human nature to sometimes take chances and knobs driving cars take more than most. If you take too many chances driving at speed, eventually the **** hits the fan big time and often innocent members of the public reap the consequences!! I think most of us who drive on a regular basis believe that the general standard of driving has decreased over the last few years and that the number of "knob" drivers has risen considerably!!!
sorry wrong .. the report was not bo****** it was an independent report solely on the area which is 20 mph. My road got put to 20 mph, and it is almost impossible to do that ! ( bit likr the cartoon joke of the old granny in a clapped out old banger seeing the40 mph sign " my goodness Mabel I don't think my car will go that fast") but we still get the IQ zero " I think my fiesta is a Ferrari boys" using it as a slalom track! The zone is very large and it was like for like, certain areas may over the course of observations may have had improvements or a worsening, the overall picture thogh was negative. You cannot compare 20 zones to other zones as they are completely different kettles of fish. The main problem was "human error" pedestrians, or drivers having to guage "the risk factor " at a slower speed. More bumps! less damage or more minor injuries! We are in a 20 and for 51 years there hasn't been an accident, death or injury ! in fact the only death and 2 accidents were in the section of road closeby they kept at 30. the death was a granny never made sure the car door was shut and the young child fell out and was killed! 2 accidents were pedestrian/cyclist lack of attention.
Yes the report was bollocks. One accident leading led to 17% increase in one 20mph area while in other areas there were massive drops like in BS4. Drops that were not included in the report. these massive drops maybe saved lives, Any reduction in ****ers driving too fast, like the one who killed my friend I am 100% up for because that could be one less family losing a loved one. Agree with others we are no hard enough on these potential murderers speeding around streets.
it is a bad time to leave swindles in so much as traffic in the area at the bottom of the m32 starts to build around 4pm. An alternative at this time is set sat nav to go toward Brislington, then set sat nav to lulsgate and you find get there in less 2 hours. I forget the number of times I have travelled Swindon to my house, [ roughly 750 -800 plus] sat nav says come off at 18! I go 4 miles further via m32 easier driving any time of day I do a motorway at least 80 times a year [ excess off 90 miles one way ] nowa days, agree less of them but still manage probably 1 or 2 every 3 legs of a journey. decreased rather a tame description, plummeted more like it having passed 3.25 million miles in July 2016 I am now heading for 3.5 million, but at just circa 25k a year now as opposed to the peak years of 160k. in my 50 plus years of motoring .. swerved/hit a badger 1974 hit in rear 1977 , driver who had been drinking and was being followed by a policewoman, hit in rear by French driver 2006 in France on his phone, and terminated by a stag in Scotland in 2015 . so my driving I reckon is pretty safe!
one addendum/ question raised answered was boy racers/ persistant speedsters the number caught was very similar to pre 20 days, reason put forward was these idiots drove at a speed to suit them it didn't matter if 20 30 or 40 zones eg road a they drove down at 40+mph it didn't matter if it was 20 30 or 40 road b etc etc. less police and spot cameras do not stop them ...
BS8 RPZ objections highlight Bristols endemic problems - Progress. An objection was one householder wanting to know what provisions would be made for their six family owned vehicles. The 20 MPH zone works very well where I live, and residents are wanting also see speed bumps installed on rat runs where speeding is consistent. They do slow down the knob drivers. Banning them works even more efficiently. You are more likely to be killed by a speeding car than most misdemeanours considered crime. The priorities here are skewed. The car driving lobby is strong and votes, politicians steer clear of it. Just look at the chagrin directed at George Ferguson for what were small improvements to a massive problem.
