Somerset Council’s highways officers have concluded that making substantial changes to Bridgwater’s Celebration Mile is unlikely to alleviate the town centre’s traffic congestion. Despite four proposed options for modification, none are expected to meaningfully reduce congestion in the area.
The Celebration Mile, a project funded with £9 million from the government-backed Bridgwater Town Deal, currently runs from Bridgwater railway station to Northgate Docks. Key sections have been completed, featuring one-way systems along Eastover, East Quay, and Salmon Parade. However, these changes, combined with the cancellation of upgrades to the Cross Rifles roundabout, have contributed to increased congestion, drawing significant frustration from local residents and businesses.
In response to a petition signed by over 5,800 residents, the council initiated a comprehensive review of the scheme in December 2025, including detailed traffic monitoring. Some initial adjustments have been made, such as restoring parking spaces on Salmon Parade, with a full report scheduled for the council’s executive committee meeting on June 3 in Taunton.
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The report outlines four potential options:
- Keep the existing one-way system but add more parking (details on new parking locations and capacity remain unspecified).
- Reverse traffic direction on Salmon Parade to southbound only, maintaining East Quay as is. While this offers some relief on the A38 Broadway and Monmouth Street, it could increase town centre traffic during peak hours and remove a key cycle link.
- Restore two-way traffic on both East Quay and Salmon Parade. This option improves traffic flow but conflicts with the scheme’s goals by increasing vehicle dominance, potentially endangering pedestrians and cyclists.
- Implement one-way traffic southbound on both roads. This performed poorly in traffic models and offers little benefit.
Mike O’Dowd-Jones, Service Director for Infrastructure and Transport, emphasized that all options could be executed within the current Celebration Mile budget, so no extra public funds would be required. However, he cautioned against expecting notable congestion relief. Monitoring data revealed that while delays occur occasionally on routes like the A38 Broadway—with a maximum delay of 12 minutes during a five-month period—none of the proposals significantly reduce overall traffic delays.
The Bridgwater Town Deal Board will review the options on June 1 before forwarding recommendations to the council’s executive committee.