Ring-road plans are not 'anti-car' say council

South Gloucestershire Council plans to reduce the speed limit from 50mph to 40mph

Plans to reduce the speed limit on a major ring road are not "anti-car", according to one of the local councillors supporting the proposals.

South Gloucestershire Council is consulting on plans to drop the limit on the A4174 Avon Ring Road to 40mph between Stoke Gifford and Bromley Heath.

Sean Rhodes who is the council's cabinet member for communities and local place said the changes would improve safety for cyclists and pedestrians and reduce traffic by encouraging drivers out of their cars.

But some residents, told the BBC the changes were not practical and claimed it was an attack on people who rely on their cars.

Long delays

The authority wants to reduce the speed limit to 40mph on a stretch of the road from the Great Stoke Way Roundabout beyond the M32 junction through to the Bromley Heath Roundabout.

A section of the entrance to the University of the West of England's Filton Campus would become 30mph as part of the changes.

Speaking to Joe Sims on BBC Radio Bristol, Councillor Sean Rhodes explained it was part of a "broader project" to improve active travel.

"People are having to experience longer delays in car journeys at the moment and part of that is because there's such a high level of car usage across the whole of South Glos," he said.

"Giving people alternative ways of getting about is the right thing to do and actually there's a lot of support for this."

Tim Ponter, who lives in Warmley and regularly uses the road to visit his daughter in Filton, claimed the plans were anti-car.

"[Because] they can go into an office every day, they ride their bike, [they think] that everyone else should do the same, whether they're 25, 55 or 85," he said.

Listeners who contacted BBC Radio Bristol also claimed the council had "no intention" of listening to feedback and "basically want cars off the roads," while another asked if a speed limit should be introduced on the cycle path as well.

Speaking on behalf of the council Mr Rhodes denied it was an attack on car users.

"There's actually benefits to car users by getting people out of their cars and onto other modes of transport because it will just reduce the volumes down a little bit," he said.

A consultation on the proposals will close on Saturday 4 October.