Residents urge council to take action against ‘scary’ speeding
ANTI-SPEEDING activists in a Bristol suburb are urging the council to help them solve the ‘scary’ speeding issue in their neighbourhood.
A group of residents from the Lockleaze branch of community union Acorn have carried out a year-long campaign to improve road safety, but say the promise of a meeting with a Bristol City Council cabinet member to discuss road improvements has been ignored.
The residents say the council’s transport chief Don Alexander has not yet met with them, although he promised to do so when they met with him last September. But he says infrastructure projects take years and holding another meeting will do nothing to solve the problem.
The residents’ petition for more traffic-calming measures and for the council to introduce a long-term strategic plan to stop speeding has reached 292 signatures, and their campaign has seen 100 handwritten letters addressed to Cllr Alexander delivered straight to City Hall.
Hannah Blaszczyk, who lives on Landseer Avenue, says when she moved to Lockleaze three years ago she “could not believe” how bad the speeding was.
She said: “It is a consistent problem, it’s not just one or two incidents. I joke with my partner that it’s like Formula One outside.”
She says she regularly sees people breaking the 20mph speed limit and estimates that 40 per cent of motorists in the area drive faster than 40mph – some even quicker.
“I’ve seen a guy travelling at 30mph, and clearly it wasn’t fast enough for the guy behind him, because he overtook at about 50mph and mounted the kerb while kids were cycling along it. Dust and rock was thrown all over the place – really, really scary.”
Gabriela Nagyova lives on Brangwyn Grove, which has an entrance to Stoke Park Primary School, while Trinity Academy sits just behind the street.
She said: “It’s not safe, and we have two schools around here and quite a lot of kids going there, sometimes in groups. And you know how kids are when they’re in a group – they’re not exactly paying attention to the road.”
They say a meeting with Cllr Alexander would be a step towards improving road safety, but they have not been able to arrange one despite trying for months.
Recently, they invited the cabinet member to a meeting again and gave him a deadline of March 18 to respond, but he did not reply.
But Cllr Alexander said he was “very busy” and measures to solve speeding problems could take years, rather than months and weeks. He said: “I’ve taken on board what they said to me, but given the timeline of transport projects, there’s nothing new to say to them given transport projects tend to take years rather than weeks and months. Coming to see me again would do nothing to add to it.”
He added that the council had put things in place to address transport in Lockleaze and said: “We are working in various areas of Lockleaze, but it’s months and years to do infrastructure projects, not weeks”.
He also said he told Lockleaze residents in September they should report law-breakers to the police.
“It’s not short term to change infrastructure; the short-term solution is to go to police and tell them people are breaking the law,” he said.
A city council spokesperson said: “A number of transport initiatives have been approved to meet the needs of new homes being built following investment in the regeneration of Lockleaze. Construction of a fully accessible off-road walking and cycling route that links Cheswick Village to Lockleaze and Purdown began in November 2021 and is due to be finished in autumn 2022.
“Works will begin this summer on sustainable transport improvements along Muller Road, which will see new bus lanes, upgraded accessible bus stops, the closure of Springfield Avenue, Draycott Road and Brent Road to through traffic to reduce ‘ratrunning’ and improve walking and cycling journeys and road safety, along with the introduction of traffic signals and pedestrian crossings to the junction with Ralph Road.
“A second phase of works along Muller Road, south of Shaldon Road, is being redesigned following initial consultation. This second phase will be reviewed again later in 2022 and discussed with local stakeholders when ready.”
I joke with my partner that it’s like Formula One outside Hannah Blaszczyk