On Tuesday 13th October, Bristol City Council’s Transport Engagement Team showed small groups of people the new access arrangements for Ashley Down train station. If you missed the Ashley Down station tour then we hope these pictures, taken when FoSBR were shown round, will give a a flavour of what’s planned!
The main access to the station will be from Station Road, Ashley Down. The busy Concorde Way cycle route runs alongside the railway here, in front of the railings. The path in the foreground links from Station Road to the cycle route and will also be the main approach to the station entrance. The railway runs left to right behind the railings, and access to the station platforms will be round the corner to the right, behind the tree. From here you will initially be able to catch trains in the direction of Henbury or Bristol Temple Meads
There will be two parking bays for blue badge holders. A person on our tour who lives close to the site was concerned about the loss of parking spaces, which they saw as a potential problem in the absence of a residents’ parking scheme in the area.
The current rather steep route to the subway, in front of the car, will be replaced by a flight of steps.
The station entrance is potentially hazardous because train passengers will need to cross Concorde Way to leave the station. The path will be widened here, and rumble strips will be used to warn cyclists to slow down. Concorde Way currently slopes down steeply to meet the station underpass, with poor sightlines. This gradient will be eased, starting just after where the crossing is shown, making both the subway and the continuation of Concorde Way safer and more accessible.
These plans are solely focused on access from the Ashley Down side of the railway.
The station will be accessible from Muller Road though, via Station Lane and the station underpass. Although this route does not form part of the station access plans, we were told that the station underpass and Station Lane are to be improved as part of the travel plan for Trinity Academy, Lockleaze.
The crossing from Station Lane to Shaldon Road is set to be improved to allow safe access to this new school, which is around 1 km from the station.
We would like to see a new bus stop very near this point to allow easy interchange between bus and train. We would also like to see improvements to Station Lane to make it safer and more appealing.
We’re grateful to Transport Engagement for a friendly welcome, and for setting this up and marking things out to make it all easier to visualise.
The consultation is open until 1st November 2020 if you’d like to comment.
