Bristol council has approved the site for a third park-and-ride scheme. Located at Avonmouth on the Portway side of the Severn Beach Railway Line, the facility will service Bristol’s north-western corridor and will comprise 550 spaces.
It will be the second of the three schemes to be developed by the city council. The first, at Brislington and covering the south-east corridor, was also developed by the city. A second operating scheme, Long Ashton, which covers the south-west corridor, was developed by Park & Ride.
The first two schemes, which both received subsidies, have been deemed a success, with Long Ashton attracting around 500,000 passengers pa. The Avonmouth project will be able to draw on up to £600,000 to make up revenue requirements for the first few years of operation.
Councillor Helen Holland of Bristol council’s Environment, Transport & Leisure Executive said: “More park-and-rides were a priority second only to the supertram when local people were asked what public transport improvements they wanted to see.” Over the next five years Holland expects to see a ring of park-and-ride sites around the city.
Twelve were planned originally but Alan Bowry, managing director of Park & Ride, said the number had been scaled down. He submitted plans last January to South Gloucestershire council for a £25m park-and-ride with a related leisure scheme in the Cribbs Causeway area.
The Bristol local plan says that park-and-ride facilities will be permitted in four areas: the south-western corridor at the A370; the north-western corridor at Portway/Avonmouth; the north-eastern corridor at the M32 and A432; and the eastern corridor at the A420/A431.
EGi News 01/11/00
