The express bus route could soon start serving new communities next year
The M1 Metrobus(Image: Alex Seabrook )
The Metrobus M1 service could be extended next year into Hartcliffe beyond its current final stop in Hengrove. Bristol City Council is also considering building better bike lanes along the new route the express bus service would follow through the suburb in South Bristol.
Transport bosses at the council hope the extension will get more people travelling by bus, cycling or walking, instead of driving. This should reduce harmful air pollution and climate-warming carbon dioxide emissions, while making the roads safer and less congested.
The plans will be considered by councillors on the transport policy committee on Thursday, July 10. If they approve, a full business case would be sent to the West of England Combined Authority. A committee report set out details of the planned extension of the express bus route.
The report said: “The changes proposed will reallocate road space from cars to cyclists and pedestrians, will create a safer environment for women and children using public transport in the area, and create closer public transport links for disabled people and living within the new housing development.”
The M1 would be extended from Hengrove Park to Imperial Park, through William Jessop Way and along Hawkfield Road. A two-way segregated bike path would also be built along Hawkfield Road, which is currently a “shared use” path. Hundreds of new homes are under construction in the area, so demand for getting into the city via all modes of transport is expected to shoot up.
Cycling along upgrades along the extended M1 Metrobus route(Image: Bristol City Council )
The project is expected to cost £4 million, with construction beginning in January next year and ending in September. The money would come from a giant pot from the government called the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement, which can only be used for transport upgrades. In the north of Bristol, the route the M1 follows ends at Cribbs Causeway, which won’t change.
The plans include replacing bus stops at Imperial Park and Hawkfield Road with high quality bus shelters that have real-time information on when the next buses are due to arrive. For six weeks last August and September, the council consulted the public about the plans.
When the consultation launched last year, Green Councillor Ed Plowden, chair of the transport policy committee, said: “The M1 is such an important route through Bristol, used by over 50,000 passengers a week and connecting South Bristol with the rest of the city.
“This expansion would see the bus service go further into Hartcliffe helping even more residents to use public transport and active travel as part of their daily routine as well as making the area safer for pedestrians. By adding to existing routes like this, we are helping travel to become more sustainable and offering more convenient options for people who have already changed, or have plans to change, the way they travel through the city.”