M32 park and ride dropped amid air pollution fears

Plans to build a park and ride by a motorway junction in Bristol have been scrapped.

The West of England Combined Authority said the project would have pushed drivers to use residential roads in areas such as Fishponds or Frenchay.

Transport planners are now looking at alternative options to cut congestion on the M32.

Malcolm Parsons, the authority's interim delivery director for transport infrastructure, said traffic modelling showed the park and ride would have led to "poorer air quality" on nearby roads.

Under the proposals, a park and ride would have been built at the M32's junction 1 on the outskirts of Bristol, as well as new bus lanes, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

However traffic modelling suggests drivers would instead use residential roads as alternative routes, if there was less space on the motorway.

This would make residential areas more polluted and could slow down some bus routes, according to the authority.

Mr Parsons told an overview and scrutiny committee meeting on 22 July that scrapping the scheme would avoid "damaging impacts" caused by the planned changes.

He said: “Effectively, you would reduce the capacity of the M32 to move people into a park and ride scheme, when in reality the satellite navigation systems in people’s cars just means they’ll find another route.

"Our transport analysis and modelling show that vehicles would find their way through Frenchay, Fishponds and other routes, which led to poorer air quality in those areas.”

Buses would also be affected, as increased traffic on their routes could lead to delays and longer journey times.

Mr Parsons added: “We’re looking at wider solutions to be able to intercept private vehicles and bring them off the network, before they get onto the M32 or try to rat-run through some of our more suburban residential areas.”

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