MetroBus

[whole diary]

[TonyK]

Marvin is rumoured to be opposed to street parties due to his Evangelical faith. I don't know whether that's true though.

I'm not aware that the evangelical wing has any problem with parties - in fact seeing them as a good excuse for a prayer meeting. The major evangelical churches locally take a relaxed liberal view of many things unless they are directly against biblical teachings - murder is right out. There are a couple, though, where everything is forbidden unless it's compulsory.

My street will have a party later this year. We'll see how it goes. Last year's was a great success, actively supported by the city council with the loan of equipment.

[Western Pathfinder]

Either that or he has this terrible pain in all the diodes down his left hand side.

[johnneyw]

This will come as no surprise I fear:


http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/cost-of-metrobus-just-jumped-by-another-11-million/story-30056330-detail/story.html

[simonw]

Whilst I think the MetroBus idea is not exactly brilliant, the full cost so far has been road improvements, including two new roads that are desperately needed.

The lack of a A370-A38 link is ridiculous, and Stoke Gifford has a regular 1+hr queue every morning and night.

The improved roads can now be used to improved bus services.

The interesting failure of MetroBus and its proposed routes is the lack of interfacing with MetroWest.

I attended a meeting, two nights ago, and WEP/S Glous gleefully told every that MetroBus was here to stay, with ongoing infrastructure improvements for road widening, extra bus lanes, cycle lanes etc. The next phase will be Cribbs to BPW^» (Bristol Parkway - next trains), with the rail bridge on Gypsey Patch lane due to be replaced in two years to allow the road underneath to widened (cycle lanes, bus lane and wider car lanes and pavements), a job that should really have been done 70 years ago

[TonyK]

Whilst I think the MetroBus idea is not exactly brilliant, the full cost so far has been road improvements, including two new roads that are desperately needed.

The lack of a A370-A38 link is ridiculous, and Stoke Gifford has a regular 1+hr queue every morning and night.

The improved roads can now be used to improved bus services.

The interesting failure of MetroBus and its proposed routes is the lack of interfacing with MetroWest.

I attended a meeting, two nights ago, and WEP/S Glous gleefully told every that MetroBus was here to stay, with ongoing infrastructure improvements for road widening, extra bus lanes, cycle lanes etc. The next phase will be Cribbs to BPW^» (Bristol Parkway - next trains), with the rail bridge on Gypsey Patch lane due to be replaced in two years to allow the road underneath to widened (cycle lanes, bus land and wider car lanes and pavements), a job that should really have been done 70 years ago

Good luck with the expansion, which may play a part in the next round of local elections, even in apathetic South Gloucestershire. The truth has always been that this is a road-building project, with public transport as the Trojan horse. It will, as all new roads do, provide space for more cars.

MetroBust may be here to stay, with or without buses running, but the West of England LEP^» (Local Enterprise Partnership - about) may not be. It should be stripped of anything to do with public transport. That has improved in spite of the LEP, not because of it. South Glos are highly in favour of MetroBust, as it gives them the ability to build lots of homes for new council tax payers on Filton Airfield. In a propaganda magazine recently, the council's scribe referred to the "already successful" MetroBust project. How he got that with it being years late, millions over budget, and still no sign of an operator, I don't know, but you don't see Comical Ali on TV these days. Might be he has a job behind the scenes...

[Chris from Nailsea]

The lack of a A370-A38 link is ridiculous ...

... as I mutter constantly, when I drive between Nailsea and Bishopsworth, most days ... 

However, I must say that the vast amounts of money they have apparently spent on the Lime Kiln Roundabout has turned that into a particular feature on the historic A38 route south of Bristol. 

[John R]

Well it opens tomorrow according to the airport, so hopefully you won't be muttering for much longer!

[Bmblbzzz]

Whilst I think the MetroBus idea is not exactly brilliant, the full cost so far has been road improvements, including two new roads that are desperately needed.

The lack of a A370-A38 link is ridiculous, and Stoke Gifford has a regular 1+hr queue every morning and night.

The improved roads can now be used to improved bus services.

The interesting failure of MetroBus and its proposed routes is the lack of interfacing with MetroWest.

I attended a meeting, two nights ago, and WEP/S Glous gleefully told every that MetroBus was here to stay, with ongoing infrastructure improvements for road widening, extra bus lanes, cycle lanes etc. The next phase will be Cribbs to BPW^» (Bristol Parkway - next trains), with the rail bridge on Gypsey Patch lane due to be replaced in two years to allow the road underneath to widened (cycle lanes, bus land and wider car lanes and pavements), a job that should really have been done 70 years ago

Good luck with the expansion, which may play a part in the next round of local elections, even in apathetic South Gloucestershire. The truth has always been that this is a road-building project, with public transport as the Trojan horse. It will, as all new roads do, provide space for more cars.

MetroBust may be here to stay, with or without buses running, but the West of England LEP^» (Local Enterprise Partnership - about) may not be. It should be stripped of anything to do with public transport. That has improved in spite of the LEP, not because of it. South Glos are highly in favour of MetroBust, as it gives them the ability to build lots of homes for new council tax payers on Filton Airfield. In a propaganda magazine recently, the council's scribe referred to the "already successful" MetroBust project. How he got that with it being years late, millions over budget, and still no sign of an operator, I don't know, but you don't see Comical Ali on TV these days. Might be he has a job behind the scenes...

I was talking with someone yesterday about the Metro Mayor idea and how it interacts with projects such as MetroBus. We concluded that one of the prime things any likely Metro Mayor is going to want to do is make it easier for people to live in SGlos, N. Som and rural parts of BNES while working in Bristol and Bath; and the way they (the commuters, ie voters) are going to want to do that is by driving. So any excuse for road building (though self-defeating in the long, or even short, term) will be a mayoral vote winner.

[Red Squirrel]

I was talking with someone yesterday about the Metro Mayor idea and how it interacts with projects such as MetroBus. We concluded that one of the prime things any likely Metro Mayor is going to want to do is make it easier for people to live in SGlos, N. Som and rural parts of BNES while working in Bristol and Bath; and the way they (the commuters, ie voters) are going to want to do that is by driving. So any excuse for road building (though self-defeating in the long, or even short, term) will be a mayoral vote winner.

I can't see many pure road schemes (as opposed to those which can be camouflaged as public transport) getting the green light. Ultimately, any cars coming into Bristol will need to park somewhere, and even the dimmest, most populist politician will see that building new car parks (together with access infrastructure) in central Bristol is likely to be hugely expensive and unpopular.

Far better to pretend that enhancing public transport will release road space. Expect more showcase bus routes and Park-and-Rides; we may even see further enhancements to MetroWest...

[Bmblbzzz]

That's pretty much it. Although I'm not sure about car parks in central Bristol being unpopular, bearing in mind the key constituents will be those in the outer fringes and surrounding towns who are the main potential users. And some new car parks will "have" to be built, eg for Teh Arenal (though I don't know if that will be in the MetroMayor's decision – probably still a City thing).

[simonw]

At the recent Metrobus meeting, Bradley Stoke 12th January, the councillors where very committed to adding more Park and Rides in South Gloucestershire and around Bristol to remove traffic from central Bristol, M32 and the Northern Fringe.

I don't think any plan exists in adding more parking in Bristol, or the Northern Fringe. the spare land just does not exist and house builders will always price cars out.

The key to the future though, is how bus, MetroBus and MetroWest interact to provide a viable 24x7 public transport system that works for the area, and not the bottom line of First

[Red Squirrel]

...some new car parks will "have" to be built, eg for Teh Arenal...

Will they? Who says? I am aware that the local Flat Earthers have been shouting that at their teddies, but then they don't seem to have noticed that said Arenal is within a few metres of a large railway station - not to mention its proximity bus routes, cycles paths, ferry stops and - hey - car parks.

[Noggin]

I think that the metro mayors have the ability to be a very interesting development indeed.

There are going to be a number of elected leaders of English areas with populations over a million, that can turn around to Westminster and the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) and ask why, when they mostly have quite successful economies and citizens who pay lots of tax, why they aren't benefiting from the levels of transport spending that London enjoys, or why they have to put up with buses when Manchester gets a new tram line every couple of years, or just challenge the DfT's analysis in the way that Hendy was able to do whilst at TfL^» (Transport for London - about).  

From Bristol's perspective, whilst we'll inevitably have to wait until the Filton Bank quadrupling and resignalling are complete for electrification to see the benefits of MetroWest, the more time goes on, the more impressive the results are likely to be, and the greater the chances are that a new mayor could parlay that into a package of electrification, rebuilding of the Severn Beach line and station reopenings.

[Bmblbzzz]

...some new car parks will "have" to be built, eg for Teh Arenal...

Will they? Who says? I am aware that the local Flat Earthers have been shouting that at their teddies, but then they don't seem to have noticed that said Arenal is within a few metres of a large railway station - not to mention its proximity bus routes, cycles paths, ferry stops and - hey - car parks.

Zackly. It won't have to be built for people to use the Arena, it will "have to be built because we've got a hundred thousand people coming to watch Ronni Size and they're all going to park their cars in every residential street within two miles and all the residents will be up in arms and the Post's going to print a really nasty article about me."

[Noggin]

...some new car parks will "have" to be built, eg for Teh Arenal...

Will they? Who says? I am aware that the local Flat Earthers have been shouting that at their teddies, but then they don't seem to have noticed that said Arenal is within a few metres of a large railway station - not to mention its proximity bus routes, cycles paths, ferry stops and - hey - car parks.

Zackly. It won't have to be built for people to use the Arena, it will "have to be built because we've got a hundred thousand people coming to watch Ronni Size and they're all going to park their cars in every residential street within two miles and all the residents will be up in arms and the Post's going to print a really nasty article about me."

Well of course the sensible thing would be to dig a very large hole on the vacant land to the north of Temple Meads, fill it with car park, stick a station extension on top of it, and it becomes a car park for the arena, station and tourists. But this is Bristol we are talking about.

Of course another suggestion for the arena has been mooted which is the former Brabazon hanger at Filton, which would have the advantage that it's pretty much built already, bang next to a motorway, no-one cares too much how many parking spaces you add, it's even right next to a railway line, with the potential to build the new North Filton station right next to it, or at the very least, run an intensive shuttle bus service to Parkway. That would arguably be a *lot* more useful for many people, it's not really going to detract from Bristol, in the same way that the NEC^» (National Exhibition Centre - about) doesn't detract from Birmingham. Sure, Bristol CC might look a bit silly, but on the other hand they've now got a prime development site that has a bridge to it and they won't have to deal with the headaches caused by traffic grinding to a halt.