South Gloucestershire Council (SGC) has announced that a £168 million rapid transport scheme that will link Bradley Stoke and Bristol city centre has been agreed “in principle” by the government.
Information about the scheme, known officially as the North Fringe to Hengrove Package, is hard to come by, but SGC says:
This is a major project to provide a rapid transit system linking Bradley Stoke, Emersons Green, Stoke Gifford and Aztec West with Bristol city centre and south Bristol. It will include the Stoke Gifford Transport Link, a new route across the railway line at Stoke Gifford. This Link will relieve the current congestion around the railway bridge near Parkway Station and on surrounding roads.
The West of England Partnership (WEP), which is leading the project, describes a rapid transit scheme as follows:
Bus Rapid Transit will be a rapid, reliable, frequent and punctual form of public transport that will feature segregated bus lanes, using modern up to date sustainable vehicles that will link outlying areas with the major employment and shopping hubs.
The Journal understands that the exact route of the scheme is still to be decided but earlier plans show Parkway Station linked to Bradley Stoke District Centre (now the Willow Brook Centre) via Hunts Ground Road, Great Stoke Way and Bradley Stoke Way.
Construction of the scheme could start in 2013/14 and be completed by 2016, according to information on the WEP and SGC websites.
More Information:
And I’m going to win the lottery next week!