Rubbish risk Clean-up call for busy bypass
CALLS are being made to clear up the Long Ashton bypass – amid fears that growing levels of litter on the route could cause an accident.
Businessman Tony Miles is putting pressure on North Somerset Council to clear the busy route from North Somerset into Bristol of the rubbish.
The route is used by thousands of motorists travelling in and out of Bristol each day.
But in recent months, levels of litter along the verges and hedges along the bypass have increased.
Laybys are also being used as makeshift rubbish dumps, with motorists dumping unwanted food wrappers, bottles and cardboard.
Plastic sheeting and builders bags are now caught up in the hedgerows.
Mr Miles – known to many as Smiley Miley from the Radio One Roadshow – lives in Wraxall and drives the route daily.
He says the rubbish is an accident waiting to happen.
More than 30 years ago a local woman died in an horrific crash on the bypass after a piece of plastic
Tony Miles collecting litter on the Long Ashton bypass
sheeting caught on the windscreen of her car.
The woman lost control and crashed head on with another vehicle.
Mr Miles said: “The bypass looks a terrible state and is covered in litter.
“The verges are full of rubbish such as discarded takeaway cartons, bottles and cardboard.
“There is plastic sheeting and builders’ bags all tangled up in the hedges.
“A local woman lost her life many years ago when sheeting blew up from the road and obscured her windscreen.
“With so much rubbish on the bypass and the high winds we have been encountering, a tragedy like this could happen again.
“North Somerset Council needs to step up to the plate and clear up the mess to make this busy route safer for motorists.
“It may cost money, but you cannot put a cost on someone’s life.”
Work to cut back vegetation along the route, which carries an estimated 19,000 vehicles a day, has already been carried out.
“This is a main route in and out of Bristol,” added Tony.
“Not only does all this rubbish pose a traffic hazard, it also looks very unsightly and does not give a good impression for those visiting our area.”
North Somerset Council spokesman Nick Yates said the bypass was a difficult route to litter pick due to the fact it is a busy dual carriageway.
Mr Yates said: “With roads like the Long Ashton bypass where speeds are high we would normally litter pick when we are carrying out other maintenance work.
“We would not have to pick up litter, putting our workers’ lives at risk if people didn’t drop it in the first place.
“Their selfish behaviour is putting other people’s lives at risk.”