“Our aim is to speed up journeys”
A detailed plan for changes to the Bedminster Bridge roundabouts, Bedminster Parade and Redcliff Hill(Image: Bristol City Council)
Fresh and detailed plans for what is going to happen to traffic, bus lanes, cycle lanes and pedestrians on one of Bristol’s busiest junctions have been revealed by city council chiefs.
Work on the Bedminster Bridge roundabout, Bedminster Parade and Redcliff Hill is expected to start in the autumn and will mean a radical change to the way people travel along, or cross the river.
Initial work to clear some trees that will be in the way of the changes is taking place this month, and will be funded from the West of England Combined Authority metro mayor Helen Godwin.
The biggest change will be doing away with the roundabout layout of the two bridges. Instead, the western old Bedminster Bridge will be only for buses, while general traffic will be two-way on the eastern new bridge.
Meanwhile, there will be pedestrian routes and segregated cycle paths crossing the bridge and the two junctions on either side, to make journeys safer for cyclists and scooter riders, while also clearing the road for general traffic.
Another change will see ‘no turn’ junctions meaning that some journey routes, that currently can happen because the bridges are a roundabout, won’t be possible.
With six roads on either side of the river coming together at the Bedminster Bridge roundabout, there are currently 30 different routes drivers approaching the roundabout could take. That is going to be reduced to just 16, with fewer opportunities to cross the river, and a number of left-turns prohibited.
Cyclists, scooter rides and pedestrians will have an increase in segregated paths and cycleways, including two which cross what is currently the inside of the roundabout on either side of the river.
A detailed plan for changes to Redcliff Hill. It will mean the creation of new bus lanes to enable buses heading south from Redcliffe to Bedminster are able to cross onto the other side of the road and go over the western Bedminster Bridge(Image: Bristol City Council)
“Our aim is to speed up bus journeys and make it much easier and safer for pedestrians and cyclists to travel through the area,” a spokesperson for Bristol City Council said.
“Changes include removing the roundabout and making each bridge two-way: one for buses only and one for general traffic. There would also be separate cycle paths as well as quicker crossings and more pavement space for pedestrians.
“High quality paving would be used to reinforce the important gateway from Bedminster, Southville and all south Bristol to the city centre,” she added.
The full guide is below:
Coming from south/Bedminster A38
Drivers will be directed to the right, and will be able to turn right onto York Road and travel along the south of the river towards Totterdown, or cross the bridge and then will be able to turn left onto Commercial Road, go straight on up Redcliff Hill or turn right and travel along the north of the river on Clarence Road.
Drivers will not, however, be able to turn left and head west onto Coronation Road on the south side of the river.
Coming from the west/ Coronation Road
Drivers will be directed straight on (where at the moment they are turned left across the bridge and onto the roundabout). They will not be able to immediately turn right and go south into Bedminster. They will be able to turn right and continue along the south side of the river on York Road, or turn left and have all three options on the north side of the river.
A detailed plan for changes to the Bedminster Bridge roundabouts, Bedminster Parade and Redcliff Hill(Image: Bristol City Council)
Coming from west/ Commercial Road
Drivers will only be able to turn left onto Redcliff Hill, and any driver wanting to go on a different route will have to travel to the roundabout at St Mary Redcliffe Church and return back. Traffic from Commercial Road is light, because of the bus gate near Gas Ferry Road.
Coming from north / Redcliff Hill
Drivers coming down Redcliff Hill will be able to turn left onto York Road and head down the north side of the river, or bear right as they do now and cross the Bedminster Bridge. The next left turn onto York Road will be closed, but the next two – onto Bedminster Parade or round onto Coronation Road will be allowed. The final turn from Redcliff Hill onto Commercial Road on the north side of the river won’t be allowed.
Coming from north east / Clarence Road
Drivers heading along the north side of the river from Temple Meads will no longer be able to turn left and cross the river at all. Instead, they will only be able to go straight on to Commercial Road or turn right and go up Redcliff Hill.
Coming from south east / York Road
Drivers approaching what is now the Bedminster Bridge roundabout from Totterdown will soon only be able to go left or straight on, and won’t be able to cross the river. They will face the choice of a left turn down Bedminster Parade, or a straight on option which goes across the south of the two bridges as now, and continues west onto Coronation Road.
East Street changes
A detailed plan for changes East Street and Bedminster Parade(Image: Bristol City Council)
Along with the changes further north, there will also be a tweak to the road layout outside Asda on East Street/Bedminster Parade. Traffic coming out of Regent Road and the Asda car park will be included in an expanded traffic light junction, which incorporates the existing pedestrian crossing outside the entrance to Asda.
It will mean motorists coming out of Asda will get a green light to turn onto East Street or Bedminster Parade, without having to wait for the lights to change at the pedestrian crossing nearby to provide a gap in the traffic to edge into.
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