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The presentation event details are:
Date: Thursday 21 November
Time: 7pm to 8.30pm
Location: Old School Rooms, Station Road, Congresbury, BS49 5DX.
The format of the event will offer an opportunity to take part in a question-and-answer session following a short presentation.
Anyone wishing to attend the presentation can do so by booking their place online at https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/north-somerset-council/public-information-event-changes-to-a370-smallway-crossroads/e-koxxjp. Residents can also call 01934 888 888 (saying 'Public Transport' when asked) to confirm their attendance and leave their name.
Those who are unable to attend can submit comments by Tuesday 3 December by visiting https://www.n-somerset.gov.uk/smallway to view the designs and complete a survey.
A key interchange for motorists travelling to and from Yatton and Bristol, the Smallway crossroads is one of the more congested junctions in North Somerset, where residents frequently experience tailbacks and hold-ups.
The planned improvements to Smallway will work alongside recent changes to the nearby Wood Hill junction. Once complete, traffic will be able to flow more freely through the sister junctions, helping to improve local traffic flows on the road network.
The new design for the Smallway junctions includes:
- extending the left-hand lane at the crossroads, on the A370 from the Bristol direction, to help increase road capacity at the junction
- helping address safety concerns by bringing the stop line heading towards Weston-super-Mare further forward, to encourage better vehicle positioning and adding new traffic signal crossings at the junction
- closing the east side of the Smallway crossroads to all traffic from the A370 Bristol Road, creating a small pedestrian-friendly area which allows for a more accessible crossing point for pedestrians, cyclists and mobility users
- extending the existing, full-time bus lane with bus priority signals, on the approach to the Smallway junction from the Bristol direction. Current services standing to benefit from this change are the X1, X5, A3 services and WESTlink
- resurfacing the roads directly affected by the improvements as part of the works, meaning vital Highways maintenance budgets can be allocated elsewhere.
Early conversations with community representatives on improving the Smallway crossroads began in 2023, and the latest design reflects the changes requested through those discussions, including:
- adding new crossings to the junction to improve pedestrian and cyclist access
- bringing a stop line further forward to encourage better vehicle positioning
- improving pedestrian access where currently there is no footway by creating a new footpath on the east side of the Smallway road
- retaining the footpath on the western side of the A370 between Smallway and Kent Road.
