Officials at South Gloucestershire Council (SGC) have recommended that a proposed scheme to ban traffic from making a left-turn into Shellmor Avenue from the A38 Gloucester Road should be implemented, despite 93 residents signing a petition against it.
The recommendation is contained in a report prepared in advance of next Wednesday meeting of SGC’s Planning, Transportation and Strategic Environment Committee, at which District Councillors will be asked to choose between going ahead with the proposed scheme or abandoning it.
An initial public consultation into five alternative proposals aimed at reducing the volume of traffic using Shellmor Avenue was held in October and November last year. It showed a majority were in favour of prohibiting the left-turn from the A38 but only by a small margin and with less than 50% support.
The Council chose to take the favoured scheme forward to the legal advertisement phase, which necessitated a further public consultation held from 4th-28th April 2012.
Results now published show that 115 comments were received during the second consultation, including one that incorporated a 93-signature petition that had also been presented to an SGC Highways Engineer at the April meeting of the Patchway Safer and Stronger Community Group. A total of 76 respondents said they were in favour of the left turn ban with 39 against.
Common themes amongst the objections, which are summarised in the report, are a fear that traffic on Stoke Lane will increase and concerns over road safety at the junction of Shellmor Avenue and Stoke Lane.
In an unusual move, Patchway Town Council conducted its own consultation after the one run by SGC had finished. This was done through a public meeting at the Amberley Road Baptist Church on 30th May, at which 75 of the 119 votes cast (one per household) were in favour of the left turn ban.
The Town Council subsequently wrote to SGC:
“Patchway Town Council supports this vote and asks you to present the result to the PTSE Committee at its meeting on 20th June 2012. We would hope that Councillors on that Committee will support the overwhelming support for the proposal by the residents who are most affected by the existing dangerous situation of through traffic cutting through Shellmor Avenue, a narrow, residential street.”
The Town Council also repeated its request that a Traffic Management Review be carried out for Stoke Lane and asked that SGC:
- Look at the School Travel Plans for the three schools adjacent to Stoke Lane (Stoke Lodge Primary, St. Chad’s Primary and Holy Family Primary)
- Review the safety of the zebra crossing at the junction of Amberley Road
- Consider an additional zebra crossing south of the junction of Bourton Avenue
- Take steps to reduce the speed of traffic in Stoke Lane
The SGC officer report concludes:
“Given the majority of local support for the proposed left turn ban both via the councils’ own consultation exercise and the consultation exercise carried out by Patchway Town Council it is recommended to proceed with the implementation of the left turn ban from the A38 into Shellmor Avenue. It should be recognised that there would be clear road safety benefits for local residents by the reduction of through traffic particularly in the locality of St.Chad’s primary school.”
Officers add that they have arranged to meet Patchway Town Council to discuss issues relating to Stoke Lane.
The PTSE Committee meeting takes place in Kingswood at 3pm on Wednesday 19th September [agenda].
Photo: Junction of Shellmor Avenue (left) with the A38 Gloucester Road, where a left turn ban from the A38 is proposed.
I think it makes perfect sense. I’m glad it’s been approved.
I wonder if the people who “weren’t informed” (and couldn’t be bother to vote) a la Highwood Road will come out of the woodwork once the work starts?
You have to feel sorry for the people that live in this road and will have to go all the way round the roads to just get into their road
I’ve heard from a member of the public who attended the meeting on Wednesday that the recommended option was approved by the Committee.
I am in total shock that people have nothing better to do than make more work for themselves. We are now going to have to drive all the way around just to get into our road. This will mean that for even longer we will be sitting in traffic. I’m not usually one to moan but it’s just madness. I did ‘bother’ to fill out the questionnaire and will most certainly be coming ‘out of the woodwork’ once this madness starts. But a congratulations goes to those people who obviously have such wonderful lives that they need to find something so insignificant to moan about.
Confirmation that SGC has agreed to proceed with the left turn ban is contained in the minutes of the September PTSE Committee meeting published today (item 28 refers).