Lane near Bristol school used as cut-through could be blocked off
Incidents of speeding cars flipping over have been reported
A lane near a primary school which is often used as a cut-through could soon be blocked off.
Due to several “incidents of vehicles overturning”, Bristol City Council is planning to close Rosemary Lane on the border between Easton and Eastville to cars.
The southern end of Rosemary Lane would be closed, known as a “point closure”, turning the road into a cul-de-sac. However the plans have been delayed yet again, eight years after they were first mooted, although some progress could soon be made early next year.
An update on the plans for Rosemary Lane was given to councillors on the transport policy committee on Thursday, December 4. Local councillors supported the project but Labour raised concerns about a lack of detail with a similar scheme that was wrapped up with Rosemary Lane.
Adam Crowther, head of city transport, said: “This was first brought up around the time of the pandemic due to significant issues with vehicles travelling at high speed through Rosemary Lane from roads to the south of Robertson Road.
“We had a number of incidents of vehicles overturning due to the speeds they were going along some of the side roads on to Robertson Road. And that was because they were going to Rosemary Lane to get to Fishponds Road. So we had a lot of requests from residents to do something about that issue.
“But putting in speed bumps would just push the problem onto the next road. So a simpler solution was put forward of closing Rosemary Lane. This has the added benefit of benefiting the primary school. There’s a significant amount of traffic that’s using Rosemary Lane to cut through from south of Easton up to Fishponds Road.”
A child was injured in February last year after an Audi driver crashed and flipped the car onto its roof on Robertson Road. And in 2018 another driver crashed and flipped her Vauxhall on Hinton Road.
An alternative route would be to travel west down Robertson Road and then join Fishponds Road at the traffic light-controlled junction with Stapleton Road. While some locals said this junction suffered from congestion, this was disputed by Mr Crowther who said the route was “much more suitable”.
The council consulted the public about its plans, and more people were against them than in favour. But upon further analysis, there was less opposition from people who lived nearby, with higher opposition from people who don’t live in the local area. The project is estimated to cost £547,000, however work isn’t expected to start any time soon, due to a bureaucratic delay.
The reason the project has been delayed is because council staff packaged the work together with a separate, similar scheme. Denmark Street, a side road around the back of the Hippodrome, could also be blocked off to cars. The street is often busy with pedestrians and space on the road could be used for outdoor seating for the several restaurants there.
However the full designs and costings for the Denmark Street project were not presented to councillors as they weren’t ready yet. But the committee was still asked to approve the plans, ahead of a funding bid to the West of England Combined Authority. Councillors said they would prefer to defer the scheme and see the designs first, before approving them, despite the delay.
This meant that the Rosemary Lane scheme was also delayed. The full designs are expected to take a couple of months to draw up, so a decision could be made in February, the next time the committee meets. But then the West of England also has to approve the funding, adding on another delay to any work actually starting on the ground. The plan was first proposed in 2017.
The Denmark Street project has sparked concerns among disabled people, who would struggle to park close to the Hippodrome if the closure went ahead. The council is planning to carry out an audit with the West of England Centre for Inclusive Living, which will inform the final designs.
The Rosemary Lane project was supported by Green Councillor Barry Parsons, who represents the Easton ward. In a written statement to the committee, he said: “Removing through traffic from the lane will create a much safer and more pleasant walking and wheeling route to school for children in my ward attending May Park primary school.”
A group of people are living in vans along Rosemary Lane at the moment. Cllr Parsons said if the closure went ahead, they “will likely need to find another place to live”, although acknowledged that they treat the green space nearby and neighbours “with care and respect”.