The Bristol Railway Archive

We have all heard about the Bristol - Bath cycle path being dug up to form part of the Emersons Green - Ashton Bus Rapid Transit Route. However, there has not been much detail released about the route to be taken from the City Centre to Ashton. The following has been extracted from the 'South Bristol Pigeon', a local monthly independent magazine covering Bedminster, Southville, Ashton, Ashton Vale, Windmill Hill & Totterdown.

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Bus Rapid Transit

The proposal to run a guided bus down the Bristol to Bath Railway Path (Emersons Green to City Centre BRT) has been well publicised recently in the Bristol Evening Post. The path is extremely popular with local residents along the route including S. Gloucestershire. Used by walkers, cyclists, dog owners, wheelchair users and local schoolchildren, it is the best used part of the Sustrans network. However, these groups will be restricted to a three - four metre strip with the vegetation removed. Opposition to this route has been very strong with an e-petition on the council website collecting 7500 signatures (http://epetitions.bristol.gov.uk/petition.php?id=161).

There are four proposed sections of Bus Rapid Transit. Two others have local impacts but have received less publicity. The Ashton Vale to Long Ashton P&R route (a continuation of the Emersons Green route after it has run through the centre to Wapping Wharf) runs from behind the Industrial Museum, between the Cut and the chocolate path and across the rail bridge at the Create Centre and then follows a rail route turning off the the back of Alderman Moore allotment site to join the Long Ashton Park and Ride site. The existing rail lines will be taken up and replaced by a concrete guided busway. The bus has to cross the Prince St swing so a new bridge would need to be built to accommodate a bendy bus and crossing the rail line at Ashton will be problematic.

A consortium of light rail engineers are hoping to persuade the West of England Partnership to consider an alternative bid for this route to become an ultra rail route (using existing railtrack) with connections to Temple Meads and Broadmead.

The Hengrove to the City route uses the Malago Greenway cycle route and then continues along Hartcliffe Way using shared pavement. The Transport for Greater Bristol Alliance - an alliance of twenty-five local environmental , transport and community groups - which is campaigning for the Greater Bristol Region is opposed to all three above routes. Friends of the Earth support the Showcase Bus Network and hope that an ITA will take back control of the local bus network, they also support further investigation of the fourth BRT route, which runs along the M32.

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This route is shown on this document:
http://people.apache.org/~stevel/bikepa ... ransit.pdf

This is part of a collection at this page and corroborate the article above:
http://people.apache.org/~stevel/bikepath

I shall now go away and cry....

What else to you expect from BCC who brags about its green credentials other than to destroy most of the green paths in the city.
They will probably plant a ash sapling in knowle west as carbon offsetting

Bristol Evening Post - Saturday 27th Sepetmber 2008

Bristol transport supremo says 'let's get moving' on rapid transit

Bristol's first high-speed bus route could be up and running within five years.
The councillor in charge of transport in the city says it is "time to get cracking" with the plans for a Bus Rapid Transport network, which would see cutting-edge vehicles travelling both on roads and on off-road guided tracks.
Firm plans for a network of routes were revealed to a meeting of transport experts yesterday and will go to public consultation in November.
The first route to be built in Bristol would be a link between Ashton Vale, through the city's Harbourside and on to Temple Meads, which could be up and running by 2013, with work starting by 2011.
It will feature cutting-edge vehicles similar to the one pictured here, which will soon be used for the first time in Las Vegas.
The route from Ashton Vale is one of a network of rapid-transit lines the West of England Partnership (WEP), a group made up of all four councils in the former Avon area, hopes to set up around greater Bristol.
The system will start with one across Bath û due for completion by 2012 û and will be swiftly followed by the Ashton Vale line, another from Hengrove to the northern edge of the city and a third running from Emerson's Green to the middle of Bristol.
This is the same route which was planned to run alongside the Bristol-to-Bath cycle path, but the WEP is now looking at other options through east Bristol to serve the new science park at Emerson's Green.
Of the seven kilometres (about 4.5 miles) on the Ashton Vale route, three kilometres (two miles) will run off-street and four will travel on roads through the city. From the park-and-ride site in Long Ashton, it will go through a proposed development at Ashton Park û possibly via Bristol City's new football stadium û before running alongside the Portishead railway line until it crosses the existing Ashton Avenue Bridge.
Alongside the track there will be a four metre-wide (13ft) cycle and pedestrian path and although it is unlikely to need the compulsory purchase of any land, there is a chance other rapid-transit routes around the city may do.
The total cost of the first route is estimated to be about ú35million, when land and environmental works are taken into account.
Of this figure, 10 per cent, or ú3.5m, would come from the WEP itself.
The rest of the money will come from a ú71m Government fund, but the WEP must submit a bid for the first part of the network by the end of this year or risk losing the money altogether.
Councillor Mark Bradshaw, cabinet member for transport at Bristol City Council, said: "We are at a point in time where the decisions that we make are going to be critical to the city over the next five or 10 years.
"Do we go for funding that's available to start to deliver a real transport alternative, or do we wait and see what comes along?
"There will be people objecting against the proposals and others will be in favour, but what we really need is a way of getting into the city other than the car which is reliable, affordable and which gets from A to B. We have got to get cracking on it because delivering transport improvements is really important for the future of this city."
The plans were revealed yesterday at the @Bristol centre where the Joint Transport Forum û including councillors from the four authorities, transport officers and members of lobby groups û met.
They plans were presented by Sharon Daly of London-based transport consultant Steer Davies Gleave, which has been hired to explore the options for rapid-transit routes in the Bristol area.
She said that rubber-wheeled buses proved to be the cheapest and most appropriate option for the first Bristol route, but did not rule out trams or light rail for the other routes around the city.
She said: "This will be a real alternative to the car û fast, direct and with environmental benefits.
"In our opinion, Bus Rapid Transit should be pursued for the Ashton Vale to Temple Meads rapid-transit route as it best meets the rapid-transit scheme objectives; is the most cost-effective and flexible; and can be delivered within the current programme and available funding."

Another mad cap ideal from the experts? They are not going any where with these mad cap silly ideals Why don"t a couple of councilors go to the continent and see how a rapid transport system really works They will have plenty of choice because all the big cities in Europe have superb systems operating. Of course Bristol has never been up with the leaders at any time since the German Air Force destroyed the tram system which to-day at least the routes with some improvements would have been a start. How about Westbury on Trym to BRISLINGTON or Filton to the middle of the new business area Now thats how to get the cars off the roads! bye the way it would use clean energy not dirty diesel fuel or petrol.

The whole country is obsessed with road transport and a guided bus route is just that more road transport.As long as we have seperate counsils persuing their own ideas we will never have a decent transport system in bristol south glos north somerset and banes.Untill a transport system is created that is trust worthy and reliable the car will always have the greater appeal.Many of our children or grandchildren will still be hearing of various ideas of transport when they are grey and old as we live in a very backward thinking area.

My my another hair brained scheme, and it needs Gordon to cough up ú35 million. Well that's me stopping worrying, with whats going on at the moment i would one say Gordon ain't going to be there and two he ain't going have 35 pence to give away let alone ú35m, he will of spent every penny he has helping his friend George make sure the bankers pockets stay full.