I was driving into Bristol on Tuesday morning (November 6th) when the traffic ground to a halt. Not at the usual place - north of White Tree Roundabout. And not because of the new now-shortened bus lane on Westbury Road.
The delay was to the south of White Tree and was caused by the large number of cars trying to drive in both directions along Clay Pit Road. Normally, traffic coming up Redland Road does not turn left into this road, continuing instead onto Westbury Park and White Tree Roundabout.
The reason for the congestion became clear when I reached the end of Clay Pit Road. Westbury Park itself was closed off and there were several emergency vehicles in attendance following a collision between a teenage female cyclist and a large yellow refuse collection vehicle.
The collision had occurred at the top end of Westbury Park, between St Christopher's School and the junction with North View.
The police later released a statement about the incident, saying that the woman cyclist had suffered "serious injuries" and had been taken to Frenchay Hospital.
No further details are known at present.
In the meantime, the terrible incident highlights the risks involved when cycles and lorries are required to share the same congested road space, especially at junctions. Does the present cycle lane at the top end of Westbury Park make this kind of occurrence more or less likely in the future?
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