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The planned upgrades, set for the A369 Rownham Hill junction with Bridge Road and Ashton Court, include new smart traffic signals, updated bus stops and shelters, and improved walking and cycling links.
The approved changes have been directly influenced by community feedback, which included a six-week public consultation in spring 2024, alongside further traffic monitoring and surveys. As a result, an earlier proposal for bus lanes in both directions of the A369 has since been removed from the scheme.
The junction improvements will aim to deliver better traffic flow, bus journeys and facilities for passengers, with:
- New smart traffic signals: These can sense traffic moving at the junction, and coordinate with other, nearby traffic lights, to help traffic move through more efficiently. The smart signals would also be able to detect approaching buses using GPS signals to give buses priority over other arms of the junction
- Upgraded bus stops at Bridge Road and North Road: Equipped with new, modern shelters with real-time information displays, comfortable recycled plastic seating, and more spacious waiting areas
- Improved footpaths: The shared footpath and cycleway along the Ashton Court boundary, and the footpath between the Beggar Bush Lane and North Road junctions on the north-east side of Abbots Leigh Road would be improved
- Better crossing facilities: Crossings across Rownham Hill near Bridge Road, and at the A369 Ashton Court entrance would be modernised.
Cllr Hannah Young, Executive Member for Highways and Transport at North Somerset Council, said: "Updating traffic signals, crossings and walking and cycling routes at the A369 Rownham Hill junction will allow it to work more effectively, and support more sustainable and active forms of travel too.
“A big thank you to everyone who took part in our consultation to help us devise this scheme for the local area. We are keen to deliver these changes to bring multiple benefits to the people who live in, work in and visit this popular location.”
The Executive member decision to approve the scheme can be viewed at: February 2025 executive member decisions | North Somerset Council. Legal notices, known as Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs), for the scheme will be published on the Council website around 12 weeks before work is due to start, giving residents a final, formal opportunity to comment on the plans. Pending the result of this TRO process, work would be expected to start on the ground later in 2025. To view all live Traffic Regulation Orders, visit: Comment on Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) | North Somerset Council.
The A369 Rownham Hill scheme will be funded by UK government through the Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) as part of a wider approach to developing North Somerset’s strategic road network. The conditions of this funding mean it cannot be used for any non-BSIP related council activities or services.
To read more about the BSIP, visit: www.n-somerset.gov.uk/bsip.