Park and ride Mayor’s concern at lack of action on M32 project
THE row over building a park and ride next to the M32 is rumbling on with little apparent progress made over the last year.
Bristol mayor Marvin Rees claimed South Gloucestershire Council is “no longer supporting” the project, which was previously described as a key plan to reduce congestion. For over two decades politicians have been arguing about where to build a park and ride, with Bristol City Council favouring a site next to junction one. Mr Rees said he had been “making real progress” with the former South Gloucestershire Council leader, until local elections last year.
Last May, the Liberal Democrats and Labour took control in South Gloucestershire, as voters booted out the ruling Conservatives led by Toby Savage. During a member forum meeting on March 12, the Bristol mayor said he recently heard the new coalition was withdrawing support.
Mr Rees said: “I had been working with Toby Savage for about a year and a half on delivering a park and ride on the M32. It’s one of the ways of taking pressure off our road network coming into the city. We made real progress. It was only a couple of weeks ago that I heard from South Glos, without even informing me, that they were no longer going to support the M32 park and ride.”
Transport planners are still working on an outline business case for the project, meaning construction is unlikely to begin for years. Last summer, the project was delayed by six months, with an outline business case promised by this month — although that hasn’t happened yet. The Bristol mayor’s claims were denied by South Gloucestershire Council, who said they were still “keen to support” ways to cut congestion on the M32. One potential issue is understood to be extra pressure on local roads around junction one, as commuters drive to the park and ride.
A spokesperson for South Gloucestershire Council said: “We are keen to support any viable measures to reduce congestion on the M32 and are eager to work with our partners in the West of England Combined Authority, National Highways and Bristol City Council to identify a scheme which deals with the issues faced by residents and road users. Although it is too early to make a decision on a potential scheme while technical work around the latest ideas is progressing, we recognise the urgency to find a solution that meets our joint aspirations to address the current situation.”
Despite “recognising the urgency” – more than 20 years after plans for a park and ride were first discussed – the latest political row appears to suggest construction will be delayed yet again.
It’s one of the ways of taking the pressure off our road network Marvin Rees