Bristol City Council expects to spend almost half a million pounds maintaining the city’s traffic lights this year, new figures show.

And the council will spend some £200,000 just on electricity to power the 336 traffic light sites in the city.

The number of junctions in Bristol with traffic lights at them has risen by 68% – from 200 to 336 – in just eight years, according to the official figures.

The details were released by the city council’s transport office under a Freedom of Information Act request by local campaigner Charlotte Leslie, also the prospective Parliamentary candidate for Bristol North West.

The request has revealed that the budget for traffic light maintenance has risen steadily over the past few years, now standing at £485,000 for 2009/10 – more than £1,400 per site.

Ms Leslie, a resident of Westbury-on-Trym, supported the Bristol Evening Post’s campaign, and the subsequent decision by Bristol City Council, to trial a temporary switch off of designated traffic lights around the city.She said:

“I’ve been supporting the Evening Post’s powerful campaign to Turn Out That Light, all the way. No one is saying that safety should be jeopardized by a drastic cut to the number of traffic lights on our roads, but the explosion in unnecessary traffic lights – and the cost to the Bristol tax-payer – has become absurd.

“Reducing the number of cars with growling engines, stuck at lights, not only has environmental benefits in terms of petrol consumption, it will also ease traffic flow so that buses can be more punctual.

“ The experiment in Portishead shows that people are generally can be trusted to keep the traffic flowing without the need of endless traffic lights. Since traffic lights cost a substantial amount from the public purse, and have a dramatic effect on the daily lives of residents, I’d like to see more public involvement in where traffic lights are placed, and more transparency as to the benefits and reasons.
“It’s great that the Council has acted so quickly on the Evening Post’s superb campaign. The figures revealed today just show how much these changes could start saving the Bristol tax-payer. “

The figures released by the city council show that at the end of 2000 there were 200 traffic light sites around Bristol. By the end of 2008, this figure had risen to 336.

Ms Leslie called for better planning in the future, to put a stop to the excessive numbers of lights in the city. She said:

“Bristol has seen some great developments in recent years but the highways policy seems to have been done piecemeal. Now we are left with a road system which lacks fluidity.

“I’d like to see transport planners in the future really thinking about where traffic lights are put, using their imagination to make our roads safer and more efficient for everyone.”

Gathering of FOSBR members

It was with disbelief that I learnt that just as the campaign mounts to get Henbury Station back in use, the Government has sold it off. With other sell-offs like this happening around the country, this is effectively closing the coffin-lid on a the hope of replacing any road travel with rail.

This at a time when our roads are in gridlock, Bristol is facing a potential congestion charge which will hit the poorest hardest, fuel prices are crippling the budgets of families and we are desperately seeking an alternative to the car.

The local campaign group, Friends of Suburban Bristol Rail ( FOSBR ) have been mounting a campaign to resurrect Bristol’s dormant railway infrastructure. Their ambitious and long-sighted plans would see the operation of the Portishead and Henbury loop passenger/ freight line, with existing but derilict stations re-opened and in use across the city, including stops at Henbury, Horfield, North Filton, Ashley Hill and Portishead. FOSBR understand that we need long term solutions to the increasing practical and environmental problem of traffic.

The campaign to re-open Henbury station is not over, however. I, together with FOSBR and local campaigners will be challenging the sale on every ground possible. This is an issue on which every political party must unite for the sake of the future of transport in our city.

Make your voice heard

You can make your voice heard for a long-sighted solution to Bristol’s transport problems by signing FOSBR’s postcard campaign, (for details go to www.fosbr.org.uk or call 0117 9428637)

You can also come and support the campaign by joining our rally on Friday 21st November, 12.30pm,at Wilder House, Wilder Street, BS2. Members of FOSBR, local politicians and the public will be congregating to call for a better rail infrastructure in the city, and to lobby James White, the Group Leader of Transport Policy at the West of England Partnership.

We need your support, so join us and speak out for a better transport future for our city.

First Tells Terror Police: Pay Us £125,000

Charlotte Leslie, Conservative Prospective MP for Bristol North West, has revealed that First Bus issued a bill of a massive £125,000 to Avon and Somerset Police for CCTV footage taken from the companies buses, used to investigate the case of Andrew Ibrahim. (See this story on the BBC News web site)

Charlotte has used the Freedom of Information Act to reveal the charges made by the city’s bus company, First. First Bus justify the charges by saying that expensive camera equipment had to be removed from their buses.

Charlotte Leslie comments

“The entire purpose of CCTV footage is to aid police in their inquiries. It seems extraordinary that requiring this footage costs the bus company, Avon and Somerset Police, and ultimately the tax-payer, so much. I am finding out whether other private firms who provided footage also issued such extortionate bills. I will be surprised if they have.

Charlotte Leslie has written to the Director of First Bus, Justin Davies, to demand an explanation for the costs. Charlotte said “It is absolutely extraordinary that the police should be asked to pay this kind of fee to protect our national security. This sort of abuse of the tax payers money must be brought to light wherever it occurs, and I will be continuing to ask questions to find out more.”

This will mean three trains every two hours in both directions between Bristol Temple Meads and Avonmouth (Monday to Saturday). In the mornings and evenings most services continue to Severn Beach, and between the morning and evening peaks one train every two hours goes beyond Avonmouth (replacingingthe current bus link. Also, for the first time, there will be an hourly service between Bristol Temple Meads and Avonmouth on Sundays.

In celebration Charlotte Leslie with members of FOSBR (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways) after a long campaign to get the increased funding and services, sing a line or two about about the train line they care so much about.

Charlotte Leslie seeks reassurances from FGW

Charlotte Leslie has met Andrew Griffiths, Regional Manager for First Great Western, to voice local residents’ concerns about how your local rail network is run.

Charlotte raised the problems of overcrowding, expensive fares, and travel delays on the local rail network. She also sought reassurance that FGW would honour their agreement to provide a twice-hourly Severn Beach to Temple Meads service, which Charlotte had campaigned for with Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways (FOSBR).

“Our rail service is one of the most overcrowded and expensive in Europe and when it comes to trains, Bristol is the poor man of Britain,” said Charlotte. “First Great Western must be held to account as our local rail provider, but the real failure of our railways has come straight from the top – the Department for Transport. We are not getting the same funding or support as the rest of the country. It’s time politicians of all parties stood together and spoke up for Bristol’s transport!”

Map of the Joint Local Transport Plan

A campaigner has raised concerns over whether a near £700,000 investment into improving public transport in Bristol is being put to its best possible use.

This week, council bosses in Somerset were handed £675,000 in Government funding to press on with their plans to introduce controversial congestion charges on the county’s roads.

The West of England Partnership, which covers Bristol City Council as well as Bath & North East Somerset Council, North Somerset Council and South Gloucestershire Councils, was told it would be given the funds on Monday.

In response Charlotte Leslie, the Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Bristol North West, welcomed the funding announcement.

However, she questioned how the money would be spent, with it most likely being used to pay consultants who will put forward plans for a congestion charge for the city, which will also include plans for better public transport.

Charlotte, who has been campaigning for a referendum of Bristol people on the congestion charge before it is introduced, said:

“January 2008 was to be the month that the tram-system was opened in Bristol, but the Bristol area lost out on this opportunity because of internal political bickering.

Instead, public transport has not improved, congestion has got worse, and we are still looking for ways to solve the problem.

“So I am delighted that this time the Bristol area has spoken with one voice to improve public transport.

“However, it seems strange that all this money is to be spent on plans for a congestion charge that people in the city have not had a chance to vote on.

“If these expensive plans do get approval, the congestion charge will be a certainty. What will not be a certainty is that public transport will actually improve as a result of the other measures in the plans.

I want a guarantee that people in Bristol will not be subjected to a congestion charge until we see real improvements in public transport.

“Planning is essential, but it would be a tragedy if all this money was spent on management consultants’ salaries instead of public transport improvements now.”

Minister for Transport Rosie Winterton on Monday announced the funding so that planning to introduce road pricing can continue – but stressed it was no guarantee that cash for the final plan would be awarded.

Any areas that want to introduce congestion charges, which are already in place in London, will have to bid for the Government’s Transport Innovation Fund at a later date.

Bristol is one of a number of cities that have been earmarked nationwide as possible locations for congestion charges to be introduced, initially on a trial basis.

The proposals, similar to the controversial scheme already in place across central London, would see motorists charged up to £1.34 a mile to use inner city roads.

In response, Charlotte established an online petition calling for a referendum on congestion charging in the city before the scheme is given final approval in the Council House, as well as taking her petition to the streets.

It called for a full and frank discussion by the people of Bristol over whether the plans would help ease traffic congestion, or if any such schemes would prove ineffectual without the introduction of better public transport links within the city.

Celebrating success for funding of Severn Beach line

How many times have you been stuck, fuming, in a traffic queue? The crazy thing is, Bristol has a superb suburban railway infrastructure which is currently going to waste.

We are way behind comparable cities like Birmingham when it comes to public transport. Moreover, Bristol City Council was planning to further reduce our public transport infrastructure by pulling funding from the Seven Beach to Temple Meads line.

Charlotte said, “With congestion costing Bristol Business around £1 million pounds a week, and with climate change becoming an ever greater threat to our way of life, we can’t afford this kind of short-term false economy. That’s why I’ve been lobbying with Friends of Bristol Suburban Railways (FOSBR) for a more frequent service on the Severn Beach to Temple Meads line.

And the campaign was a success! The Council finally decided to allocate £140,000 to support improved services for the first quarter of operation between winter 2007 and Spring 2008 with more allocated in the Medium Term Financial Plan as a three year trial. So huge congratulations to FOSBR, and please show your support for our local rail by getting out of the traffic queues into the trains!

First Bus and First Great Western are the main transport operators in the region

Calls have been made for a public meeting, involving the South West’s main transport operator, to be held in a bid to solve Bristol’s “embarrassing” public transport network.

Charlotte Leslie issued the call in an effort to encourage First Great Western to increase its investment into the much-maligned public transport infrastructure currently available within the city.

Charlotte’s appeal comes as recent figures show Bristolians currently pay one of the highest bus fares in Europe – which has lead to an estimated 2 million passengers journeys being lost in the past two years.

Furthermore, despite implementing a 6.8 per cent fare increase in July – the highest increase since privatisation – First Great Western currently runs four out of the ten most overcrowded train services in England.

In response, Charlotte, the Conservative’s Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Bristol North West, has called for a public meeting between representatives of the First group, transport stakeholders and the four unitary authorities to outline how the ailing transport network will be improved.

Charlotte said:

“It has really been a case of passing the buck. The council says it is helpless, while First say it’s not their fault, or that they are improving reliability and punctuality – improvements which the public never see, except as words in newspapers.

“Bristol’s public transport is frankly an embarrassment. If cities like Manchester and Birmingham can sort themselves out, then so can Bristol.

“It is time to cut through this mess -to get some answers then take some action.”

Charlotte will make a statement before Tuesday’s full council meeting (July 24), calling for the public meeting to take place.

The statement will read;

“I call for serious questions to be asked over First Bus’s continued operation in Bristol.

“Therefore I request a public meeting between First Bus, transport stakeholders and the four unitary authorities to explain the fare rises and explain in detail how it is going to guarantee a good, reasonably priced service for Bristol in the very near future.

“If First Bus cannot do this, then appropriate action should be taken to find a transport provider which can.

“I would also like to ask the Council what measures they would be putting in place to ensure that should another franchise company take over the bus and local rail services, it would not be given the same leeway as First to charge some of the highest prices in Europe for a less than adequate service

Evening Post headline calling for a vote on charging

An online petition calling for a local debate over proposals to introduce a road congestion charge pilot scheme in Bristol is being launched today by Charlotte Leslie, the Conservative’s Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Bristol North West.

Bristol is one of a number of cities that have been earmarked nationwide as possible locations for congestion charges to be introduced, initially on a trial basis.

The proposals, similar to the controversial scheme already in place across central London, would see motorists charged up to £1.34 a mile to use inner city roads.

Response

In response, Charlotte Leslie, the Conservative’s Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Bristol North West, has established an online petition calling for a referendum on congestion charging in the city before the scheme is given final approval in the Council House, as well as taking her petition to the streets.

It calls for a full and frank discussion by the people of Bristol over whether the plans would help ease traffic congestion, or if any such schemes would prove ineffectual without the introduction of better public transport links within the city.

The petition, which has been launched on the Bristol City Council website, reads:

“We, the undersigned, call on Bristol City Council to hold a referendum for Bristol citizens on a road-congestion scheme, before any pilot scheme is introduced.”

Commenting on the launch of the petition, Charlotte said:

“Bristol people should have the say on what Bristol people would have to pay.

“There are strong arguments for road tolls – reducing carbon emissions is a priority and we must find ways to reduce Bristol’s terrible peak-time traffic congestion.

“But it is unfair to charge people to use the roads while our public transport is so inadequate. And until we have decent busses, trains and cycle lanes, it is unlikely people will get out of their cars. Instead of reducing carbon emissions, it could simply push more traffic congestion out into areas of Bristol like Westbury-on-Trym, Henleaze, Stoke Bishop and Horfield and make it even harder to park outside the Congestion zone.

We need a major public debate on the issues involved. The public must have confidence that their money would be spent well. We need co-operation across Local Authority boundaries for an effective public transport strategy. A Greater Bristol Transport Authority, equivalent to Transport for London, might be the only way to guarantee that our public transport does improve. But either way, there are questions that need to be answered and a referendum is a prime opportunity to raise them.”

Councillor. Dr. Barbara Lewis, Conservative Transport Spokesman , is bringing a motion to the next meeting of full Council, on 24th July, to propose that such a referendum be agreed by Councillors. The motion will read:

“Council notes that Bristol has been chosen by Central Government to be a pilot for the possible introduction of congestion charging in the city.

“Council re-affirms its opposition to the introduction of any such scheme prior to substantial improvements to existing public transport provision. Council believes that it would be fundamentally unfair to levy road tolls or require the motorist to ‘pay as you drive’ when, for many people, there is no viable alternative to the car.

Council calls on the Leader of Council and the Executive Member for Access & Environment to give a commitment that before introducing any congestion charges on motorists, they will hold a referendum on the proposal in Bristol.”

All are welcome to attend.

Earlier this year The Department for Transport published its guide for local authorities on introducing Local Road Pricing Schemes.

In response, Chris Grayling, Shadow Transport Secretary, reiterated the need for local road pricing schemes to be decided locally. At the time, he said: “I think it is important that the Government isn’t seen to be blackmailing local communities into adopting congestion charges against their will. Local schemes are fine but only if they are decided on and set up locally.”