South Gloucestershire Council has opened a public consultation on a swathe of additional traffic calming measures that it is proposing to implement on two busy roads through Little Stoke and Stoke Lodge.

According to a ‘statement of reasons’ published as part of the consultation, the proposed scheme is intended to encourage walking and cycling to schools.

The council says that funding has been made available to install additional traffic calming measures on Stoke Lane and Little Stoke Lane. It also wants to introduce an extended 20mph zone covering the full length of Stoke Lane and the northern end of Little Stoke Lane, plus all associated side roads.

The scheme is intended to help reduce speeds and improve road safety, particularly for school children walking from Patchway Community School and the following primary schools: Holy Family, St Chad’s, Stoke Lodge and Little Stoke.

The proposed additional traffic calming measures include speed tables, speed cushions, additional speed limit signing and road markings. A number of additional dropped-kerb pedestrian crossings will also be created.

The council says it intends to implement the proposals during the current financial year (2019/20), subject to comments received during the consultation and subsequent public advertisement of traffic regulation orders.

Anyone wishing to comment on the scheme should respond by 14th June by completing a questionnaire that is available on the council’s website.

If you don’t have access to the internet and wish to have paper copies of all the consultation documents and a questionnaire to complete, phone 01454 863958.

More: Map showing locations of proposed new speed calming measures »

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Residents across the Stokes are bracing themselves for weeks of severe traffic congestion resulting from the planned closure of a major commuter route through the area.

Gipsy Patch Lane is set to be closed to motorised vehicles at the railway bridge in Little Stoke for four weeks from Monday 3rd June to enable BT to divert its underground cables ahead of the bridge being replaced over a 12-day period spanning Easter 2020.

The new, much wider, concrete bridge will accommodate four lanes of traffic (one bus lane and one general traffic lane in each direction), along with shared-use paths on both sides of the road.

The surface of the highway under the bridge will be lowered by 1.7m to allow taller vehicles, including double-decker buses, to pass through safely.

The June closure comes ahead of a further planned eight-month full road closure at the bridge starting in early 2020.

South Gloucestershire Council (SGC), which is responsible for the Cribbs Patchway MetroBus Extension (CPME) scheme, of which the bridge replacement work forms a major part, originally said that the June closure would apply to “all highway users”. However, it was recently revealed that a route under the bridge for pedestrians and dismounted cyclists will be maintained during the closure.

Signs giving notice of the upcoming June road closure and advising motorists to “seek other routes” were put out in the week commencing 20th May. To avoid confusion, SGC says it will promote just a single signed diversion route, using Bradley Stoke Way and the A38 (see map below). However, it is widely anticipated that motorists with local knowledge and those using satnav equipment will attempt to use other diversion routes, which is likely to lead to significantly increased congestion on some smaller local roads.

More: Diversion map. Businesses open as normal. »

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A planned four-week full closure of Gipsy Patch Lane will commence next Monday (3rd June), South Gloucestershire Council (SGC) has confirmed.

The road will be closed to all vehicles at the railway bridge, which is located near the junction with Station Road.

The closure is required to allow BT to divert underground utilities in preparation for construction of the Cribbs Patchway MetroBus Extension (CPME), which is expected to start later this year.

In a change to previously announced plans, the existing footway under the bridge will now be kept open for pedestrians and dismounted cyclists throughout the June closure.

A signed diversion route via Bradley Stoke Way and the A38 will be in place (see map below).

Access to properties and side roads along Gipsy Patch Lane will be maintained and no disruption to the supply of utilities is expected. Businesses and shops along and near Gipsy Patch Lane will be open as normal.

A council spokesperson added that temporary traffic lights may be used at the junction of Gipsy Patch Lane with Station Road “for a period” during the June roadworks.

In addition, ground investigations and surveys will be carried out near the bridge during late May and in June. This will include the removal of some vegetation on the railway embankments but will not require any further road closures.

More: Further eight-month road closure planned for 2020 »

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With the planned four-week full closure of Gipsy Patch Lane during June now less than a month away, South Gloucestershire Council (SGC) says it will soon reveal details of the signed diversion routes that will be in operation during the upcoming work.

Further full and partial closures of Gipsy Patch Lane are planned over the next two years, including a full closure lasting approximately eight months from “early 2020”.

The road closures are needed to allow the existing narrow arch railway bridge to be replaced by a much wider concrete structure.

The work is being carried out as part of the Cribbs Patchway MetroBus Extension (CPME) scheme, which also involves the creation of new bus lanes along parts of Gipsy Patch Lane.

An SGC spokesperson said:

“We understand that this work will have a major impact on traffic in the nearby and wider area. We apologise in advance for this inconvenience and would like to assure everyone that we are doing everything we can to minimise disruption to residents, businesses and road users.”

The council recently conducted an online travel survey aimed at users of Gipsy Patch Lane and it says that the results of this, along with data collected from traffic survey cameras that were temporarily installed at points on the local road network during March, are being used to inform its traffic management planning.

Details of a series of public drop-in information sessions, at which further details of the CPME work and associated traffic diversion routes will be provided, are shown below.

All information displayed at the drop-in events will also be made available on the SGC website at www.southglos.gov.uk/CPmetrobus

More: Shuttle bus to be provided for non-motorised road users? »

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