Agenda item

The Head of City Transport introduced the item to Members and talked them through the published slides which encompassed information about the West of England (WoE) Joint Local Transport Plan 4, which included the following key points:

• Mass transit corridors; an evolving project which is at the early stages and will be ten to fifteen years before the schemes are delivered. Four key routes which are progressing.
• Future rail developments such as Bristol East Junction which was said to be crucial
• The closer of Bristol Bridge being brought forward was said to have provided officers with a head start on this work and was key to protecting the bus network by freeing-up space for buses to operate more efficiently by reducing traffic congestion.  It has also meant that other proposals could now be accelerated earlier than previously expected. 

The following points were discussed, and questions asked:

• A Member asked if and why the yellow bus routes on the proposed future bus network would only travel in one anti-clockwise direction?  Officers said yes, they would only turn left because it is always much easier and quicker than turning right and thus meant fewer delays.  But they were also looking at adding in some routes that travel in both directions.
• How would the circular yellow route link up with the existing bus interchange Old Market? If it didn’t it would probably not provide any improvements to people travelling in from East Bristol.  Officers said that this was indeed the most challenging of the all the routes.  Some information about local mass transit had been released earlier that day and Members were encouraged to look at this.  Officers were looking at including a mass transit stop at Old Market.  In the interim there were other options available such as, diverting services via Feeder Road and Avon Street to Temple Meads where they would be given priority access.  Also, officers were looking at routes from the end of the M32 to the train station which would be routed through and connect services at Old Market.
• The Belfast Glider buses; were they the best option or was there a better mode of transport for mass transit? Officers said the routes would be highly segregated to enable them to be reliable and very frequent.  These particular types of buses felt very different to regular buses and were more like trams.  However, there were a number of other options emerging such as the vehicles currently being used in China that are also being used for the Qatar World Cup that can hold up to 300 people at one time.  Another example given was the system used in Toulouse in France.  There were pros and cons to all the systems but the key aim was to ensure that the mass transit system was completely segregated from other traffic. 
• A Member asked about there being no mention of a Henbury Loop in the presentation and asked if that idea now ‘shelved’ so to speak? Officers said yes that was the current situation as no work was currently taking place on that.  
• Another Member asked about the timescales for the new train stations which he said seemed very long and frustrated many people.  Officers provided the following information
  • MetroWest Phase 1 – the line to Portishead should be ready by 2024
  • MetroWest Phase 2 - is almost definitely happening and Ashley Down Station should become serviceable in 2023 according to the current pipeline.
• Integrated ticketing; it had been discussed for many years so would this be possible on the different types of transport being discussed in the strategy? Officers agreed it was fundamental, but it was really down to WECA.  Resolving the ticketing issue was slow due to the number of different operators in the City but it wasn’t possible to make them do what BCC or WECA want. WECA had now signed-off the strategy 

• A Member said that there had been some negative speculation about the Liveable Neighbourhoods (LN) Programme and asked if there would now be more information and communication to stop further speculation and help clarify what was or wasn’t being discussed?  Officers said they were about to embark on a three-stage consultation and engagement process as part of developing the policy.  This would go into a lot of detail about what LN are and what they could mean for communities.  Officers also highlighted they had also taken the proposition of LN to the recent Bristol Citizens Assembly and asked participants to assess the potential impacts and they received some very positive responses to it. 
• Another Member asked about new cycle paths and whether Transport Officers would be joined up working with parks and green spaces officers to ensure they were linked in with other initiatives? Officers said they had been and would doing more in the future for example at Stoke Park and creating smaller green spaces where new cycle routes were developed.  However, there were some restrictions and some people were against having cycle paths in parks. 
• The Chair asked about the point raised during Public Forum about the potential Park and Ride on the M32 and if officers were confident it would go ahead?  Officers said they work closely with neighbouring authorities and had been working on a vision study with Highways England and South Gloucestershire Council looking at the prospect.  It was said to be a complex and challenging project but they were making progress. They were hopeful it would come forward as a viable scheme because a huge volume of traffic travels down the M32 every day and unless a viable alternative was put in place people will continue to do that. 
• With regards to Park and Rides, were Officers talking to YTL about potentially unused car parking spaces during the day at the Brabazon Hanger Arena? Officers said it was an option if they weren’t being used already.  But people would need to see the benefits first so that they were prepared to get out their cars use the buses instead. 

The Chair thanked officers for the amount of detail they had provided at the meeting and all the work they were doing.