Originally Posted by
nonemmet
The local transport infrastructure (such as it is) already cannot cope with the current passenger numbers. The planning application intended to allow 12mppa proposes some more tinkering with the A38 road junctions in Lulsgate Bottom but very little else apart from a generous portion of very wishful thinking around passenger use of public transport. It would be entirely wrong of North Somerset Council to agree to any further expansion unless railway and a dual carriageway links are built FIRST. This will entail a pause in any expansion but it’s the only sensible way forward. Enlargement of the green belt inset to the north of Downside Road is also probably going to be needed, because the ‘very special circumstances’ arguments required as justification for tarmacking the greenbelt south of the runway are wearing very thin indeed.
Sadly I don't think any Airline expansion will be held back by surface connectivity. If Airlines can fill seats, they'll supply them. Getting to the Airport is the customers issue to deal with.
That being said, currently access to the Airport at peak times is on it's knees. Whilst the changes to the A38 on the outskirts of Bristol have been beneficial, the final stretch of A38 from Barrow Gurney up to the Airport can be a nightmare, with regular crawling traffic that is now spilling out over the peak times as more traffic tries to get to the Airport throughout the day.
It's also not Airport traffic alone that needs to be considered. Bearing in mind the Airports busiest time of day is generally 0300-0700 for first wave departures when all the based aircraft are leaving. Traffic then generally flows quite freely to the Airport on the A38 as there's a lot less local and commuter traffic. Airport traffic then becomes more spread out through the day but also then includes arriving passenger traffic heading the other way, but gets mixed in with commuter and local traffic. A solution is needed to encourage local and commuter traffic to use a different route to/from Bristol.
There are very few alternative options. Train access only gets you as far as the city, on to bus connections which have to deal with the road network stated above. Car/private bus transfers, and limited coach access on the Falcon from the Southwest or National Express from Cardiff/Newport.
I would say the majority of people using the Bristol Flyer bus are; A) those visiting the area, B) those without their own cars C) Those that live in the surrounding area accessing from Rail or Bristol City itself that choose to use the bus and leave the car at home, although I would say that counts for a very small percentage of usage. D) Staff at BRS
It will be very difficult to get people out of the cars to get to BRS. One solution would be to improve the A38 all the way up from Barrow Gurney to the Airport. The main pinch point are the lights at Lulsgate Bottom by the Airport Tavern. This causes no end of tailbacks stretching for miles. But if you fix the lights, the problem moves up to the roundabout entrance to the Airport. Unless there is direct, free flowing access into the Airport grounds, there will always be pinch points on this route. It may be possible to put dual lanes onto the roundabout with the left lane being a filter lane and having free flow to carry on the A38, as lets not forget the A38 is heavily used by commuters and residents too, and a lot of Airport users will be heading South Side to access Silverzone. It's all about traffic flow.
However it has been a rising problem for a number of years, and with the Airport expected to grow another 50% from 8m to 12m by 2025, it's going to be a big challenge. According to the masterplan, 62% of people using BRS come from the North of BRS - West of England(35%), South Wales (20%) & Gloucestershire. (7%)