The M32 will have to be downgraded to an A-road if a long-awaited park and ride is going to happen, insists the leader of South Gloucestershire Council. Cllr Toby Savage says local roads cannot take more congestion, so access for drivers to the as-yet-unidentified site must be only from the motorway.
But he says park and rides are not allowed directly on motorways, so the only way would be to declassify the M32. Consultants commissioned by the West of England Combined Authority (Weca) are identifying preferred locations, and £48million has been allocated to the “strategic corridor” as part of the £540million City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) from the Government.
However, speaking on BBC Radio Bristol’s John Darvall show, the Conservative councillor said finding an actual site, which has still not been pinned down, was not the only sticking point. “The location needs to be one that means access can only be to and from the M32 itself,” Cllr Savage said.
