Cycle Paths will add to Land Take
- adam802
- Mar 18, 2015
- 2 min read
It seems strange that Stoke Gifford's councillors seem OK about the MetroBus extension running along Hatchet Road. They do not seem to consider the amount of widening it will mean.
After speaking to one councillor Adam Gentle was surprised by the reaction he received about catering for cyclists. It is DfT policy and no doubt South Gloucestershire Council's policy to provide cycling facilities alongside the MetroBus route. Indeed it is stated it will be on the TravelWest website.
The current footpaths on Hatchet Road do not meet current DfT specifications, and will need to be widened, and why only for pedestrians? Indeed the council has Hatchet Road as a designated cycle route (picture below).
Plus, South Glos council seem to be making every bit of path wider for cyclists including those routes that have dedicated cycle lanes on teh roads. So why wouldn't they do so for the Hatchet Roaad widening? They would. A cycle path minimum is 2.4m (wider than existing), and most pedestrian/cycle paths in South Glos are being made 3m+ wide. Currently the footpaths on Hatchet Road are approx 1.2m. So to widen both will mean land take of an extra 1.8 to 2m. Add the 4m needed for one bus lane (maybe two), thats a minimum of 5.8m for one lane, and 9.8m for an extra two bus/traffic lanes. That's a lot of land take.
Stoke Gifford Councillor Trevor Jones states " As I understand it, the widening is by a few feet". Really? I make it a lot of a few feet Councillor!
And when I mention that the widening MUST encompass cycle paths, he replies:
"Cyclists already have dedicated routes through the parks which will, I understand, be the subject of further “trunking” works in the future!"
Well that's strange as your council seems to differ on your opinion in that it recommends Hatchet Road as a cycle route. In fact its own route finder shows that to be the case.
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