Drivers trying to bypass congestion and closed-off streets in east Bristol have been driving through a cemetery and even over people’s graves in an attempt to avoid the traffic.
Bristol City Council staff have erected more bollards and signs in an attempt to stop some drivers using Avonview Cemetery as a cut-through to avoid congested roads in Redfield, after initial measures proved ineffective as a deterrent to some drivers.
The introduction of the trial East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood project, which has created no-through roads, bus gates and limited and funnelled through traffic in Redfield, St George, Lawrence Hill and Barton Hill, has been blamed for causing the issue at the Avonview Cemetery.
The cemetery lies between St George and Netham Park. The Liveable Neighbourhood project has involved the installation of planters restricting traffic to just pedestrians and bikes at the western end of Beaufort Road, the main road along the north side of the cemetery. That means any motorist faces a longer journey via the A420 Church Road, and some drivers are taking matters into their own hands and trying to get across the cemetery instead.
The cemetery has three entrances from the road network, and a road that connects Beaufort Road with Blackswarth Road – a route currently impossible to make directly because of the Liveable Neighbourhood changes.
Some drivers have driven around bollards erected on the road, and Ian Calway, from the Friends of Avonview Cemetery, told BBC Radio Bristol that some cars have been seen being driven over graves to bypass the bollards.
“Has anyone got any morals anymore, or any respect? This is all to save ten minutes,” he said. “It’s not just the volume, it’s the speed,” he said, adding that vehicles have been seen being driven along paths that not even hearses can go down.”
The council chief in charge of the communities committee that runs the cemetery said he was ‘saddened’ to see the damage to the graves and the cemetery area caused by the drivers. “We are saddened to see the damage caused by careless driving through a space that people should respect as a sanctuary for those wanting to remember loved ones and take time for reflection,” said Cllr Stephen Williams, the chair of the public health and communities committee.
“Within the next two weeks permanent planters will be installed at various locations to stop any unauthorised vehicles attempting to pass around the bollards that are already in place and ensure vehicles cannot leave the driveways,” he added.
The Liveable Neighbourhood trial has been beset by problems and controversies, with work to install planters and barriers on other roads, particularly in Barton Hill, delayed by local residents’ protests. The funnelling of all through traffic onto the main A420 Church Road, and the main road at Crews Hole, has seen long delays and congestion for motorists, and complaints from local residents and commuters alike.