Plans to build a "multi-modal interchange (MMI)", more commonly known as a Park and Ride, off the heavily congested Wick Wick roundabout were thrown out by the planning committee yesterday.
The application lies just outside Westerleigh Parish and the Council failed to consult either Westerleigh Parish Council or local South Glos Councillor Claire Young, despite the major impact it could have on residents of Coalpit Heath and Kendleshire. Fortunately your local Focus Team spotted it was coming to the committee and Claire Young was able to attend the meeting to speak on behalf of local people.
While we clearly need Park and Rides to tackle congestion, they need to be near the residential areas to stop the traffic reaching the congestion hotspots, not at the hotspots themselves. The Wick Wick roundabout is already operating at full capacity and a Park and Ride here would encourage more people to drive down the A432 Badminton Road through Coalpit Heath and Kendleshire, rather than taking other routes from the Yate area into Bristol. It would be far better if people switched from cars to buses at Nibley and if residents of the new Emerson's Green East development used a Park and Ride within the development.
There is no agreement with bus operators to run services to the site and the existing ones are unreliable. The X42 is often full at peak hours before it even reaches Coalpit Heath, let alone Wick Wick. Given the difficulty of entering and exiting the site, it would add considerably to the journey time on what is supposed to be an express service. The 342 suffers serious delays due to picking up numerous people as it travels through town.
Questions were also raised over the safety of the roundabout if a 5th exit was added and new traffic lights installed a short distance to the west along the A4174.
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