Bristol's Temple Gate layout change planned in £21m revamp

[whole diary]

[johnneyw]

That shining beacon of local journalism that is Bristol Live reports that the end may be in sight for the long over running road works around Temple Gate/Temple Circus. The latest estimate is for December 16.  Article link below:

https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/new-date-announced-temple-circus-3580520

[metalrail]

Spotted an item on the very excellent roads.org.uk about the Army and Navy Flyover, in Chelmsford... an interesting read, I think. Like the erstwhile Redcliffe Flyover, it was designed as a temporary fix ahead of a planned major new junction, and like its Redcliffe sibling the new road happened somewhere else. Another similarity is that the local authority is having a hard time explaining why it has to go, and why it won't be replaced.

"This is an emergency situation," according to the council's deputy leader Cllr Kevin Bentley, "and I would ask for patience and understanding during this challenging time." He has also bravely pledged that he will "not place any Essex resident in danger". If you listen carefully you can hear his superhero cape rippling in the breeze.

At long last Essex Man joins the Marvel Universe.

This part in that same report rang a few bells...

"Sadly it's actually a joint working group involving the council, a firm of consulting engineers, local residents and the city's MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) who have spent the last year holding meetings to talk about how bad the traffic is"

Sound familiar?  Or in Bristol's case would it be more like several decades?   

[Noggin]

That shining beacon of local journalism that is Bristol Live reports that the end may be in sight for the long over running road works around Temple Gate/Temple Circus. The latest estimate is for December 16.  Article link below:

https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/new-date-announced-temple-circus-3580520

For the benefit of those who have not been there recently it does seem to be just about done bar a bit of snagging and clearing up.

I haven't driven through it in the morning, but things seem to be much more fluid.

[chuffed]

I haven't driven through it in the morning, but things seem to be much more fluid.

Don't you mean 'flooded?' 

[Noggin]

I haven't driven through it in the morning, but things seem to be much more fluid.

Don't you mean 'flooded?' 

Decongested ;-)

[Phantom]

As someone who commutes daily to Temple Meads then onwards using a bus from the main road, it does look like it is all finally drawing to a close

There are some very odd bits around the new design, there is a very short cycle lane outside the pub that comes and goes from nowhere, when cycle lanes coming into Bristol down the Bath / Wells Road are on the other side of the road

Agree with the above the snag list could make for a timely extension to all this

[Bmblbzzz]

Not sure which pub that is but very short cycle lanes that come and go from nowhere are all too common.
https://road.cc/content/news/269183-video-cyclist-times-himself-new-bristol-cycle-path-and-finds-its-way-quicker

It took Toby Wells, an engineer, two and a half times longer to get from Bath Bridge to Temple Way using Bristol City Council’s new Temple Gate cycle route than it did sticking to the road – clocking in respectively at 6 minutes 14 seconds and 2 minutes 24 seconds.

Although the video is of someone cycling, the problem affects pedestrians too. In part because they are forced to share the pavement with cyclists and also because the time consuming part is waiting for the lights to change.

Wells wrote: “Notice that on the road, once you get going it's green all the way through. The lights are synchronised to and adjusted by the flow of cars.

“For the ped/cycle crossings it's the opposite – either they are never green until button push (i.e. stop EVERY time), or they are specifically phased so you have to cross one junction in 2 goes, every time. Right of the vid is my no. of button pushes, and I was lucky at some!

“Also the sheer number of transitions between sharing/segregated is ridiculous. It's confusing and dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists,” he added, saying it “will undoubtedly lead to conflict.”

[Red Squirrel]

At a meeting I attended recently, a cyclist summed it up rather well:

It's not just done badly, it's done expensively badly

[Noggin]

There are some very odd bits around the new design, there is a very short cycle lane outside the pub that comes and goes from nowhere, when cycle lanes coming into Bristol down the Bath / Wells Road are on the other side of the road

There isn't an inbound cycle lane over the Bath Road bridge, it's outbound only.

But on the case of the very short cycle path, I think there are two possibilities:

1) The Council are taking an extreme long view, future proofing it for when the  car dealership is demolished and they can grab an extra bit of pavement
2) It's a cynical ploy to add to the length and number of cycle lanes in the city

2)

[Red Squirrel]

The Temple Meads roadworks have FINALLY finished
It's a Christmas miracle!

[...]

A Bristol City Council spokesperson said: "We are very pleased to share that our contractors have completed a phased opening of Temple Gate which marks the end of works there.

"We would like to thank the public for their patience during the course of this project, which will improve the journeys of millions of people who use all forms of transport through the area every year, and contribute to the challenge of keeping the city moving.

Source, and full article: Bristol Post

[martyjon]

But they are still in progress at Old Market which impacts on the Temple Meads road network.

[Bmblbzzz]

It was not all finished at Temple Meads at the weekend. The roads themselves were all finished but not all the pavements and cyclepaths.

[Phantom]

It was not all finished at Temple Meads at the weekend. The roads themselves were all finished but not all the pavements and cyclepaths.

Out of interest what areas were not finished?

[Bmblbzzz]

A lot of the area behind the old Grosvenor Hotel building, between that and Redcliffe Way, was still fenced off. I haven't been back there since then so hopefully it's been cleared now. I can't remember if it looked finished, just that it was still fenced off.

[Red Squirrel]

A lot of the area behind the old Grosvenor Hotel building, between that and Redcliffe Way, was still fenced off. I haven't been back there since then so hopefully it's been cleared now. I can't remember if it looked finished, just that it was still fenced off.

Still fenced off yesterday...

This area isn't part of the road network (any more!), nor is it a cycle or pedestrian route. There are plans to put up buildings along the (new) west side of Temple Gate, including a redevelopment of the Grosvenor Hotel site, and to create a new public square between Temple Gate and Redcliffe Way - sketchy details are here - so it is possible that the areas that are currently fenced off may stay that way for the foreseeable future.

Edit: Further to that, 16/06842/LA on the Bristol Planning Portal gives a more detailed idea of what's planned.