Stapleton Traffic Scheme - work starts!

Local residents were somewhat relieved to see work starting on the Stapleton Traffic scheme. The traffic islands are now in place, and we hope that local people will see an improvement shortly.

Stapleton traffic - solution soon!

Following extensive public consultations, and many months late, it looks like the long awaited Stapleton village traffic management scheme will soon be a reality. The delay has been due to objections submitted about some of the extra parking retrictions, but the key features remain, including the traffic islands on Bell Hill and near The Chine.

Frome Greenway cycle path consultation

Residents in the part of Stapleton Road which runs next to the M32 are being consulted on plans to create a widened walkway and cycle path. At present there is a 'break' in the cycle route to and from the city centre, and the idea is to improve the area for walkers, especially those in wheelchairs or pushing prams. As part of the proposals, Napier Road will become two way, and additional parking would be provided, to replace spaces removed by the wider pavements.
The consultation ends on January 15th, and further details can be found on the Council website here:

Happy New Year!

This blog has been quiet for a few weeks. I won't bore everyone with the full details, but everyone who has ever lost a computer password will surely understand!
Anyway my New Year's resolution is to get back to more regular blogging, starting today.....

Small Lane solution in sight

A few days ago we heard the good news that the additional waiting restrictions proposed for Small Lane, Stapleton will go to public advertisement on September 10th.
For a long time there have been problems with this narrow lane being blocked by parked cars. Residents have been concerned about access for emergency vehicles, and First Bus have even considered re-routing the no. 5 bus service due to the problems of getting through the lane.
If accepted the parking restrictions would bring the 'Small Lane chicane' to an end at long last.
(Photo: Muriel Cole and Steve Comer in Small Lane, Stapleton).

“........and the dream shall never die.” Edward Kennedy 1932-2009

Even though we all knew that serious illness would take his life, it was still a shock to wake up to the news that Senator Edward Kennedy had died. Less charismatic than his two brothers he may have been, but in over 40 years in the American Senate he achieved so much, always motivated by a burning desire to help the underprivileged, and at the same time make society freer and fairer.

In common with those great English and Welsh Liberals, Gladstone and Lloyd George, he had flaws, more publicised in the age of international mass media. His Liberalism never wavered but Ted always knew that politics was the art of the possible, and to get things done compromise with your opponents is often necessary.
The quote above comes from his speech he made to the 1980 Democratic convention conceding defeat. I remember it at the time, but even more clearly I remember these words from the address he gave (whilst fighting back tears) at his brother Bobby's funeral in 1968:

“My brother need not be idealized, or enlarged in death beyond what he was in life, to be remembered simply as a good and decent man, who saw wrong and tried to right it, saw suffering and tried to heal it, saw war and tried to stop it......As he said many times, in many parts of this nation, to those he touched and who sought to touch him:
"Some men see things as they are and say why.
I dream things that never were and say why not."

It was this inspiration to ask 'why not' that led me into Liberal politics, and keeps me there. Edward Kennedy retained his optimism though his life, he inspired many thousands of people who never met him, and he can rest in peace now. His dream shall never die.

20 mph pilot for Eastville

A maximum speed limit of 20mph is proposed in two residential areas of Bristol, one of them includes Eastville - from the junction up to Muller Road. The proposed 20mph speed limit will apply to all residential streets within the pilot areas, but not to major traffic routes.

In Eastville the roads in the scheme are all residential, and mostly narrow streets with cars parked on both sides for most of the day. The primary aim of these pilot zones is to make walking and cycling safer and more attractive to more people. It should also help to reduce the number of road accidents, especially those involving pedestrians.

My colleague Jon Rogers, Lib Dem Cabinet member for Transport said, “We will be monitoring the success of the two pilot areas and listening to comments from local residents and businesses as well as those who regularly pass through these areas before we look at whether they could be extended to other parts of the City."

The scheme will not involve the introduction of any physical traffic calming features such as speed humps; chicanes or cameras.