Local residents have just one more day to submit comments about the controversial closure of Highwood Road to South Gloucestershire Council (SGC).
The council’s public consultation on the “experimental” closure of a section of the road between Durban Road and Coniston Road ends tomorrow (Friday 19th April).
SGC decided in July 2012 to press ahead with proposals to close the road, despite receiving a 4,137 signature petition calling for it to be kept open to general non-commercial traffic, subject to a 20mph speed limit.
The only concession made to the petitioners was to implement the closure for a trial period of 18-months, to allow “a full evaluation of the impact of the scheme upon the adjoining highway network and local community to be fully considered”.
The Highwood Road ‘linear park’ scheme is a key feature of SGC’s plan to integrate the new Charlton Hayes development, on one side of Highwood Road, with the existing town of Patchway on the other.
Opponents of the scheme say it makes it difficult for some residents to access local facilities and claim it has led to a increase in traffic on Coniston Road.
SGC initially insisted that all consultation replies be submitted by post, but it is now allowing them to also be made by email, sent to:
Respondents are asked to:
- Include reasons for any comments made.
- Quote the relevant reference number of the experimental order. These are (click number to read MS Word document):
- L3/DS/STOP/PT.4430 (Prohibition of entry except for buses)
- L3/DS/STOP/PT.4431 (Prescribed movements; Prohibition of right turn)
- L3/DS/STOP/PT.4432 (Reserved bus lane)
- Mark correspondence “for the attention of Dean Shepherd”.
Related link: Highwood Road Linear Park (The Journal)
This is such a bad idea. What is the point in closing roads that are major routes which help alleviate traffic. Since the closure I have to do a trip that takes an extra 2 miles to get to the mall and back. It’s ridiculous when there is a owrfecy good direct route.
just what i have been saying for some time,unfortunately some people have there head stuck in the sand with no connection with the real world.i expect these are the same people who went to maggies funeral and helped waste 10 million of tax payers money.
Callicroft, I live in the real world! Keep the road closed! PS Baroness Thatcher was an awesome PM, and I wouldn’t mind if all my tax money for the rest of my life went on her funeral!
James your a complete ****
Tomorrow is your last chance to have your say where it matters – to SGC. Come on, make your feelings known before it is too late. SGC have even made it easier for you to do so. Read the article these comments are attached to for how to do so. Hurry up!
You are becoming boring now Callicroft. I also note that you make many sweeping generalisations about supporters of the Road Closure. I hope it stays closed, and each time I drive down Callicroft on my way home from Spar now I afford myself a wry smile that I’m adding one extra car’s worth of traffice to your road. 🙂
obviously over weight patchway bloke,having to drive a quarter of a mile instead of walking .i suppose somebody got to be overweight.by the way there is no e on the end of traffic, sorry to bore you but we all cant live in the fast lane,or should i say the closed lane.
Can I ask that readers keep comments “on topic” and refrain from personal insults. Thank you.
A typo Callicroft. Just like you should put a space after using a comma 😉
No, I’m not overweight, I am lazy though so I drive to the shops. The Mall is only a mile or so from Callicroft and as far as I’m aware Highwood road isn’t closed to Pedestrians so I’m realy not sure why you are getting your knickers in a twist……
Back on topic. I remember during peak times (Christmas Shopping/Bank Holidays) Highwood Road/A38 would be gridlocked due to the high volume of traffic. This has not happened since Hayes way (THE RELIEF ROAD) was opened, nor has Coniston Road ground to a halt.
What has happened is that the traffic has been spread more evenly, resulting in an increase to Coniston and a decrease to the other routes. It’s fairer and more logical all round, but of course this view won’t appeal to the NIMBYS who were fine when the problems massively affected others and didn’t impinge on their own lives.
This site is fast becoming a insult forum for some people ,can we all just chat about the topics and not pass insults just because you don’t agree with something someone has wrote on here .
@Happy. I am happy to debate with anyone on here. What I find however is that if you challenge the “accepted” view that closing Highwood Road was wrong, you are open to abuse.
Now while I don’t want the road reopened as I feel it has benefitted me, I am aware it has caused some disruption for others.
However: Some of the reasons citied for the road being reopened that I have read on here:
“Rodway Road shops will die as people won’t travel to them.” No, haven’t seen that happening have you? In fact others would tell you it’s only half a mile away so why not walk.
“It’s only a matter of time until a school kid is knocked over.” – A spurious claim, given that any road could be prone to an accident and it would be hard to attribute an unfortunate accident directly to an increase of traffic on Coniston Road
“Coniston Road has a road surface that is falling apart.” – It did, it has since been resurfaced so as such is rendered a moot point.
Now, interesting I think the next two reasons are the REAL reasons why people are so upset:
“I don’t want to live on a road with so much traffic going past.” – I’m sure that nobody does, but as I’ve said before, and as you know too Coniston Road is the main arterial road to Patchway estate, and thus is a “main” road – traffic is to be expected. It seems people were happier when ALL the traffic affected someone else.
“I now have to travel further to go to the Mall while a perfectly good road lies idle.” – Agreed, this is a cause, yet the end result is the same for me too. On the grander scale of things you are looking at 2/3 miles extra and perhaps 5/10 minutes to the average journey time. However, some people speak of it as if their entire life has been ruined.
I apologise for the massive post, and no doubt I’ll be roundly abused as my opinion is such that the Highwood Road closure has made traffic flow more even between Patchway Estate and Hayes Way. I shall await further personal comments about me too.
I refuse to give in to the “bullies” on here however, I am offering an alternative view, and backing it up with some opinion, not mindless hyperbole. I would welcome someone who objects to closure of Highwood Road to respond to me in the same fashion.
Glad we are back on topic Patchway Bloke/Callicroft .
yes I have to agree also the Traffic is more spread about on all the roads now. ok so it takes us a little bit longer to get around so what it wont kill us ,another thing is we didn’t have any of the problems we had a few years ago when all around was grid locked so that must be good
why should i spend more time sat in my car ,why should i drive 2 or 3 miles farther when there is no need to, we are not talking about one or two cars we are talking loads,there is no harm to anybody for that road to be open,like you said cars are more spread about so minimal disruption,i dont care about those people in hayes way there newbies i have lived in patchway for years and it seems we are bending over backwards to please them,when all of hayes way is finished there will be so many cars they will have to open that road anyway due to the horrendous amount of traffic which will be generated ,time will tell.
I find a lot of people are very selfish when it comes to their cars they think they are the only ones allowed to drive where they want to and if something is changed they don’t like it .So it’s a little further to drive home or to the shops,so what I have to drive further but it’s not going to kill me .You are saying that everyone is bending over backwards for the people of Charlton Hayes (hayes way is a link road )I don’t see that they are .Your a true NIMBY by your comments
i dont mind change for the good but change without any genuine reason for that change is pointless like highwood lane, highwood lane was a link road and the quicker it becomes one again the better.i am confused as to why you are dead set against it reopening again. your comments are even more blinkered with your keep it shut attitude,think of other people for a change and they might take you seriously.
4000 people signed a petition to keep Highwood Lane open and it’s an utter disgrace that their opinion was discounted buy S. Glos councillors who are voted in by us and should be there to serve us and not Bovis.
@Callicroft
“Think of other people for a change” – Are you actually having a laugh? You of “Why should I have to sit in my car longer?” “Why should I have to travel a little bit futher?”
Why don’t YOU think of other people for a change? A38 where I live used to be gridlocked. Coniston had no traffic of note. You don’t even live on Coniston Road, you are just annoyed it takes you longer to drive to the Mall etc.
So traffic is now more evenly spread, the closure of Highwood Road encourages a LOT of the flow of traffic to bypass Patchway completely.
“Think of other people for a change and they might take you seriously.” indeed. Pot/Kettle? I don’t take you seriously at all as it’s clear that your bug bear isn’t about traffic/school kids being knocked over/the state or Rodway Road’s shops…NO. It’s about the fact YOU are slightly inconvenienced.
@Hazeldene
Patchway has what? Say 20k Population, of which say I dunno, half or so were able to vote/comment?
If so 6000 residents either supported the move, didn’t care or were or whatever?
Should they be ignored to suit the minority?
Hope I don’t get abused by @hazel dene again, but Thanks to this article I remembered to send my support of keeping it closed to Dean Shepherd. Thanks All!
4000 against, james and patchway bloke for ,talk about out of touch ,say no more.
patchway bloke,if you can get 6000 against votes i will take you seriously,you know ,iknow and everyone knows it will never happen,like i said,4000 against,2 for.
Perhaps the council should hold a referendum
@Callicroft
A simple lesson in democracy. 10000 – 4000 = 6000. 6000 people had no opinion/no motivation/no whatever to support the petition. Thus the 4000 is a minority.
As for you taking me seriously? You are utterly blinkered and agenda ridden – your own agenda, not some “greater good” for the people of Patchway. You are a joke.
You ignore any salient point to blindly ram home YOUR opinion that YOU are mildly inconvenienced. Your’e atypical of society today. You decried others for “going to Maggie’s funeral” when in fact you are quite clearly the product of her “greed is good” culture…..
first point .i didnt care who went to thatchers funeral only the 10 million pounds of tax payers money wasted when it could have been put to better use,second point,show me 4000 people petitioned to keep the road open,you wont find them simply because they dont exist.third point my opinion which is shared by thousands of patchway people,i have spoken to loads of people in patchway and i have yet to find one person who thinks it was a good idea to shut the road,if and when i do come across that elusive individual i will post it on here straight away.third point, how can you have a democratic society when 2 councellors sign a petition to keep the road open and then vote to close it,remember these are people supposedly looking after your interests as well as mine.
@Callicroft. I live in Patchway and fully support the road closure.
I shan’t dignify the rest of your incoherent ramblings with a response.
Good day to you.
Maggies funeral cost 3.5 million and 2 of that was on police wages .Her funeral where put in place by Tony Blair and Gordon Brown when they were both in power and gave the ok of how it was going to be and it couldn’t be changed even if the Tories wanted to .
@callicroft, I live in Patchway and also support the road closure! There we go that’s 2 people already and you haven’t even started looking! Lol
Oh go on then @Callicroft – I’ll give you this response.
You won’t find 4000 people who campaigned for the road to remain closed as they didn’t have to. Given it was being closed, which, shock horror isn’t as abhorrent a decision as you make out.
I’ve outlined how it managed traffic better in an earlier post, and debunked a lot of your’s and other’s “reasons” for why it was so bad.
Bottom line is YOU are trolling this site with YOUR agenda because YOU don’t like anything that affects YOU.
the road will soon be open,the road will soon be open,ei adio the road will soon be open.dont worry just singing to myself.right when the road is opened up i hope you will campaign to get 4,000 sigatures to keep it closed,i wait with baited breath,but wont hold my breath,like i said in a previous post this must be the only council in the country to shut a duel carriageway and reroute traffic through a housing estate,you only got to look at that sign by the lights at the top of coniston, it said turn left for through traffic,suoth glos council,what a joke.
I don’t see how traffic is managed better, the traffic through durban road has increased 500% at least. How can closing a bypass and encouraging traffic through a housing estate be managing the traffic better. It’s like wacky races now driving through patchway.
when people are in the minority,happy,patchway bloke,james.they call other people trolls when they know there arguement is a lost cause and cant admit it,shame really but a fact of life.
Utter rubbish Callicroft. I’ve openly addressed any point you have made. In reply all you have done is either ignored them, fired personal insults at me, or frankly just written a load of incomprehensible ramblings at times.
To reiterate, YOU are the mildly inconvenienced and that is why you are upset. Overall the layout has spread the traffic flow more evenly between Coniston Road and Hayes Way. It’s obvious, but you won’t listen because you’re not actually interested in a debate.
Read through the massive post I put earlier up. Tell me why I was wrong? You won’t though, because it doesn’t suit your agenda. If you aren’t prepared to bring any meaningful debate to this argument, then I’m not prepared to beat my head off a brick wall with the likes of you. I’m out.
Sorry but don’t bring me into you petty arguments I’m not worried one way or the other about the road being closed even though it does take us longer to get home but hey that’s life we can’t have it our own way all the time .
bye bye first post,sit on the wall second post,agenda,meaningfull debate,what is there to debate,look around you,drive through durban road and you will see for yourself,total screw up,happy,make your mind up you were for the road closure a few posts back,its not about having your own way,its about sgc being sensible with decisions which affect us all one way or another.if the truth be known the novelty of the road closure has worn of with you and you have seen in your mind what a daft decision has been made.while you are taking longer to get home you are putting more petrol in your car to compensate,you must be a rich man.
I said I don’t care if its closed or not i cant be assed with all the petty ness .And like someone said on here before the traffic IS FLOWING BETTER so that’s a good thing is it not .its a tiny bit more petrol I use so what I work for it so I can spend it how I like .
Can we change the subject now enough has been said about this road it’s getting boring .