Dovercourt Door markings

The new glue-on markings in Dovercourt road "concorde way" are placed in the ideal position to discourage survivors from ever approaching a bicycle again.

Sadly we have been forwarded some email in which the cycling team claim that this was some kind of error and will be corrected.

You are absolutely right about the location of the symbols on Dovercourt Road they have been incorrectly marked due to an error using old plans. We will rectify this.

We agree, anything trying to encourage such subversive actions as not driving in the city needs correction. On that topic, we are pleased to announce the Brunel Ford are now the official sponsors of the Concorde Way, The extension of the Farm Pub Path. More to follow soon.

Breaking news: a new route for cyclists arrives

While dark things were happening in London; a new movement set up to bring cycling to the masses, and troublemakers in Filton were painting bollards to make the cycle paths somewhere safe to cycle, here in Bristol the council spent the weekend trying to bring cycling to Horfield, at least Dovercourt Lane, which now has a route between their houses and B &Q that doesn't require 120-140mm of front suspension.

We had hoped for something that would create pedestrian/bicycle conflict, one where S Gloucs council would have to come down, show them city folk how it was done, and add some white bollards down the middle and gates at the end to calm down the cyclists and make the whole thing generally unpleasant. We call this the "Coronation Road" gambit: a cycle lane impossible to cycle down.

But this looks, well, wide and inviting.

There's a gentle rise, with visibility. People will be able to get from Dovercourt road to Muller Road without even going to any effort, to get the farm pub in St W's without working up a sweat. Compare that with the frustrating effort to drive to the same pub on a friday evening from the same location -all because the same council refuses to open up Boiling Well's Lane as a through route between Muller Road and the city.

We are shocked and disappointed.

Our big fear now is that the council will use this as an excuse for making Dovercourt Road and Wordsworth Road pleasant to cycle along. We shall be monitoring this, and ask for contributions from local drivers to resist this fundamental attack on the Bristol lifestyle.

North Fringe Route Update

Both cyclists who read this site will be interested to hear that the North Fringe cycle route, linking Abbey Wood with the Farm Pub, will be installed this weekend; the schedule still says "February". Here is the view from the B&Q side.

Sadly, for those cyclists, the council is still looking at selling off the land, so the greenery may not last for long.

Further up the route, the council is preparing for the event by parking vans saying "look out for cyclists" up on the pavement.

By parking directly opposite a road junction, the council van CN06CXR ensures traffic approaching Wordsworth Road will know to look out for bicycles.

UWE to the Farm pub, by way of Purdown Camp

Someone posts us this (long and dull) video, with commentary.

They say:

You are always whining about bicycles in your way and how your road tax is wasted on bike lanes, but look at this. At 5pm I can get all the way from UWE to the Farm Pub, St Werburgh's, by bicycle, through fields, without using any tax-funded bike lane, public road or blocking any vans, fifteen minutes door to door. You try doing that in your white van. Apart from the 30s waiting for the lights to change on Muller Road so I can cross it, it's lovely and traffic free. So please, stop complaining so much.

Some of our team members also enjoy the fine beverages served by the farm pub; indeed, one of those white vans may be ours. We also agree, that at 17:00, to drive from UWE Frenchay to the Farm pub will take 30 minutes minimum, by either route:

1. A4174 to M32, round St Pauls Roundabout to Mina Road and then that new 20 mph zone to the pub.
2. Down to Stapleton Road then traffic lights and traffic jams to Mina Road.

Does this want to make us get out or van and start cycling? No. What it does is reinforce our demand for a new road from UWE to Lockleaze, and a re-opening of Boiling Wells Lane from Muller Road to St Werburgh's. This will stop both Lockleaze and Ashley Vale from being forgotten parts of the city.

Farm Pub Path -one year on

With the Muller Road to Dovercourt Road Bridge now all mixed up in the sale of the Dovercourt Open Space, what does this mean for the Great North Fringe Cycle Route, the showcase of the Cycling City?

We have no idea. What we can do is check out the key destination of the route to date -the Farm Pub- and see how it's use has changed since we visited it last year, before the path was officially open. Has the opening up of more bicycle access increased the number of people who cycle there?

Well, there are a couple of bikes by the dogs at the entrance.

Two more people lining their wheeled UN/EU-conspiracy vehicles to an empty bench

In the rest of the garden, yes, every bench in use appears to be used by cyclists, many of whom must have nipped over for a pint or four of Doom Bar Beer.

Given the amount of tax you pay on beer, it's probably defensible: money saved from fuel can go towards beer, and at the outrageous tax rate there it evens out. And if they go there on the bike path they aren't taking up road-tax funded roads. But has enough extra beer tax revenue been raised by this single pub been adequate to pay for the path?

The other issue is that with the pub full of these cyclists, why would we, the motorists, drive there? Have they gained customers, or only chased away an equivalent number of motorists? And if so, who spends the most per evening? Us, the wealthy citizens forced by anti-motorist laws to only have 6-8 pints before driving home, or them, the tax-dodging cyclists who aren't harassed by drink driving legislation which the new coalition has failed to roll back, despite their promise to end the war on motorists?

Sita, continuing their sponsorship

On the day that the Barclays Bike Hire scheme starts in London, we are pleased to see that Sita Van WX51HBF is busy showing how the outsourced waste collection team of Bristol are proud to support the cycle lanes of the city, here at the end of the St Werburgh's to North Fringe route. If the connection to Dovercourt Road goes through -note how we say if- then this will be the premier route between the two main employment hubs in the city.

The placement of the van at the end of the cycle lane will ensure that everyone travelling between either destination will see the van and appreciate what Sita and their staff do for the city.

We think everyone should visit this Sita van, which is usually parked here between 09:00 and 10:00 every Friday, and congratulate them for their contribution. That is, we should all drive there and thank them for making this part of town more miserable to the cyclists. As for the cyclists, well, they should be grateful for this work crew reminding everyone coming into town on the forthcoming North Fringe route that they are in fact not welcome in the city. Better to get the hint in a controlled, safe, manner than to discover the harsh truth in a near-death incident.

Muller Road bike path issues

We popped down to Muller Road to make sure all was well with the new path, to see how cars and tax dodgers were using it.

What shocked us was how many of the tax dodgers weren't it. First someone careers off from the Farm Pub path at speed

And goes down the road, smirking at us. We don't know whether to praise him for at least having a helmet, or condemn him for the headphones.

Eventually we decided just to ignore the helmet issue and denounce him for being on a bicycle, but at least he isn't holding up traffic.

Unlike the bicycle a few minutes later.

Note also the bicycle heading towards the pub path: no helmet, no hi-viz. And how do these tax dodgers get there? Well, apparently the council is going to tweak the lights so they respond within a few seconds of the buttons being pressed. Currently they take about 30s to react -like all other pedestrian crossings along Muller Road. That 30s wait has a valuable function: it let's people know their place -at the bottom of the food chain.

It also lets us denouce scenes like this:

Rather than wait 30s for a crossing light, a reckless cyclist has veered over the road to get on the path. And without a helmet. These people should not be encouraged!

The Muller Road disaster

While some of the cycling troublemakers complain that the Cycling City money isn't having any effect, our complaint is that in the parts of the city where we drive -clearly not places the troublemakers go- it is impacting our commute.

Take Muller road, the high-speed, high-traffic-volume route from Horfield to the M32. It is for this road alone, that the M32 includes signs for Horfield. Yet what is happening?

At the end of the Farm Pub Path, they really are putting in a wide, separate, bike lane. We had hoped that the money would be frittered on a bike lane with trees in the middle of it, as with Coronation Road. One that is no use to bicycles, but justifies us beeping our horns when there are cyclists on the road.

Fortunately, it seems to run out after a short distance, forcing the bicycles to do some kind of crossing thing, or run into whatever vehicle will be parked on the road where it widens.

As well as this long-term disaster, we are pretty unhappy with the traffic chaos. Yet this roadworks didn't get a mention in the EP's "city under siege from roadworks" article. Look at this -the M32 traffic jam is beginning about 500 metres before it normally does.

One car has broken down and only just managed to get to the pavement, where the AA Van EU58LYW has come out to rescue it.

What we fail to understand is why the Farm Pub should merit such a path, if it will only encourage people to go there, drink Doom Bar Bitter, and cycle home drunk afterwards. How will that improve road safety?

Muller Roadworks

Here are the some roadworks on Muller Road, a key M32 access route. We have proposed widening this road in the past, by using up the under-exploited pavement and bits of greenery on the side -here some allotments.

Is this happening? Has the council seen reason, realised that a wider road would help traffic to get to and from the motorway, and so even boost bus journey times? Not a chance

This is the current end of the Farm Pub Path route. They are narrowing the road, adding some raised bike lane leading up to some light-controlled crossing that will slow down us, the tax paying economic backbone of the city, while the cyclists and pedestrians, the underpeople, pootle over.

Yet look at this pavement. There is perfectly enough room to the right of the pedestrian to fit bicycles. True, there are trees in the way at regular intervals -yet this has not been a barrier to on-pavement bike paths elsewhere in the city, coronation road in particular!

If a bike path with trees along the middle of it kept bicycles out of the way of into-city commuter traffic in South Bristol, there's no reason why it wouldn't work here as well.

Farm Pub Path: Signage

Signs have appeared on the Farm Pub Path. Oddly enough, they do not mention the Farm Pub, or Muller Road.

Sadly, the presence of the lamppost in the middle of the path appears to prevent the owner of the pickup J343GHY from being able to follow the directions.

Instead he has been forced to abandon his car and make the rest of the journey on foot

A taxi for a cycling city

At the Farm Pub Path opening event, we saw a sneak preview of what could be a new solution to our city's late night traffic problems -the captain bikebeard bike float

This multi-pedaller bike system gets its forward movement from the work of the two at the front -the one at the back is only driving the sound system. While he eats off a plate. Which is where it gets interesting.

Imagine a fleet of these, picking up people from the city centre on a Friday or Saturday night. There's enough power in those front two legs to get over the hills, while the passenger in the back not only gets the option of music -if they choose to pedeal- they are in the idea position to eat a kebab and chips on the way home. Even better, being in the open air -no smoking restrictions!

Bristol Bike Project: A success story

Only a few days after visiting the Bristol Bike Project, and already we can recognise the signs of one of their donated bikes.

It's not the bike itself -there's nothing wrong with having a twenty year old supermarket-grade mountain bike that is still running the original Tioga Farmer John tyres and thumbshifters -retro is back in you know, though ideally with bikes that were actually good in 1991.

The real clue is the way the owner treats it. Rather than as an undervalued utility vehicle, the people that those subversives in the Bristol Bicycle Project have been supporting are so poor, so deprived, that this is about their only possession -so they love it and value it more than anyone else. It's that expression of care that gives it away. Instead of leaving it in the manned bike parking area, this bicycle is so precious that the owner brings it with them at all times.

The other sign is the general unhealthy appearance of the individual. Not only does he have a strange accent from abroad, his body looks as though it has been neglected over the years, with their legs and arms taking on the pallor of someone unwell. It is the classic suntan of someone from a Glasgow or Edinburgh housing estate, the "Trainspotting Look".

This particular individual said that although originally from Wales, he was chased out of his country for his political beliefs (LibDem). He now has to regularly travel to London to seek work. Many local political activists have told me that it is unfair that he should suffer this way, and hope that he will soon have to stop such travel. We in Bristol Traffic have no opinion on the topic, other than to express our concern over the state of his legs. A bit of sunlight will do wonders there. Coming out to the St Werburgh's fair could be the first step in this recovery process.

The Farm Pub Path: open to samba and other marching bands

The Farm Pub Path has long linked Muller Road with the village that is St Werbugh's "under the tunnel", a village which, unlike many rural villages, still boasts a decent pub and a thriving agricultural industry, albeit one not considered legal by this nation's drug laws.

You've been able to get from Muller Road/Horfield to the pub and back again on foot or by bike -but the one thing you have not been able to do is cross the allotments while travelling in a samba band. This has severely inconvenienced some potential path users, who like to travel in such a format for safety, and for the social aspects of travelling en-samba.

This weekend, the offical path opening took place.



As you can see from the video, the first testing of a sending a samba band along the path did prove successful, and the path is now open to all marching bands, be they samba, brass or bagpipe.

To celebrate the event, many people came out to enjoy the beers and cider on sale by the Farm Pub, the city farm and some local residents, before staggering home.

Farm Pub Path Update

Many of the Bristol Traffic correspondents have been visiting the newly enhanced Farm Pub Path, primarily on account of its destination: the Farm Pub. This pub welcomes cyclists.

Having consulted with the staff, we are delighted to announce that the pub will allow Bristol Traffic, and the population of the city, to call the St-Werburgh's to Muller Road path, The Farm Pub Path.

There are very good reasons for everyone to do this

1. It is easier to spell.

2. Muller Road is not an aspirational destination for anyone. Even if you live in Lockleaze, Muller Road is somewhere you head over on you way to somewhere else.

3. If the name sticks, they owe us beer.

The path will be formally opened on June 13th, during the St Werburgh's Fair. However, the path is open today, and to welcome new visitors to the path, the Farm Pub is running a special offer. For the very small price of £2.80, they will serve anyone who walks or cycles down the path a pint of Doom Bar Bitter, from Sharps Brewery, Cornwall. This is well worth not just the £2.80, but the journey to the pub.

Please go the pub, order a pint and say that you were sent by Bristol Traffic. That way we hope that our local St W. correspondent will get a commission on every pint so sold.

Breaking News: the Farm Pub Path from muller road to St Werburgh is open

we got an email at 1700 today from "TG" who tells us that the Cycle City "Farm Pub Path" from St Werburgh's to Muller Road is now open!

And yes it is. It isn't even raining on the path. Here is the zig-zag by the underpass

Looking along

Looking down, the railway is on the left

Here is how the wall has been fixed up.

There will be a video to follow later on -but for now, get down there, check it out, have some beer at the Farm Pub.