The work is part government-funded project to improve cycling and walking in the area
Work to install a shared-use pedestrian and cycle path on Cecil road is due to start on November 24
South Gloucestershire Council is set to begin another round of “active travel improvements” on its roads in Kingswood. Starting November 24, work will begin to prepare for the installation of a shared-use pedestrian and bicycle path on Cecil Road, opposite the entrance to Lidl.
Temporary three-way traffic lights will be in place for the duration of the project, which is expected to last four weeks. The work will take place during the day, with residents warned to expect ‘some noise’.
The road layout will return to the usual one-way route between Blackhorse Road and South Road. Similar work on a different section of Cecil Road, between Halls Road and Moravian Road, finished in September.
“Thank you for your patience as we make Kingswood safer and more accessible,” a council spokesperson said.
The work on Cecil Road is part of an ongoing scheme to improve cycling and walking throughout Kingswood, which started in June 2024.
This scheme is administered by the West of England Mayoral Authority and fully funded by Active Travel England, a government agency “responsible for making walking, wheeling and cycling the preferred choice for everyone to get around in England”.
The council has not spent any of its own money on the project, it says.
The works on Cecil Road will contribute to a larger part of the project: the introduction of a new cycling route to Kingswood High Street along the A420, Cecil Road and Halls Road.
Other aspects of the scheme include the construction of a new quiet road route through School Road and Britannia Road to link up with schemes in Bristol and a series of improved crossings and footway widening around Kingswood.
In its proposal for the overall Kingswood scheme, the council said: “having a new walking and cycling route segregated from cars, vans and lorries would make it safer and more attractive for people to walk or cycle.
“By linking to schemes in Bristol, it will better connect Kingswood with the major employers and wider attractions Bristol has to offer.
“New cycle lanes would not only enable more people to cycle but will aid in protecting them when they do by reducing road danger.”
People commenting on South Gloucestershire Council’s Facebook post which announced the latest set of works appeared unconvinced.
“All you need now is half a dozen cyclists,” was one pithy remark.
The Cecil Road section of the Kingswood active travel scheme is forecast to finish on December 19.