Motorists driving along the busy Brierly Furlong on the way out of Bradley Stoke could face delays in the coming weeks.

A new bus lane is to be installed past Parkway railway station along New Road – allowing buses to skip queuing traffic.

The lane will meet Brierly Furlong near the Harry Stoke roundabout and will have prioritised traffic lights.

The work is likely to take until the first week in June and is another project to complete Bristol’s showcase bus routes.

South Gloucestershire Council says the work is scheduled to take place during off-peak hours.

Bus shelters bearing the name Bradley Stoke are to go from the town and be replaced with silver-coloured alternatives.

The work is part of the Greater Bristol Bus Network which will see ten new “corridors” from different suburbs – including Bradley Stoke – into the city centre.

These corridors will have new vehicles, raised kerbs for easier access and key bus stops will have improved waiting facilities and real time information.

The new stops will be maintained by South Gloucestershire Council rather than the town council.

Liberal Democrat councillor Jon Williams said: “This is really good news for the town. Real time information will enable bus users to plan their journeys and not turn up not knowing when the next bus is going to arrive.

“My hope now is that the bus services improve in the same way that the shelters have. Unfortunately, First Bus seem intent on making it more difficult to catch a bus rather than easier.”

Cllr Williams added that the savings in maintenance costs was a good thing for the town, but he will try and make sure Bradley Stoke was on the new stops.

“Now that South Gloucestershire Council are taking over the responsibility for these new shelters they will have to pick up the bill saving residents money.

“The old green bus shelters carried the Town Council’s logo and I’m talking to officers at South Gloucestershire Council to see if we can personalise the new ones.”

A decision on proposed changes to the Aztec West roundabout and the approach from Bradley Stoke Way are likely to be made in August, The Bradley Stoke Examiner has been told.

South Gloucestershire Council wants to add new bus lanes to the busy junction as part of the Greater Bristol Bus Network.

The authority has also proposed banning right turns from Bradley Stoke Way into Woodlands Lane to try and cut down traffic.

A South Gloucestershire Council spokeswoman said: “The bus priority scheme has undergone a period of consultation, and final proposals have been agreed with the Executive Member [for transport, Brian Allinson].

“Traffic Regulation Orders have also been advertised.

“The Executive Member is expected to make a decision in August whether the proposed Orders are accepted.”

The latest stage of plans to alter Aztec West roundabout to build more bus lanes reaches the next stage on Monday as the deadline looms for comments on the Traffic Regulation Order (TRO).

South Gloucestershire Council, following a consultation, had to advertise the changes in the local press and display plans at the leisure centre.

Once the TRO period has ended the comments gathered will be forwarded to the council’s traffic portfolio holder, Brian Allinson, and then considered by the authority.

They have the power to either give the scheme the green light or force changes which could mean another consultation.

If you want to have your say then you need to write to Dean Shepherd at South Gloucestershire Council’s Legal and Democratic Services Department quoting reference L3/DS/STOP/PT.3526.

The address is: South Gloucestershire Council, Castle Street, Thornbury, BS35 1HF – the deadline is Monday, 30 June 2008.

Obviously, you will either need to deliver comments by hand or make sure they are in the post as soon as possible.

The Traffic Regulation Order for changes to the Aztec West roundabout appeared in the Evening Post on Friday, 6 June 2008 – on page 52.

The final stage that the public can have their say on the changes has seen a lack of any real publicity apart from The Examiner and The Journal, a page 52 advert in the Post and information at the Library.

If you spot any further publicity please let us know – we are particularly interested to hear if any leaflets are sent to nearby residents or businesses. We’re on news@sadlybroke.com.

Complete details of the TRO and how you can have your say are in the previous post.

A final decision on changes to the Aztec West roundabout could be made after plans went on display at Bradley Stoke Library.

The Journal found out that the next phase of the work to get permission for the changes has got under way with advertisement of a draft Traffic Regulation Order.

This means at the end of this 21 day period all the latest responses will be gathered and passed on to South Gloucestershire Council’s traffic portfolio holder, Brian Allinson, and considered by the authority.

Changes at the roundabout include more bus lanes and a ban for right turns from Bradley Stoke Way into Woodlands Lane.

The changes are part of the Greater Bristol Bus Network planned by the four ex-Avon councils.

Residents can still lodge objections or observations – although amazingly the district council insists that this current stage is “not a consultation process”.

A spokeswoman told us: “Concerns have been taken on board following the consultation period and the next stage is to advertise the Traffic Regulation Orders. This is a legal process not a consultation process.”

So if you want to take part in the consultation feedback initiative you need to write to Dean Shepherd at South Gloucestershire Council’s Legal and Democratic Services Department quoting reference L3/DS/STOP/PT.3526.

The address is: Castle Street, Thornbury, BS35 1HF – letters need to be in before 30 June, 2008. Unfortunately there does not appear to be an email address that can be used.

Bootnote: The district council have confirmed that they are at the TRO stage. A spokeswoman said: “I can confirm that we are at the TRO stage, a public notice containing details of the two orders was published in the Evening Post on June 6th.”

Concerns over banning right-hand turns from Bradley Stoke Way into Woodlands Lane have been rejected by South Gloucestershire Council who say only 2% of motorists at the junction turn that way.

The authority revealed the figure in a reply to people who had entered thoughts or concerns over proposed changes to the Aztec West roundabout.

The council wants to make changes there to accommodate part of the Greater Bristol Bus Network but will also ban right turns into Woodlands Lane from the town to help improve traffic flow.

Of the 100 replies the council recieved, 12% raised concerns over the change but the council has rejected the worries saying it is “accepted” that motorists will use Pear Tree Road instead.

They also claim that the number diverted down here will be “very low”.

Elsewhere in the consultation reply, the council has rejected calls for a flyover, and rejected worries about merging lanes being dangerous saying “there is no evidence to suggest this causes accidents”.

We’ve included the full reply for you to download (PDF file, 240k) – click here to read it. We’d love to hear what you think about it – hit the comments below.