Big changes are planned for the Portway park and ride in north west Bristol to cater for new shuttle buses running to the YTL Arena. City Hall bosses are due to sign off £2-million plans to change the junction so that buses can turn left leaving the site and drive onto the M5 motorway.
Buses leaving the park and ride, next to the motorway junction in Avonmouth, can currently only turn right and head down the Portway into the city centre. But remodelling the junction on the Portway will allow buses from Avonmouth, Severnside and North Somerset to use the site too.
Bristol City Council ’s cabinet is expected to approve the full business case for the project on Tuesday, October 3. Wider work is also planned in the longer term along the A4 Portway to speed up bus journey times and make services more reliable.
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A cabinet report said: “Currently the infrastructure at the Portway park and ride site’s bus entrance is set up to only serve buses travelling to and from the south east, which restricts opportunities for site development. The provision of new access arrangements can unlock this barrier to the development as a transport hub for multiple connecting services.
“This will initially provide for a direct shuttle service to and from the YTL Arena, and for rail replacement services associated with the new station at the park and ride site. It will also allow for future development for both orbital bus connections and for services using the Portway, from Avonmouth, Severnside and North Somerset.”
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The £2 million of funding for the project will come from the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement, which the government gave to the West of England Combined Authority. A contractor still needs to be found, but works are due to start in June next year and finish in February 2025.
A new train station opened up at the Portway park and ride in August. The YTL Arena is due to open in either late 2025 or early 2026 in Filton, in the former Brabazon Hangars on Filton Airfield.
