Bristol Live readers and campaigners have been discussing the proposed removal of cycling and walking improvements on a major road linking north Bristol to the M32. City councillors have given the green light for the next stage of plans for additional bus lanes on Muller Road in Lockleaze.
However, the Bristol Cycling Campaign is livid that initial proposals from 2018 to facilitate and secure active travel on the ‘cycle-hostile road for only the brave and bold cyclist’ have been scrapped. The council’s transport and connectivity policy committee unanimously voted, with one abstention, to move forward with the revised second phase of the project by submitting an outline business case (OBC) for nearly £1million to establish new bus lanes on the lower half of Muller Road, from the railway bridge near Shaldon Road to Heath Road.
If approved, there will be sections of 12-hour bus lanes on both sides of the road. It claimed these measures would ‘help encourage active travel users by providing a safe environment to walk and cycle, as well as reduce the likelihood of accidents’. However, Bristol Cycling Campaign chairman Ian Pond labelled this as ‘misleading’.
He stated: “We are extremely disappointed that walking and cycling has been dropped and is ‘out of scope’ of the OBC that’s been published. We consider this to be a massive policy failure which is not consistent with the council’s transport, environment or health goals.”
The committee report revealed that the original scheme had more segregation for cycling than bus lanes, but this would have resulted in the loss of between 28 and 53 trees and the need to acquire third-party land on the section over the hill, leading to its rejection.
The new proposals include the creation of a bus lane along the southern section of Muller Road from the railway bridge to Shaldon Road southbound and from Heath Road to Glenfrome Road northbound, operational from 6am to 6pm weekdays and Saturdays. This is due to the anticipated transport demands of about 1,000 new homes planned for Lockleaze.
Commenter Jubblyone4 just doesn’t get it: “What exactly is the issue for those who want to walk? There are pavements on both sides of Muller Road so what’s the issue? As for cycle lanes – I have no issue with them but quite often cyclists don’t use them after being installed at great cost.
“I regularly see cyclists using the main road on the A38 at Almondsbury (roundabout junction with M5) when there are cycle paths on both sides of the road. They just put themselves in danger by mixing with the many buses, lorries and cars that use that busy junction. This is why cyclists should be completely separated from cars, buses and lorries. As a car driver it would make my life better and I’m sure the same applies to cyclists.”
SteveK11 replies: “It’s disjointed, narrow, full of detritus and has mostly shared use with pedestrians. Some pretty good reasons existing cyclists aren’t using those A38 ones and why no one else is attracted to use them.And if you think those, or any cycle infrastructure comes at ‘great cost’ I’d suggest you have a very poor grasp of the relative costs of even actually good cycle infrastructure, let alone the low effort paths around Junction 16.”
Pioneer2508 observes: “Every time I’ve passed that cycle lane, it’s always been empty (and I pass it a lot). I’d also say there are very few pedestrians that use that path as well.”
Berklicker agrees: “The bus lanes have very few buses using them and you can cycle in them, what’s the problem?”
Spankthemonkey thinks: “Just face it, the Covid and immediate post-Covid interest in cycling led policymakers to believe that everyone cycled. Now that reality has hit, they realise no-one actually likes cycling, and there simply isn’t sufficient uptake to warrant green vanity projects like this.”
Celandine thinks: “Frankly, I wouldn’t want to be a motorist, a cyclist OR a pedestrian in Bristol any more. Even places more on the outskirts are getting worse with one thing and another. Also more and more speed bumps everywhere. I used to cycle a lot, but speed bumps are a pain if you’re cycling.”
Muttsnuts says: “The problem is cyclists think they own the road and want special treatment. Truth is cyclists pay no road tax, have no insurance or checks on the road worthiness of their cycles. They are just a nuisance to other road users.”
MaddDogg replies: “While you are correct that cyclists don’t pay road tax, the truth is no one does. What about children? They cycle too. What about pedestrians? They use roads sometimes but they don’t have road insurance?”
BMushroom says: “It’s better by bus.”
What do you think? Will the bus lanes be of more benefit than the cycle lanes? Have your say in our comments section.