A mini-roundabout that’s in ‘dire need of repair’ at what is about to become a key junction for drivers avoiding the Clean Air Zone won’t be fixed, because council highways chiefs say there are worse roads that need fixing first. The junction at the end of North Street, Dean Lane and Cannon Street in Bedminster is already experiencing much greater traffic volumes since the closure of the northbound Malago Road in January this year, and councillors say it’s about to get a lot busier when the Clean Air Zone starts next week.
The road surface right across the roundabout is broken pitted, scarred and covered in potholes and council contractors have marked each issue out in pink spray paint - but there’s no prospect of the road being resurfaced soon.
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Green Party councillors for three wards that meet close to the roundabout have come together to call on the council to sort out the problem, and say their efforts have been in vain so far.
Since January 2022, the northbound Malago Road was closed, which means much of the traffic heading up the A38 towards the city centre now goes on a marked diversion route around the mini-roundabout and up to Coronation Road and the Bedminster Bridge roundabout. When the Clean Air Zone begins on November 28, drivers of non-compliant vehicles using what is Bristol’s busiest A-road, the A370 Brunel Way, could well come along North Street to avoid the CAZ zone and head across South Bristol instead, using the mini-roundabout in front of the Steam Crane pub.
Councillors from Southville, Bedminster and Windmill Hill say the junction is also an important one for cyclist, students, scooter riders and parents and carers. “Residents from all three of the local wards have raised concerns with us about the state of this mini-roundabout junction,” said Cllr Christine Townsend (Green, Southville). “The Council is fully aware of the need for work here and has sprayed pink paint to mark out the many potholes that litter this roundabout. All entrance and exit routes for these three main local roads are in dire need of repair and deteriorating quickly. I am now worried the situation could become dangerous, and that it’s just a matter of time before there is a serious injury or worse,” she added.
Windmill Hill councillor Lisa Stone agreed. “I reported these dangerous potholes to the council in 2021, but still over a year later there’s been no progress,” she said. “The council needs to sort this out before someone gets hurt.”
The councillors have raised this with the council, but have been told by officials that the potholes and road surface is ‘not an immediate danger to the travelling public’, and said that there are higher priority sites, so there is no timescale for when the roundabout might be repaired.
The Green Party councillors said they were surprised to see the ruling Labour Party send out leaflets promoting their work on fixing potholes across the city. The leaflets said: ‘Potholes are a nuisance and potential danger for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians alike. We’re pleased that we’ve made progress since coming to power and have reduced the number of potholes by 60 per cent’.
Cllr Townsend said: “This ‘progress’ doesn’t seem to extend to South Bristol. I hope the administration will reconsider and take steps to fix this major junction before traffic on it increases even more and it becomes more dangerous – and more expensive, and disruptive, to repair. At the very least residents deserve to know when this will happen.
“I have also used the official channels open to ward councillors to raise this type of case work, but the response made it clear the administration does not consider this junction dangerous, or important enough to be repaired – I think that’s unacceptable,” added Cllr Townsend.
Bristol Live contacted Bristol City Council on November 16 to ask about the state of the roundabout at the Bedminster end of North Street and a response is still awaited.
Read next:
- Where the borders for the scheme will fall street by street
- When will the CAZ charges operate
- Clean Air Zone start date finally announced
- Clean Air Zone fee and how people will be charged
- Bristol Clean Air Zone timeline: the story so far as start date finally announced
- Thousands of drivers 'caught' in Clean Air Zone every day in council test
- Camera error sends Clean Air Zone warning letters to drivers who've never been to Bristol
- Clean Air Zone and underground metro will make cycling safer claim council chiefs
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